Don''t pop too many vitamin A supplements, because large amounts, particularly megadoses available from health-food stores, can be dangerous, the US government says in guidelines that update how much of certain nutrients Americans should consume for good health. Men need 900 micrograms of vitamin A day and women 700, says a report by the Institute of Medicine, which slightly lowers the "recommended daily allowance," or RDA, of the nutrient.

Never eat more than 3,000 micrograms a day, because such high levels can cause severe liver disease and, in pregnant women, birth defects, the panel concluded. Vitamin A is crucial for good vision, immune function and other bodily functions. Half a cup of cooked carrots is enough. Cooking doubles the body''s absorption of vitamin A. The institute is part of the National Academy of Sciences, a nonprofit organization that advises the federal government and has set the nation''s RDAs for nutrients since 1941.

Aristolochic acid found in Chinese herbal cold remedy

A herbal cold and flu remedy has been recalled by its manufacturer after the US FDA warned that it contained trace amounts of aristolochic acid, which is known to cause cancer and damage the kidneys. BMK International said that there have been no adverse events reported from the use of Aller Relief Chinese herbal remedy, but the Food and Drug Administration has found that products containing aristolochic acid have been associated with several incidences of kidney failure in Europe.

Aristolochic acid has also been linked to increased risk of kidney cancer, said BMK. Aller Relief was distributed across the country to both healthcare providers and retail outlets, said BMK. Aller Relief has been reformulated to ensure that no future lots contain aristolochic acid, the company said.

Statins: New pills that ward off many ills

Though very preliminary, recent studies encouragingly suggest that ''Statins'' may lower the risk of Alzheimer''s disease, osteoporosis and even colon cancer. But the very success of the ''statins'' is raising a tough ethical question for the medical profession: Why is not everybody taking them?

Dioxin makes the list of known carcinogens

The US Government has placed a type of Dioxin called TCDD on the list of substances that are known carcinogens. The announcement was made by the National Toxicology Program and is based on "sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity from studies in humans," according to a statement released by the National Institute of Environment Health Sciences, a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is now clear that there is "a casual relationship between exposure to TCDD and human cancer, " the group said.

Drugs in combination boost ulcer risk

Taking a combination of two common drugs could dramatically increase your risk of developing a stomach ulcer, researchers report. The two drugs - an osteoporosis drug called alendronate and the anti-inflammatory drug naproxen--both cause stomach ulcers by themselves. But when they are taken together, the rate of stomach ulcers is far greater than would be expected from adding the effects of the two drugs taken by themselves.

Lisinopril is effective in preventing migraine

Some drugs for hypertension ( blockers) or epilepsy are already used to prevent migraine but may have troublesome side effects. Schrader et al tested the antihypertensive drug lisinopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, for its efficacy against migraine in 60 patients. Nearly a third of patients had a significant reduction in frequency of migraine attacks, and side effects, mostly related to lowering of the blood pressure, were few and mild in most patients. The drug, already widely used for treating hypertension, may become a useful adjunct for treating Migraine.

Phytera gets Lilly milestone for anti-fungal Collaboration

Phytera, Inc. announced that a research milestone from its anti-fungal drug discovery collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company has been achieved, triggering a milestone payment from Lilly to Phytera.. "The achievement of this research milestone represents an important step in discovering a potentially novel and significant anti-fungal agent," said Malcolm Morville, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Phytera.

"In particular, the value of Phytera''s proprietary multiple drug resistance ("MDR") knockout screening technology has been validated, allowing us to identify structures with anti-fungal activity that could have been missed in screening efforts using the traditional wild-type organisms.

This success reinforces our belief in the importance of applying this technology to other fungal and bacterial pathogens with the goal of identifying novel anti - infective drugs for the human and animal health areas, and for agricultural applications."

US FDA issue non-approval letter for SB''s antibiotic drug

The UK pharmaceuticals group SmithKline Beecham Plc has received an non-approval letter from theUS Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Factive, its drug from a class of antibiotics known as quinolones. SmithKline says it cannot estimate the likely delay to Factive until it determines the FDA''s concern, noting that it is ready for both additional discussions and studies.

Compiled from WWW by Dr. Venkat Appaji Padmanabhuni

e-mail : appajipv@hotmail.com