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Finding could lead to first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus

Vanderbilt University scientists have contributed to a major finding, reported today in the journal Nature, which could lead to the first effective vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a significant cause of infant mortality.

9 Feb 2014

Scientists engineered microchip coated with blood vessel cells to study cardiovascular nanomedicine

Designing nanomedicine to combat diseases is a hot area of scientific research, primarily for treating cancer, but very little is known in the context of atherosclerotic disease.

5 Feb 2014

Research: SSeCKS/AKAP12 gene key inhibitor of prostate cancer metastasis

New evidence reported by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) lends support to the hypothesis that the SSeCKS/AKAP12 gene is a key inhibitor of prostate cancer metastasis.

4 Feb 2014

Researchers identify potential genes that can be targeted for new treatments for hepatocellular cancer

Patients with advanced hepatocellular (or liver) cancer have high mortality rates, with existing drugs demonstrating only a small, but significant survival advantage. By combining a zebrafish model of liver cancer with data from human tumors, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai hope to identify potential genes of interest that can be targeted for new treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer to develop from liver cells.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers gain better understanding of HIV infection through electron microscopy

The human intestinal tract, or gut, is best known for its role in digestion. But this collection of organs also plays a prominent role in the immune system. In fact, it is one of the first parts of the body that is attacked in the early stages of an HIV infection. Knowing how the virus infects cells and accumulates in this area is critical to developing new therapies for the over 33 million people worldwide living with HIV. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology are the first to have utilized high-resolution electron microscopy to look at HIV infection within the actual tissue of an infected organism, providing perhaps the most detailed characterization yet of HIV infection in the gut.

30 Jan 2014

Transgenic mouse model validates mutant IDH2 protein as candidate for targeted anticancer therapies

In recent years, mutations in two metabolic enzymes, isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 and 2 (IDH1 and IDH2), have been identified in approximately 20 percent of all acute myeloid leukemias (AML). As a result, mutant IDH proteins have been proposed as attractive drug targets for this common form of adult leukemia.

29 Jan 2014

Study demonstrates direct effects of fragmented sleep on tumor growth

Poor-quality sleep marked by frequent awakenings can speed cancer growth, increase tumor aggressiveness and dampen the immune system's ability to control or eradicate early cancers, according to a new study published online January 21, 2014, in the journal Cancer Research.

27 Jan 2014

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy. Using a novel combination of technologies, including trio exome sequencing of patient/parental DNA and genetic studies in the tiny larvae of zebrafish, the EuroEPINOMICS RES consortium found that mutations in the gene CHD2 are responsible for a subset of epilepsy patients with symptoms similar to Dravet syndrome - a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is in many patients resistant to currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

23 Jan 2014

TSRI study shows how aging affects brain's neural circuitry

How aging affects communication between neurons is not well understood, a gap that makes it more difficult to treat a range of disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

23 Jan 2014

Use of fever-reducing drugs may lead to tens of thousands more influenza cases

Contrary to popular belief, fever-reducing medication may inadvertently cause more harm than good. New research from McMaster University has discovered that the widespread use of medications that contain fever-reducing drugs may lead to tens of thousands more influenza cases, and more than a thousand deaths attributable to influenza, each year across North America.

22 Jan 2014

Researchers identify protein in brain that plays critical role in memory loss seen in Alzheimer's patients

Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a protein in the brain that plays a critical role in the memory loss seen in Alzheimer's patients, according to a study to be published in the journal Nature Neuroscience and posted online today.

20 Jan 2014

Researcher finds possible way to unravel misfolded proteins by reprogramming yeast protein

At the heart of brain diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease is protein misfolding, in which distorted proteins are unable to perform their normal functions. At present, there is no known way to reverse protein misfolding.

17 Jan 2014

Hope in sight for sufferers of chronic renal disease

Miss M. spends around 15 hours a week in hospital. Her renal functions are limited, and her kidneys are no longer able to filter toxins from her blood. She is a dialysis patient, forced to rely on this artificial blood purification treatment that, although essential, greatly impairs her quality of life. She has to make three trips a week to the dialysis clinic and going away for longer than a few days is almost out of the question. And Miss M. is no exception: In Germany alone, over six million people suffer from some form of chronic renal disease.

17 Jan 2014

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and herpesvirus saimiri: an interview with Elazar Rabbani, Chief Executive Officer of Enzo

Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where fibrotic or scarred tissue progressively develops in the lungs. In some cases the particular cause is known but in others it remains unknown and is given the term “idiopathic”.

14 Jan 2014

MRI method to map creatine in heart may help detect disorders earlier than traditional methods

A new MRI method to map creatine at higher resolutions in the heart may help clinicians and scientists find abnormalities and disorders earlier than traditional diagnostic methods, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania suggest in a new study published online today in Nature Medicine.

13 Jan 2014

University of Washington develops new device to move kidney stones inside body

Almost one in 10 people will someday experience a kidney stone, which creates what is described as the most intense pain imaginable. This increasingly common condition leads to hundreds of thousands of surgeries in the United States each year.

13 Jan 2014

Immune tolerance to grafts of muscle, bone and skin could free recipients from lifelong immunosuppression

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have made an important step towards greater availability of hand transplants, face transplants and other transplants involving multiple types of tissue.

9 Jan 2014

Nociceptin in brain naturally moderates effects of stress

Collaborating scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Camerino in Italy have published new findings on a system in the brain that naturally moderates the effects of stress.

8 Jan 2014

Researchers develop new vaccine that protects against lethal pneumonia caused by staph bacteria

University of Iowa researchers have developed a new vaccine that protects against lethal pneumonia caused by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria, including drug-resistant strains like MRSA.

23 Dec 2013

PAZ extracts may be useful option for improving plasma cholesterol profile

Health Enhancement Products, Inc., in conjunction with Wayne State University's Department of Nutrition and Food Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, announces the publication of a scientific article in the Journal of Nutrition & Metabolism, "ProAlgaZyme sub-fraction improves the lipoprotein profile of hypercholesterolemic hamsters, while inhibiting production of betaine, carnitine, and choline metabolites."

22 Dec 2013