Animal Model News and Research

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Study reveals that K-Ras gene mutations behave in ways that subvert normal mechanisms of cell death

Cells with a mutation in the gene called K-Ras—found in close to 30 percent of all cancers, but mostly those with worst prognosis, such as pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer—behave in ways that subvert the normal mechanisms of cell death, according to a cell-culture study by researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

20 Dec 2013

Immunologists discover risk factor responsible for infectious mononucleosis in young people

More than 90 percent of all adults are carriers of the oncogenic Epstein-Barr Virus. Primary infection with this herpes virus as a young child is generally not linked to any symptoms, and usually offers life-long protection from its cancer-causing effect. However, for people who do not become infected with the virus until adolescence, the infection often leads to infectious mononucleosis (commonly known as glandular fever). Our immune systems can generally fend off this disease after a period of between one and several months. However, there is an increased risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma at a later stage, a cancerous tumor of the lymphatic system.

20 Dec 2013

Researchers develop potential treatment for atherosclerosis

Researchers at Emory and Georgia Tech have developed a potential treatment for atherosclerosis that targets a master controller of the process.

18 Dec 2013

Research findings point to possible new strategy for treating ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating illness that gradually robs sufferers of muscle strength and eventually causes a lethal, full-body paralysis. The only drug available to treat the disease extends life spans by a meager three months on average.

17 Dec 2013

Eleven researchers receives 2014 DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics

The Genetics Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce the selection of eleven early career researchers - five graduate students and six postdoctoral researchers - as recipients of a spring 2014 DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics.

15 Dec 2013

New Journal presents techniques for finding new uses for approved drugs

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is pleased to announce Drug Repurposing, Rescue, and Repositioning, a dynamic new peer-reviewed journal that will present techniques and tools for finding new uses for approved drugs—particularly for disorders where no animal model, physiologic abnormality, biochemical pathway, or molecular target has been identified.

12 Dec 2013

Dietary amino acids improve sleep disturbances caused by brain injuries in animals

Scientists who fed a cocktail of key amino acids to mice improved sleep disturbances caused by brain injuries in the animals. These new findings suggest a potential dietary treatment for millions of people affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI)—a condition that is currently untreatable.

12 Dec 2013

Researchers identify mechanism implicated in brain cancer and drug that decreases brain tumor growth

Researchers at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) have made a discovery that could lead to better treatment for patients suffering from brain cancer.

9 Dec 2013

Manipulation of Wnt/B-catenin pathway provides therapeutic targets for hair loss, skin cancer

A pathway known for its role in regulating adult stem cells has been shown to be important for hair follicle proliferation, but contrary to previous studies, is not required within hair follicle stem cells for their survival, according to researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

5 Dec 2013

New injectable therapy could help treat rotator cuff injuries

For a baseball pitcher, a rotator cuff injury often means an extended stay on the disabled list for surgery and rehabilitation of the damaged tendons. But a new technology under development may stop this shoulder injury from becoming so severe that surgery is required.

28 Nov 2013

Inhibitor compounds could form basis of new treatments for such diseases as MRSA, anthrax

Inhibitor compounds developed by UC Irvine structural biologists and Northwestern University chemists have been shown to bolster the ability of antibiotics to treat deadly bacterial diseases such as MRSA and anthrax.

27 Nov 2013

Cedars-Sinai study presents new insights into mechanisms underlying the symptoms of autism

In what are believed to be the first studies of their kind, Cedars-Sinai researchers recording the real-time firing of individual nerve cells in the brain found that a specific type of neuron in a structure called the amygdala performed differently in people who suffer from autism spectrum disorder than in those who do not.

21 Nov 2013

Using radiation models to improve cancer therapies: an interview with Adrian Treverton, COO of Xstrahl and Jean-Pierre Wery, President of Crown Bioscience

What we are trying to do is take a cancer model like the PDX model (patient-derived tumor xenograft), which is a human-derived cancer growing in an in vivo model and apply radiation to that model.

From Xstrahl 20 Nov 2013

Enhancing the NMDA glutamate receptor causes antidepressant-like effects

Thirteen years ago, an article in this journal first reported that the anesthetic medication, ketamine, showed evidence of producing rapid antidepressant effects in depressed patients who had not responded to prior treatments. Ketamine works by blocking one of the targets for the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor.

20 Nov 2013

Curie-Cancer inks partnership agreements with Meiogenix to develop SpiX technology

Curie-Cancer, the body responsible for developing Institut Curie's industry partnership activity, today announces two three-year partnership agreements with Meiogenix, a French SME. Meiogenix develops SpiX technology under license from Institut Curie and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique.

19 Nov 2013

Extract from bitter melon may have therapeutic qualities to treat head and neck cancer

Extract taken from an Asian vegetable may have therapeutic qualities to treat head and neck cancer, a Saint Louis University researcher has found.

19 Nov 2013

Extracts made from herbs may improve learning and memory, study finds

Enhanced extracts made from special antioxidants in spearmint and rosemary improve learning and memory, a study in an animal model at Saint Louis University found.

15 Nov 2013

Early detection of breast cancer could soon be possible with blood test

What could someday be the first blood test for the early detection of breast cancer was shown in preliminary studies to successfully identify the presence of breast cancer cells from serum biomarkers, say the Houston Methodist Research Institute scientists who are developing the technology.

15 Nov 2013

'Quitting cold turkey' can lead to mental decline, shows study

Can quitting drugs without treatment trigger a decline in mental health? That appears to be the case in an animal model of morphine addiction. Georgetown University Medical Center researchers say their observations suggest that managing morphine withdrawal could promote a healthier mental state in people.

13 Nov 2013

European Medicines Agency awards orphan drug designation to NanoViricides' DengueCide

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that the European Medicines Agency, has awarded orphan drug designation to DengueCide, the Company's drug candidate for the treatment of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever.

11 Nov 2013