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Results from study of Rituxan in rheumatoid arthritis show promise

Genentech, Inc., Biogen Idec and Roche have announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a Phase IIa study showing that two doses of Rituxan® (Rituximab), administered two weeks apart, improved symptoms in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for up to 48 weeks when combined with methotrexate (MTX), compared to MTX alone.

16 Jun 2004

Findings could explain why island populations worldwide are particularly susceptible to disease

Researchers have shown that Darwin's finches on smaller islands in the Galapagos archipelago have weaker immune responses to disease and foreign pathogens---findings that could help explain why island populations worldwide are particularly susceptible to disease.

15 Jun 2004

New target to stop breast cancer growth

Two proteins that normally help cells move from place to place and are made in large quantities in breast cancer cells work together to promote the survival and spread of breast cancer, according to a new study by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

15 Jun 2004

New software helps understanding of protein-protein docking

These algorithms enable more efficient life science research by helping scientists to understand the action of therapeutically interesting proteins by predicting the manner in which two proteins interact at the atomic level.

15 Jun 2004

University of Cambridge to generate antibodies

The University of Cambridge has announced a licensing agreement with Human-Human Hybridoma, Inc. (3H) to exploit a human myeloma cell line (Karpas-707H) that can be used in research and for the production of human monoclonal antibodies.

15 Jun 2004

Geneticists determine the lack of chromosomes

A healthy person’s genome contains 46 chromosomes, but an individual cell can contain less. Contemporary methods allow to determine the value of losses rather accurately. The Tomsk researchers’ effort has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

15 Jun 2004

African-American women less likely to survive breast cancer than white women

A new study led by investigators at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center may help explain why African-American women with breast cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are less likely to survive the disease than white women.

15 Jun 2004

Significant vaccine advance for Parkinson’s disease therapy

Scientists at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha and Columbia University Medical Center in New York have discovered a new vaccine approach that successfully prevents the death of brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease.

15 Jun 2004

New embryonic stem cells technology

An MIT team has developed new technology that could jump-start scientists' ability to create specific cell types from human embryonic stem cells, a feat with implications for developing replacement organs and a variety of other tissue engineering applications.

14 Jun 2004

Researchers have recreated the ability of mammalian cells to self-organize

For the first time, UCLA researchers have recreated the ability of mammalian cells to self-organize, forming evenly spaced patterns in a test tube. Published in the June 22, 2004 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings may help improve methods for regenerating tissue, controlling birth defects and developing new treatments for specific diseases.

14 Jun 2004

Significance of the discovery of anthrax toxin genes in a naturally occurring microbe other than Bacillus anthracis

Dr. Fraser discusses, for the first time, the significance of the discovery of anthrax toxin genes in a naturally occurring microbe other than Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax.

14 Jun 2004

Textured titanium medical implants may be better than smooth ones

Medical implants – from catheters that deliver long-term life support to joint replacements – may work better when their surfaces are on the rough side, new research suggests.

14 Jun 2004

John Kerry pushes for new cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s

Drawing on the inspiration of Nancy Reagan and millions of families who bravely comfort suffering loved ones, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry Saturday said we must lift the barriers that stand in the way of science to find new cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s and other diseases through stem cell research.

14 Jun 2004

Synthetic skin from human embryonic stem cells

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology team has developed new technology that could jump-start scientists' ability to create specific cell types from human embryonic stem cells, a feat with implications for developing replacement organs and a variety of other tissue engineering applications.

14 Jun 2004

Possible therapeutic approach to lowering LDL cholesterol and homocysteine levels

Canadian scientists report that mice genetically altered so as to lack either of the two different pathways through which humans, mice, and other animals provide lipids for high density and low density lipoproteins (HDL and LDL) did not appear to suffer any ill effects. But animals from both groups had markedly lower levels of cholesterol in their blood stream.

14 Jun 2004

Chairman's speech at consultants conference 2004

Put patients first. That's what Mr Reid says. That's fine. Consultants do this every day. We don't need a politician to say it, like it's something we never thought of. When a consultant is working 50 hours a week despite only being paid for 35, that is putting the patient first. When a consultant is operating on an emergency patient in the middle of the night, that is putting the patient first.

12 Jun 2004

Sirolimus-based therapy following early cyclosporine withdrawal improves transplanted kidney structure and function

Kidney histology and function three years after transplantation are better in kidney-transplant patients who remain on sirolimus-based therapy following early withdrawal of cyclosporine than in patients who continue on this calcineurin inhibitor, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation.

11 Jun 2004

People with extremely early or extremely late sleep times may suffer from Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder

You probably know "night owls," those people not ready to fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning. And, you may also know "larks," those early risers who wake before the sun comes up and are ready for bed right after dinner. People with extremely early or extremely late sleep times may suffer from Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder (CRSD).

11 Jun 2004

Cholesterol isn’t all bad

Cholesterol gets lots of bad press, and for good reason. An estimated 24 million women and 18 million men have total cholesterol levels of 240 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or higher increasing their risk of heart attack and stroke.

11 Jun 2004

U.S.$2.8 to study a virus associated with respiratory infections

The Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEID), based in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has been awarded a five-year, $2.8 million grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study a virus associated with respiratory infections.

11 Jun 2004