Word: drugged
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Instead, he set out to "find the essence of the drug" and remove the side effects. When Pamukcu arranged for scientists at the University of Arizona to take on the research, Nichols moved to Tucson to help oversee their work. The scientists determined that the body breaks down sulindac into two components, but then got bogged down in a debate about which of these components to pursue. After listening to the pro and cons, Nichols decided for them--they would explore both chemical pathways. In the test tube, one compound quickly proved to be superior. "It was killing...
Encouraged, Nichols' scientists began testing the compound, designated FGN-1, on lab animals. It seemed effective against several types of cancers--breast, lung and bladder--but the animals lost weight. That raised a question: Was it the drug or the weight loss that was providing the anti-cancer action? When the scientists repeated the experiments at lower doses, the animals improved without losing weight. "We got a beautiful dose response," says Pamukcu...
...Nichols' company finally began testing FGN-1 on humans. In a trial of 18 patients with FAP, 12 showed substantial improvement. One patient, who was developing about 100 polyps a year, had no polyps at all while on the drug. This led to another, larger double-blind study with one group taking a placebo, the other FGN-1. But midway it was discovered that the recruitment of patients had been mishandled and a year's worth of work was lost. Still, Nichols could see that in a core group of subjects the drug was working as he had hoped...
...past decade, unconventional pain medications have exploded onto the scene. These drugs are considered adjuvant--that is, auxiliary--therapies because they're usually used in conjunction with conventional medications when the latter fail to provide relief. Occasionally they're prescribed alone. Among the more surprising new painkillers are antiseizure medications. A recent article in the Southern Medical Journal discusses anecdotal evidence that antiseizure drugs provide the best relief for neuropathic pain, associated with nerve problems. The newest and most successful has been gabapentin, which seems to relieve a wide range of nerve pain, including that often accompanying cancer and AIDS...
...seems to be getting on until, halfway through the book, members start dropping as if it's the last act of Hamlet. Davey, a schizophrenic, jumps to his death from a rooftop. Frankie, a promising young prizefighter, is shot dead while trying to rob an armored car. Kevin, a drug dealer, is found suspiciously hanged outside his jail cell. Sister Kathy, a serious pill popper, is shoved off a roof and badly crippled; and 13-year-old Steven is convicted, though eventually acquitted on appeal, of shooting a friend...