Word: prostaglandin
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...created by the Kansas City, Mo., firm Hoechst Marion Roussel, stops white cells from reproducing. Enbrel, a genetically engineered medication from Seattle-based Immunex, works by sopping up a tumor-killing cytokine called tumor necrosis factor before it can issue its call for reinforcements. The COX-2 inhibitors target prostaglandin production, limiting pain and inflammation. And the blood-filtration device, invented at Cypress Bioscience of San Diego, strips the blood of proteins that tell white cells (erroneously) what tissues to attack--a treatment so effective in clinical trials that the FDA review-and-approval process has been...
...1970s, researchers discovered that aspirin reduces that pain and inflammation by lowering prostaglandin levels. It does so by blocking an enzyme called cyclooxygenase, or COX, that's involved in the manufacture of prostaglandins. What scientists didn't know until the early 1990s, however, was that cyclooxygenase comes in at least two versions: COX-1, ultimately responsible for protecting the stomach and making platelets sticky; and COX-2, which triggers pain and inflammation. The obvious goal, at least as far as pain relief is concerned: develop a drug that blocks...
Once again, controversy erupted. When Baulieu first began experimenting with RU 486 in combination with an oral prostaglandin, Roussel balked. As a result, Baulieu had to persuade French public health officials to defray insurance costs. After preliminary trials, the government compelled Roussel to participate, arguing that the proposed testing of an oral prostaglandin was important for women. Although Searle raised no objections, its executives remain uncomfortable about being linked to the abortion business. "Searle has never willingly made ((Cytotec)) available for use in abortion," a company official wrote in a letter to the Wall Street Journal in February...
...invention was announced in 1982 by Baulieu, a French physician who worked as a researcher at Roussel Uclaf. The concept was rather simple: RU 486, an antiprogestin, could break a fertilized egg's bond to the uterine wall and thus induce a miscarriage. An injection two days later of prostaglandin, a hormone-like substance, would force uterine contractions and speed the ejection of the embryo. It took six more years and tests on more than 17,000 women before the French government announced that RU 486 would be made available for public...
...French began testing the new method of using RU 486 that does not require going to a clinic for a follow-up shot. An oral prostaglandin, commercially marketed as Cytotec by the American manufacturer G.D. Searle, enabled women to abort simply by swallowing a combination of pills. The efficiency rate rose from 95.5% to 96.9%, and the speed of the procedure improved. In 61% of the cases, the uterine contents were expelled within four hours after taking Cytotec, in contrast to 47% in the case of prostaglandin injections. Although there were instances of nausea and diarrhea, which are also common...