Pharma
Stem Cell Transplant Restores Memory, Learning
April 22, 2013 12:21 pm | News | CommentsFor the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been transformed into nerve cells that helped mice regain the ability to learn and remember. A new study shows that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain and then heal neurological deficits.
Researchers Test Caffeine's Effect on Cancer
April 18, 2013 11:04 am | News | CommentsResearchers are abuzz after using fruit flies to find new ways of taking advantage of caffeine’s lethal effects on cancer cells—results that could one day be used to advance cancer therapies for people. Previous research has established that caffeine interferes with processes in cancer cells that control DNA repair, a finding that has generated interest in using the stimulant as a chemotherapy treatment.
Protein Discovery Prevents HIV Reservoirs
April 17, 2013 1:11 pm | by Einstein | News | CommentsResearchers have discovered how the protein that blocks HIV-1 from multiplying in white blood cells is regulated. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS, and the discovery could lead to novel approaches for addressing HIV-1 "in hiding"– namely eliminating reservoirs of HIV-1 that persist in patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy.
Molecule Treats Leukemia by Blocking DNA Repair
April 17, 2013 10:44 am | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a molecule that prevents repair of some cancer cells, providing a potential new "genetic chemotherapy" approach to cancer treatment that could significantly reduce side effects and the development of treatment resistance compared with traditional chemotherapy.
Anxious About Life? Tylenol May do the Trick
April 16, 2013 11:38 am | News | CommentsResearchers have found a new potential use for the over-the-counter pain drug Tylenol. Typically known to relieve physical pain, the study suggests the drug may also reduce the psychological effects of fear and anxiety over the human condition, or existential dread.
MRSA-killing Antibiotic Developed
April 12, 2013 12:03 pm | News | CommentsA new broad range antibiotic has been found to kill a wide range of bacteria, including drug-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) bacteria that do not respond to traditional drugs. The antibiotic, Epimerox, targets weaknesses in bacteria that have long been exploited by viruses that attack themeria.
TB Fighter, Promoter Reveals Split Identity
April 12, 2013 11:17 am | News | CommentsTumor necrosis factor– normally an infection-fighting substance produced by the body– can actually heighten susceptibility to tuberculosis if its levels are too high. A new study shows how excess production of this disease-cell destroyer at first acts as a TB germ killer. But later the opposite occurs: Too much tumor necrosis factor encourages TB pathogens to multiply in the body.
New Way to Clear Cholesterol from Blood Discovered
April 11, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsResearchers have identified a new potential therapeutic target for lowering cholesterol that could be an alternative or complementary therapy to statins. Scientists in the lab of David Ginsburg at the Life Sciences Institute inhibited the action of a gene responsible for transporting a protein that interferes with the ability of the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood in mice.
Medication Nation: Study Shows Antibiotic Overuse
April 10, 2013 4:59 pm | by MIKE STOBBE - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsU.S. doctors are prescribing enough antibiotics to give them to 4 out of 5 Americans every year, an alarming pace that suggests they are being overused, a new government study finds. Overuse is one reason antibiotics are losing their punch, making infections harder to treat.
Tiny Proteins Prevent Bacterial Gene Transcription
April 10, 2013 10:10 am | News | CommentsIn the search for new antibiotics, researchers are taking an unusual approach: They are developing peptides, short chains of protein building blocks that effectively inhibit a key enzyme of bacterial metabolism. The road from gene to protein has an important stop along the way: ribonucleic acid, or RNA.
New Brain Cancer Treatment is More Effective, Less Toxic
April 9, 2013 10:00 am | News | CommentsA Phase 2 clinical trial, described this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, tested a new protocol for treating a relatively rare form of brain cancer, primary CNS lymphoma, that may change the standard of care for this disease, according to doctors who led the research.
Drug for Morning Sickness Making a Comeback
April 8, 2013 7:55 pm | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsTalk about a comeback: A treatment pulled off the market 30 years ago has won Food and Drug Administration approval again as the only drug specifically designated to treat morning sickness. That long-ago safety scare, prompted by hundreds of lawsuits claiming birth defects, proved to be a false alarm.
Engineered T Cells Kill Tumors, Spare Normal Tissue
April 8, 2013 11:09 am | News | CommentsThe need to distinguish between normal cells and tumor cells is a feature that has been long sought for most types of cancer drugs. Tumor antigens, unique proteins on the surface of a tumor, are potential targets for a normal immune response against cancer.
Protein’s Cousin Sheds Light on Its Gout-linked Relative
April 8, 2013 10:38 am | News | CommentsScientists have found out how a gout-linked genetic mutation contributes to the disease: by causing a breakdown in a cellular pump that clears an acidic waste product from the bloodstream. By comparing this protein pump to a related protein involved in cystic fibrosis, the researchers also identified a compound that partially repairs the pump in laboratory tests.
Dengue Cases May be 4 Times More Common Than Known
April 7, 2013 1:18 pm | by MARIA CHENG - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsThere may be nearly four times as many people infected with the tropical disease dengue globally than was previously believed, according to a new study. The World Health Organization has estimated there are about 50 million to 100 million cases of dengue, also known as "break-bone fever," every year.
New Hope for Rare Genetic Disease
April 4, 2013 11:02 am | News | CommentsScientists have found that a drug treatment administered at the earliest signs of a rare genetic disease could prevent the condition from developing in later life.
Global Strategy Aims to Eradicate Polio by 2018
April 2, 2013 5:44 pm | by LAURAN NEERGAARD - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsA new global plan aims to end most cases of polio by late next year, and essentially eradicate the paralyzing disease by 2018— if authorities can raise the $5.5 billion needed to do the work, health officials said.
Common Virus Model Used to ‘Fortify’ Adult Stem Cells
April 2, 2013 11:05 am | News | CommentsUsing the same strategy that a common virus employs to evade the human immune system, researchers have modified adult stem cells to increase their survival– with the goal of giving the cells time to exert their natural healing abilities.
3D Scaffolds Help Mimic Tumor Growth, Drug Response
April 2, 2013 10:37 am | News | CommentsResearchers reported that three-dimensional scaffolds used to culture Ewing’s sarcoma cells were effective at mimicking the environment in which such tumors develop.
New Vaccine Approach Targets HIV, Other Fast-mutating Viruses
March 29, 2013 10:41 am | News | CommentsA team of scientists has unveiled a new technique for vaccine design that could be particularly useful against HIV and other fast-changing viruses.
New Wrinkle for Botox: Two Botulinum Toxins Unsafe for Neurons
March 27, 2013 10:03 am | News | CommentsResearchers have investigated the effect that all seven botulinum toxins have on neuron survival, and they have discovered that not all botulinum toxins are equally safe for neurons.
Diabetes Drugs Linked to Abnormal Pancreatic Growth
March 27, 2013 9:50 am | News | CommentsIndividuals who had taken a type of drug commonly used to treat Type 2 diabetes showed abnormalities in the pancreas, including cell proliferation, that may be associated with an increased risk of neuroendocrine tumors, according to a new study.
Decoding Biology of Blood Disorders Leads to New Therapies
March 26, 2013 11:22 am | News | CommentsTwo new studies shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases.
New, Effective Vaccine Blocks H5N1 Avian Flu
March 26, 2013 10:57 am | News | CommentsUntil now most experimental vaccines against the highly lethal H5N1 avian influenza virus have lacked effectiveness. But a new vaccine has proven highly effective against the virus when tested in both mice and ferrets.
Heart Repair Breakthroughs Replace Surgeon’s Knife
March 24, 2013 11:36 am | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | News | CommentsHave a heart problem? If it’s fixable, there’s a good chance it can be done without surgery, using tiny tools and devices that are pushed through tubes into blood vessels.
