Gene Therapy News and Research

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Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a patient’s cells instead of using drugs or surgery.

Researchers extract structural information from triple helix DNA in gas phase

A team of researchers at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) have managed for the first time to extract trustworthy structural information from a triple helix DNA in gas phase, that is to say in conditions in which DNA is practically in a vacuum.

19 Apr 2012

Allied Healthcare announces Coridon license to vector technology

Allied Healthcare Group (ASX: AHZ) has announced an update on the progress of Coridon, its investment company founded by Professor Ian Frazer and working on developing the next generation of vaccines. Included in these activities, Cordon has entered into a license agreement with Nature Technology Corporation (NTC) and has contracted VGXI Inc. in the US for production of clinical material for the Phase I study scheduled to begin later this year.

17 Apr 2012

Two CNVs may increase risk of aggressive prostate cancer

An international research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators have discovered two inherited-genetic deletions in the human genome linked to development of aggressive prostate cancer.

10 Apr 2012

Delivering chemotherapy drugs with nanobubbles more deadly to cancer cells

Using light-harvesting nanoparticles to convert laser energy into "plasmonic nanobubbles," researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) are developing new methods to inject drugs and genetic payloads directly into cancer cells.

9 Apr 2012

PTSD could be genetically predicted

PTSD can occur after any kind of experience that causes trauma, whether that be in war, after a natural disaster or because of child abuse or sexual assault. Symptoms can include flashbacks, feeling emotionally numb or hyper-alert to danger, and avoiding situations that act as reminders of the original trauma. It is estimated that up to 3% of the general population is likely to be affected by PTSD at some point.

5 Apr 2012

Vaccination most promising against asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory and respiratory disease caused by an abnormal reactivity to allergens in the environment. Of the several avenues of exploration that are currently being developed, vaccination appears to be the most promising approach.

5 Apr 2012

New NewYork-Presbyterian autism center to open in early 2013

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, along with its affiliated medical schools Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, today celebrated the start of construction on the new Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at the Hospital's Westchester campus in White Plains.

5 Apr 2012

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute performs most adult heart transplants of any U.S. medical center

For the second year in a row, the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Comprehensive Transplant Center performed the most adult heart transplants of any U.S. medical center, according to government statistics.

4 Apr 2012

Nuvilex realizes important role for Cell-in-a-Box technology

Nuvilex, Inc., an emerging biotechnology provider of cell and gene therapy solutions through acquisition of SG Austria assets, realizes the important role for Cell-in-a-Box technology and aims to bring to light its use in the production of therapeutic antibodies for clinically important diseases.

4 Apr 2012

Genetic counseling does not help parents in disclosing their breast cancer information to children

When a mother undergoes genetic testing to determine whether she carries a gene for hereditary breast cancer, the parents must then decide whether and how to share this risk information with their children.

3 Apr 2012

Studies use three genes to reprogram fibroblasts into myocytes

The latest research developments to reprogram scar tissue resulting from myocardial infarction (MI) into viable heart muscle cells, were presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2012 meeting, held 30 March to 1 April at the South Kensington Campus of Imperial College in London.

2 Apr 2012

WCMC receives SU2C-PCF Prostate Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant

An international team of investigators from centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, including Weill Cornell Medical College, have been awarded a grant for $10 million over a three-year period to study the molecular underpinnings of metastatic prostate cancer while creating a comprehensive testing system to optimize personalized treatments.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists link two genes involved in serotonin production to PTSD

Why do some persons succumb to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while others who suffered the same ordeal do not? A new UCLA study may shed light on the answer.

2 Apr 2012

Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy established at Weill Cornell Medical College

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today the establishment of the Center for Healthcare Informatics and Policy (CHiP) to improve health and healthcare through informatics and technology.

31 Mar 2012

Gene therapy improves chylomicron metabolism in LPLD patients

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today data demonstrating that one-time administration of the gene therapy Glybera (alipogene tiparvovec) is able to markedly improve chylomicron (fat particles in the blood) metabolism following consumption of a low fat meal.

29 Mar 2012

New gene transfer technique can treat beta-thalassemia, sickle cell anemia

A team of researchers led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment.

28 Mar 2012

Bariatric surgery better than standard medical treatment for severe type 2 diabetes

In the first published study of its kind, researchers from the Catholic University/Policlinico Gemelli in Rome, Italy, and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center found that bariatric surgery dramatically outperforms standard medical treatment of severe type 2 diabetes.

27 Mar 2012

Computer program could help dementia patients manage their disease

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed a computer program that has tracked the manner in which different forms of dementia spread within a human brain. They say their mathematic model can be used to predict where and approximately when an individual patient's brain will suffer from the spread, neuron to neuron, of "prion-like" toxic proteins -- a process they say underlies all forms of dementia.

22 Mar 2012

Two Cedars-Sinai physicians to receive ACC Distinguished Scientist Award

Two physicians from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute will receive the American College of Cardiology's highest honors for scientific research and clinical care during the organization's upcoming annual scientific meeting in Chicago.

20 Mar 2012

New three-step process for DMD newborn screening

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital, working with the DNA Sequencing Core Facility at the University of Utah, have developed an approach to newborn screening (NBS) for the life-threatening genetic disorder, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and potentially other muscular dystrophies.

20 Mar 2012