In certain aspects, the present invention provides compositions and methods for modulating (promoting or inhibiting) growth of a tissue, such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, brown fat and/or neuronal tissue and for treating metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, as well as disorders associated with any of the foregoing tissue.

Described herein are nucleic acid prodrugs and nucleic acid prodrugs comprising chiral phosphorous moieties. Also described herein are methods of making and using nucleic acid prodrugs and nucleic acid prodrugs comprising chiral phosphorous moieties.

The invention described herein provides for methods and systems for determining, selecting, and/or treating diseases and conditions caused by or associated with high quantities of methanogens in a subject, or diseases and conditions caused by or associated with low quantities of methanogens in a subject. In various embodiments, a therapy to inhibit the growth of methanogens or to promote the growth of methanogens are selected and/or administered to a subject in need thereof.

Novel methods for prevention, reduction or elimination of the incidence of male androgen deficiency symptoms or diseases including male hypogonadism-associated symptoms and diseases associated with low serum testosterone and/or low DHEA or low total androgens in susceptible warm-blooded animals including humans involving administration of an amount of a sex steroid precursor, particularly dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) (particularly acolbifene), an antiestrogen or a prodrug of the two. The symptoms or diseases are loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, tiredness, loss of energy, depression, bone loss, muscle loss, muscle weakness, fat accumulation, memory loss, cognition loss, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, loss of body hair, fertility problems, insomnia, gynecomastia, anemia, hot flushes, sweats, decreased sense of well-being, obesity, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension, insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Pharmaceutical compositions for delivery of active ingredient(s) and kit(s) useful to the invention are also disclosed.

The present invention is directed to compounds according to formula,

(R.sup.2R.sup.3)-A.sup.1-c(A.sup.2-A.sup.3-A.sup.4-A.sup.5-A.sup.6-A.sup.7-A.sup.8-A.sup.9)-A.sup.10-R.sup.1,

and pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof that act as ligands for one or more of the melanocortin receptors, to methods of using such compounds to treat mammals and to pharmaceutical compositions comprising said compounds.

It may be one of the aspects of the invention that a drug delivery device for delivery of two or more independently user selectable multiple doses of medicaments contained in separate cartridges of the medicament reservoirs within a single device operatively connected to a single dispense interface which may be operatively connected to a single activation button; It may be another aspect of the invention that unlocking of the user operable variable dose locking mechanism of the drug delivery device may be easily carried out by one hand operation by a lock slider unlock by the user.

The present disclosure relates to methods for treating type 1 diabetes (T1D) using a glucagon receptor blocking agent. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to methods for treating T1D using substantially lower doses of insulin supple-mentation, or even in the absence of insulin supplementation, using antigen binding and antagonizing proteins, e.g., fully human antibodies that specifically bind to and antagonize the function of the human glucagon receptor.

A purple non-sulfur bacteria useful in preventing and/or ameliorating at least one disease selected from the group consisting of inflammatory diseases, allergic diseases, and autoimmune diseases and having high safety is provided. A preventive and/or ameliorative agent is for at least one disease selected from the group consisting of inflammatory diseases, allergic diseases, and autoimmune diseases and includes at least one of a purple non-sulfur bacteria and a culture material obtained by culturing the purple non-sulfur bacteria. The purple non-sulfur bacteria includes Rhodobacter azotoformans.

Provided are beverage compositions comprising a urine citrate increasing component and a urine oxalate reducing component. The beverage compositions may be provided in a ready-to-drink form or may be provided in a concentrate form. Also provided are kits comprising the beverage compositions and methods for treating various conditions using the beverage compositions.

The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical dosage form comprising a) metformin or a pharmaceutical acceptable salt thereof, and b) calcium citrate. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dosage form further comprises vitamin B12. The invention also relates to its use in the prevention or alleviation of metformin induced vitamin B12 malabsorption.