Provided herein are materials and methods of reducing contamination in a biological substance or treating contamination in a subject by one or more toxins comprising contacting the biological substance with an effective amount of a sorbent capable of sorbing the toxin, wherein the sorbent comprises a plurality of pores ranging from 50 Å to 40,000 Å with a pore volume of 0.5 cc/g to 5.0 cc/g and a size of 0.05 mm to 2 cm and sorbing the toxin. Also provided are kits to reduce contamination by one or more toxins in a biological substance comprising a sorbent capable of sorbing a toxin, wherein the sorbent comprises a plurality of pores ranging from 50 Å to 40,000 Å with a pore volume of 0.5 cc/g to 5.0 cc/g and a size of 0.05 mm to 2 cm and a vessel to store said sorbent when not in use together with packaging for same.

Improved anti-CD154 antibodies are provided herein which have improved therapeutic potency, in vivo half-life and ablated FcR binding and/or complement binding/activation. The use of these antibodies for inducing tolerance and treating immune diseases including autoimmunity, inflammation, transplant recipients, fibrosis and allergic disorders is disclosed herein.

Disclosed are compounds useful as inhibitors of the Wnt signalling pathway. Specifically, inhibitors of Porcupine (Porcn) are contemplated by the invention. In addition, the invention contemplates processes to prepare the compounds and uses of the compounds. The compounds of the invention may therefore be used in treating conditions mediated by the Wnt signalling pathway, for example, in treating cancer, sarcoma, melanoma, skin cancer, haematological tumors, lymphoma, carcinoma, and leukemia; or enhancing the effectiveness of an anti-cancer treatment.

An agent for elevating nitric oxide (NO) concentration comprising glutathione or a salt thereof as an active ingredient; an agent for elevating NO concentration comprising glutathione or a salt thereof as an active ingredient for preventing or ameliorating a vascular endothelial malfunction-related symptom, or dilating blood vessels or promoting blood flow by elevating NO concentration; and a method for elevating NO concentration by ingesting glutathione or a salt thereof.

Proteins that bind IL-1α and IL-1β are described along with their use in compositions and methods for treating, preventing, and diagnosing IL-1-related disorders and for detecting IL-1α and IL-1β in cells, tissues, samples, and compositions.

Plasma kallikrein binding proteins and methods of using such proteins are described.

Provided herein are methods of treating and preventing hereditary angioedema attack in certain human patient subpopulations using antibodies binding to active plasma kallikrein with specific treatment regimens, for example, at about 300 mg every two weeks. Exemplary human patient subpopulations include female patients, patients less than 18 years old, between 40 and less than 65 years old, adolescent patients, patients who have had one or more prior laryngeal attacks, patients who have had between 1 and 2, 2 and 3, or more than 3 HAE attacks in the four weeks prior to the first dose of the first treatment period; and/or has received treatment with a C1-inhibitor prior to the first treatment period.

A preparation method of a human albumin-containing medical product comprises controlling a content of long-chain fatty acids in the medical product and adding poloxamer to the medical product. The long-chain fatty acid is one or more selected from myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and arachidonic acid, and a molar ratio of the long-chain fatty acids and human albumin is 0.2-3.0. A content of the poloxamer is 10-500 μg/g of human albumin. The human albumin-containing medical product prepared by the method has improved stability and does not contain particle of over 30 nm in diameter is formed from aggregation and/or fibrillation of human albumin.

A morphinan derivative represented by the following general formula (I): ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1 represents hydrogen, C.sub.1-10 alkyl, cycloalkylalkyl where the cycloalkyl moiety has 3 to 6 carbon atoms, and the alkylene moiety has 1 to 5 carbon atoms, etc.; R.sup.2 represents heterocyclic ring containing 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from N, O and S and at least one carbon atom as ring-constituting atoms, containing at least one set of adjacent ring-constituting atoms bound by a double bond, and further substituted with at least one oxo group; Y binds to a carbon atom as a ring-constituting atom of R.sup.2; R.sup.3, R.sup.4, and R.sup.5 represent hydrogen, hydroxy, etc.; R.sup.6a and R.sup.6b represent hydrogen, etc.; R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 represent hydrogen, etc.; R.sup.9 and R.sup.10, which are the same or different, represent hydrogen, etc.; X represents O or CH.sub.2; and Y represents C(═O)); a tautomer or stereoisomer of the compound, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or a solvate thereof is used as an anxiolytic drug, antidepressant, etc.

A morphinan derivative represented by the following general formula (I): ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1 represents hydrogen, C.sub.1-10 alkyl, cycloalkylalkyl where the cycloalkyl moiety has 3 to 6 carbon atoms, and the alkylene moiety has 1 to 5 carbon atoms, etc.; R.sup.2 represents heterocyclic ring containing 1 to 4 heteroatoms selected from N, O and S and at least one carbon atom as ring-constituting atoms, containing at least one set of adjacent ring-constituting atoms bound by a double bond, and further substituted with at least one oxo group; Y binds to a carbon atom as a ring-constituting atom of R.sup.2; R.sup.3, R.sup.4, and R.sup.5 represent hydrogen, hydroxy, etc.; R.sup.6a and R.sup.6b represent hydrogen, etc.; R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 represent hydrogen, etc.; R.sup.9 and R.sup.10, which are the same or different, represent hydrogen, etc.; X represents O or CH.sub.2; and Y represents C(═O)); a tautomer or stereoisomer of the compound, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, or a solvate thereof is used as an anxiolytic drug, antidepressant, etc.