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Unexpected Bacterial Diversity Found On Human Skin
The health of our skin - one of the body"s first lines of defense against illness and injury - depends upon the delicate balance between our own cells and the millions of bacteria and other one-celled microbes that live on its surface. To better understand this balance, National Institutes of Health researchers have set out to explore the skin"s microbiome, which is all of the DNA, or genomes, of all of the microbes that inhabit human skin. Their initial analysis, published in the journal Science, reveals that our skin is home to a much wider array of bacteria than previously thought.
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New Heart Disease Risk Score Should Be Recommended In The UK, Say Experts
A new score for predicting a person"s risk of heart disease performs better than the existing test and should be recommended for use in the United Kingdom by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), say researchers in a paper published on bmj.com.
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Medical Students Welcome Funding
The New Zealand Medical Students" Association (NZMSA) welcomed the allocated funding for increased medical student numbers and doctor retention in the Government"s budget.
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Targacept's TC-5214 Achieves All Primary And Secondary Outcome Measures In Phase 2b Trial As Augmentation Treatment For Major Depressive Disorder

Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT) today announced positive top-line results from a double blind, placebo controlled, flexible dose Phase 2b clinical trial of TC-5214 as an augmentation (add-on) treatment for major depressive disorder, or MDD, in subjects who did not respond adequately to first-line treatment with citalopram alone. The result on the primary outcome measure for the trial, mean change between treatment (TC-5214 + citalopram) and placebo (placebo + citalopram) from baseline on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-17, or HAM-D, was highly statistically significant in favor of TC-5214 (p Next Steps Targacept plans to present detailed results from the Phase 2b trial of TC-5214 at the Society for Neuroscience meeting scheduled for October 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. Targacept is active in discussions with multiple pharmaceutical companies with the goal of identifying a strategic partner to assist in the global development and planned commercialization of TC-5214. Targacept expects Phase 3 clinical development to be initiated in the second quarter of 2010, following planned discussions with FDA and production of clinical trial material. Study Design The Phase 2b trial of TC-5214 as an augmentation treatment for MDD was a two-phase study conducted at 20 sites in India and three sites in the United States. In the first phase, 579 subjects with MDD received first-line treatment with citalopram hydrobromide for eight weeks, 20mg daily for the first four weeks and 40mg daily for the next four weeks. Citalopram, an approved treatment for MDD marketed in the United States as Celexa®, is from the drug class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. At the end of the eight weeks, subjects whose Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale score had improved less than 50 percent and was no lower than 17 and whose Clinical Global Impression - Severity of Illness score was no lower than 4 were considered partial or non responders and randomized into the double blind second phase of the trial. In the double blind second phase, subjects continued their citalopram treatment and also received either add-on TC-5214 or add-on placebo for an additional eight weeks. The daily dosage of TC-5214 was initially 2mg and could be increased at the discretion of the investigator to 4mg and to 8mg based on tolerability and therapeutic response. The primary outcome measure for the trial was mean change between treatment (TC-5214 + citalopram) and placebo (placebo + citalopram) from double blind baseline as measured by HAM-D at week 16. The intent to treat dataset included 265 subjects in the second phase. About TC-5214 It is well known that depressive symptoms can result from an overstimulation of NNRs and other receptors in the brain that are activated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Accordingly, compounds capable of inhibiting the activity of these overstimulated receptors may be expected to have antidepressant effects. TC-5214 is a nicotinic channel blocker that has unique properties in modulating the alpha4beta2 NNR subtype. About Major Depressive Disorder MDD is a serious mental illness characterized by one or more major depressive episodes. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, or NIMH, MDD is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people between the ages 15 and 44, and NIMH estimates that approximately 14.8 million American adults suffer from MDD. In 2000, the total economic burden of treating depression in the United States was approximately $83.1 billion, with workplace costs, including missed days and lack of productivity due to illness, accounting for approximately 62% of the total economic burden, treatment costs accounting for approximately 31% and suicide-related costs accounting for approximately 7%.1 The Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression, or STAR*D, study undertaken by NIMH between 2001 and 2006 highlighted the inadequacy of currently available therapies for MDD. Approximately 63% of participants in the study did not achieve remission following initial treatment with citalopram alone. The study showed that augmentation therapies may be useful in the treatment of symptoms of depression that do not resolve with first-line treatment.2 Targacept


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