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Restrictions to opioid prescription block their use for safe, effective pain relief

Opioids are very effective for treating some types of pain, such as cancer pain and postoperative pain, but not for other kinds of pain like chronic low back pain. An increase in the number of opioid-related deaths among addicts has led to the current movement to restrict opioid prescribing by state and federal authorities.

25 Mar 2016

Defective PTCHD1 gene in brain creates symptoms associated with autism and ADHD

Evidence is mounting that a gene called PTCHD1 helps the brain sort between important sights and sounds — and distractions. This gene is active in a brain region that attaches more attention to a conversation with your boss, for instance, than to an air conditioner buzzing in the background.

24 Mar 2016

Cell biologists identify new way for curing cancer and vessel diseases

Cell biologists from the Lomonosov Moscow State University discovered a new way of regulating of cell motility -- this discovery will make possible development of new drugs for curing onco- and vessel diseases.

22 Mar 2016

Scientists discover neural pathway that induces forgetting by actively erasing memories

They say that once you've learned to ride a bicycle, you never forget how to do it. But new research suggests that while learning, the brain is actively trying to forget. The study, by scientists at EMBL and University Pablo Olavide in Sevilla, Spain, is published today in Nature Communications

21 Mar 2016

EPFL scientists develop cutting-edge treatment for Alzheimer's disease

In a cutting-edge treatment for Alzheimer's disease, EPFL scientists have developed an implantable capsule that can turn the patient's immune system against the disease.

18 Mar 2016

Could prebiotics benefit early life brain development? An interview with Dr Phil Burnet

Galacto-oligosaccharides are essentially sugar or saccharide molecules that have been joined together into short polymer chains.

16 Mar 2016

Experimental drug improves survival rate of majority of lung cancer patients compared to standard chemotherapy

In global clinical trials, patients with advanced metastatic lung cancer who were treated with a targeted immunotherapy drug lived significantly longer and with fewer side effects than those who received standard second-line chemotherapy, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published today in the journal The Lancet.

15 Mar 2016

Researchers identify potential drug target in skin for itchy feeling

No matter the trigger -- bug bites, a medication side-effect or an itchy wound -- the urge to scratch can be a real pain. Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center have identified a potential drug target in the skin for that itchy feeling.

14 Mar 2016

Promoting breastfeeding as 'natural' way could result in harmful decision-making, experts warn

Breastfeeding campaigns that extol breastfeeding as the "natural" way to feed infants could result in harmful decision-making by some parents on other important health matters, according to experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

14 Mar 2016

Overprescribing of opioids leads to serious public health problems

Overprescribing of opioids and opioid addiction are serious and growing public health problems in the U.S., and are the focus of a new report by an expert panel, entitled The American Opioid Epidemic: Population Health Implications and Potential Solutions," from the National Stakeholder Panel, Jefferson College of Population Health, which is published in a special supplement to Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The supplement is available open access on the Population Health Managementwebsite

10 Mar 2016

Genetically engineered mexican lime contains anthocyanins that has several potential benefits

Anthocyanins, pigments that give plants their red, blue, or purple hues, are not typically produced in citrus fruits grown under tropical or subtropical conditions. Now, scientists have genetically engineered a lime that contains anthocyanins, which they say has several potential benefits.

9 Mar 2016

Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute awards grants for 10 bladder cancer research projects

A study of obesity and related metabolic changes on bladder cancer incidence and deaths, and a plan to use stem cells to grow novel urinary tubes are among 10 research projects awarded funding by the Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute.

7 Mar 2016

IDT continues to support International Genetically Engineered Machine competition

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), the global leader in nucleic acid synthesis, announces its 2016 Platinum Level sponsorship of the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition.

4 Mar 2016

U-M researchers develop novel mouse model of children's brain cancer

Children with brain cancer may soon get some help from mice with the same disease, thanks to new research from University of Michigan Medical School scientists and their colleagues.

3 Mar 2016

Japanese bioengineers tweak E. coli genes to pump out morphine precursor

A common gut microbe could soon be offering us pain relief. Japanese bioengineers have tweaked Escherichia coli genes so that they pump out thebaine, a morphine precursor that can be modified to make painkillers. The genetically modified E. coli produces 300 times more thebaine with minimal risk of unregulated use compared to a recently developed method involving yeast.

26 Feb 2016

Medical community has unique role to play in determining future use of mitochondrial replacement techniques

There is a unique role for the United States medical community to play in determining the future application of, and ethically acceptable approach to, mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs), according to a commentary published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

26 Feb 2016

New study allows researchers to see how insulin in islets responds to sugar

"Scientists and doctors have wanted to know how much insulin a person has in their body, but haven't been able to know the exact amount without the patient being deceased and actually removing the pancreas," says Peter Arvan, division chief of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes at the University of Michigan.

25 Feb 2016

Researchers launch clinical trials to test novel cellular-immunotherapy to treat three types of blood cancer

Cancer immunology is based upon boosting the body's own immune system to vanquish malignancies. It is among the fastest growing areas of oncology research. Researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center have launched three clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of a novel cellular-immunotherapy that uses modified T cells - one of the immune system's primary weapons - to treat three different types of blood cancer that often defy existing therapies.

24 Feb 2016

Immune cells may play greater role in Alzheimer's disease than originally thought

Immune cells that normally help us fight off bacterial and viral infections may play a far greater role in Alzheimer's disease than originally thought, according to University of California, Irvine neurobiologists with the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center and the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders.

24 Feb 2016

UCSF study finds specific molecular-genetic mechanism that links sleep and seasonal depression

A newly discovered human gene mutation appears to contribute both to unusual sleep patterns and to heightened rates of seasonal depression, according to new research from UC San Francisco.

23 Feb 2016