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Biotech / Medical : Ligand (LGND) Breakout! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Flagrante Delictu who wrote (18647)	4/5/1998 9:57:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

I had just uploaded the AP version.

To: Flagrante Delictu who wrote (18647)	4/5/1998 10:09:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32384

Bernie, I tried to get the Philadelphia Inquirer story, but could only get the teaser: Drug is a breast cancer breakthrough, scientists say A controversial study in which the drug tamoxifen was given to 13,000 healthy women at high risk of breast cancer has been found to reduce their rate of the disease by 45 percent. This is the first time any drug has been shown to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer. It looks like requests have crashed their system at phillynews.com

To: Flagrante Delictu who wrote (18647)	4/5/1998 10:14:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

I could get to the diabetes story at: phillynews.com , but now SI won't allow me to upload it.

To: Flagrante Delictu who wrote (18647)	4/5/1998 10:23:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

CNN is running an AP story on another hormone (another IR): Study: Hormone may be link between eating and stress April 4, 1998 Web posted at: 10:02 p.m. EST (0302 GMT) NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- Gobbling down that handful of potato chips when you're under stress may have more to do with hormones than hunger, according to a preliminary study by Yale University researchers. The study, reported last week at a meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in New Orleans, suggests a possible genetic answer as to why some people, especially women, eat more and gain weight during times of high stress while others eat less and lose weight. The researchers examined the eating habits of 60 women and measured the levels of the hormone cortisol in their saliva. Scientists have known for some time that when people experience stress, many physiological changes occur, including a change in heart rate and a flux in cortisol levels. The question is what precipitates changes in eating patterns. "The study was really just a first step in starting to help us untangle the biology from the psychology," said psychology professor Kelly Brownell, director of the Center for Eating and Weight Disorders at Yale. The test subjects -- all healthy women ranging in age from 30 to 45 -- were given a variety of stressful tasks to perform with unrealistic time constraints. The tasks included counting backwards, trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle and giving a speech. Cortisol measured in women's saliva During the tasks, the researchers periodically measured cortisol in the women's saliva. After the exercises, the women were allowed to snack without restraint on high-fat or low-fat foods. The researchers found that the women who secreted the most cortisol ate the most high-fat food after stress. The women who didn't eat any high-fat food had secreted the least amount of cortisol. "Cortisol is linked both to emotions and eating," researcher Elissa Epel said. "We know that during chronic stress, if we have high cortisol and high insulin, this combination tells the body to store fat to stock up resources for hard times ahead." The researchers plan to publish their findings in a peer review journal later this year. Catherine G. Greeno, a psychologist at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said the study was "important basic research," but cautioned that other hormones also may have an effect on eating. Study called 'overly simplistic' Neil Grunberg, professor of a neuroscience and psychology at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, called the Yale study "overly simplistic." He said a variety of psychological factors and other chemicals in the body may have important roles in determining food consumption during times of stress. However, Bruce McEwen, professor of neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller University in New York, said the Yale findings "make a lot of sense. "Cortisol is certainly one of the major players. It may not be the final pathway, but it's an important link in the sequence," he said.

To: Flagrante Delictu who wrote (18647)	4/5/1998 10:32:00 AM
From: Henry Niman	Respond to of 32384

NBC is running the AP story, but they have linked a number of older breast cancer stories: msnbc.com

To: Flagrante Delictu who wrote (18647)	4/5/1998 4:11:00 PM
From: Proton	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 32384

Re: Tamoxifen (On Topic, but who can tell?) This morning, NBC news is reporting that as a result of a 6 year test, Tamoxifen has been shown to be the first agent to show proof of breast cancer prevention. We believe that LGND's Targretin is an even better prevention agent, though it has yet to complete enough testing to gain the same recognition. Recognition is all in the stock market. Tamoxifen has a major clinical study to back up its prevention claims; Targretin does not. Furthermore, Tamoxifen is first past the prevention post. Cognitive primacy matters. Will this news cause a drop in LGND? I don't know. Is this news supportive to LGND? No, and the "Halo Effect" be damned. Pý p.s. Thank goodness for the Tamoxifen news, as it prevented this thread from falling into complete irrelevance (as it is, the signal-to-noise ratio has collapsed faster than the won or ringgit). Of course, that is the true agenda of the scurrilous, and replying merely encourages their continued blathering.