Adenosine Triphosphate News and Research

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Commonly used osteoporosis medications may also prevent lung, breast and colon cancers

The most commonly used medications for osteoporosis worldwide, bisphosphonates, may also prevent certain kinds of lung, breast and colon cancers, according to two studies led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2 Dec 2014

New model explains how immune cells recognize, destroy bacteria

The innate immune system serves as the body's specialized armed forces division, comprised of a host of defense mechanisms used to battle bacterial infections. Among the system's warriors are white blood cells including the specialized macrophages, which maintain constant surveillance for foreign intruders or pathogens, functioning as the body's first line of defense, poised to attack at barrier sites including the skin, lungs and intestines.

11 Nov 2014

Cell transplantation treatment may benefit people with spinal cord injury

Two studies recently published in Cell Transplantation reveal that cell transplantation may be an effective treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI), a major cause of disability and paralysis with no current restorative therapies.

16 Oct 2014

Single dose restores normal cellular signaling in mouse model of autism

In a further test of a novel theory that suggests autism is the consequence of abnormal cell communication, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that an almost century-old drug approved for treating sleeping sickness also restores normal cellular signaling in a mouse model of autism, reversing symptoms of the neurological disorder in animals that were the human biological age equivalent of 30 years old.

18 Jun 2014

Researchers demonstrate potential of retinoic acid in preventing type 2 diabetes complications

At a time when obesity, type 2 diabetes, and their complications are a veritable epidemic worldwide, researchers at the University of Montreal and CHUM Research Centre (CRCHUM) recently demonstrated the potential of retinoic acid (RA), a derivative of Vitamin A, in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes and preventing their cardiovascular complications.

17 Jun 2014

Study explains biological processes of malignant cancer cells

Cancer cells may be known for their uncontrollable growth and spread, but they also differ from normal tissue in another manner: how they produce energy.

22 Apr 2014

Researchers identify mechanism that explains reason for persistence of hepatitis C virus

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a mechanism that explains why people with the hepatitis C virus get liver disease and why the virus is able to persist in the body for so long.

16 Apr 2014

Researchers find new drug target for mitochondrial dysfunction

Mitochondria, long known as "cellular power plants" for their generation of the key energy source adenosine triphosphate (ATP), are essential for proper cellular functions. Mitochondrial defects are often observed in a variety of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, and are the hallmarks of a number of genetic mitochondrial disorders whose manifestations range from muscle weakness to organ failure. Despite a fairly strong understanding of the pathology of such genetic mitochondrial disorders, efforts to treat them have been largely ineffective.

28 Mar 2014

Metabolic profiling of liver cells suggests new treatments for cirrhosis patients

In a new study that could help doctors extend the lives of patients awaiting liver transplants, a Rice University-led team of researchers examined the metabolic breakdown that takes place in liver cells during late-stage cirrhosis and found clues that suggest new treatments to delay liver failure.

5 Mar 2014

Researchers identify new method to predict outcomes in heart failure patients

Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified a new method to determine whether a patient's heart will fail, which in the future may help physicians better treat patients and tailor therapeutic interventions.

16 Dec 2013

Researchers find decreased energy metabolism in heart cells as significant independent risk factor

Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a new way to predict which heart failure patients are likely to see their condition get worse and which ones have a better prognosis. Their study is one of the first to show that energy metabolism within the heart, measured using a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging test, is a significant predictor of clinical outcomes, independent of a patient's symptoms or the strength of the heart's ability to pump blood, known as the ejection fraction.

11 Dec 2013

Scientists use RNAi technology to reveal genes responsible for treating Parkinson's disease

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have used RNA interference (RNAi) technology to reveal dozens of genes which may represent new therapeutic targets for treating Parkinson's disease. The findings also may be relevant to several diseases caused by damage to mitochondria, the biological power plants found in cells throughout the body.

24 Nov 2013

Novel approach confirms dysfunctional energy production in schizophrenia

A method of directly assessing creatine kinase in the brain provides “direct and compelling” evidence for abnormal bioenergetics in the brains of patients with schizophrenia, say the study authors.

12 Nov 2013

Genes in mitochondria shape each person's risk for heart disease and diabetes

Genes in mitochondria, the "powerhouses" that turn sugar into energy in human cells, shape each person's risk for heart disease and diabetes, according to a study published recently by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Biochemical Journal.

27 Sep 2013

PGI2 analogs, PDE5 inhibitors stimulate enhanced release of vasodilator ATP from human RBCs

Researchers at Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered a novel interaction between prostacyclin analogs and phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors, two groups of drugs used in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

21 Sep 2013

Transport protein actively extrudes chemicals from embryo of zebrafish

Fish possess a number of different mechanisms for protection against harmful substances in an aquatic environment. These include, for example, molecular transport systems, such as the so called ABC (ATP binding cassette) transporters, which prevent the penetration of toxic substances into cells. ABC transporters have been well investigated for mammals.

3 Sep 2013

Researchers find how brain cells communicate with each other in different voice tones

Brain cells talk to each other in a variety of tones. Sometimes they speak loudly but other times struggle to be heard. For many years scientists have asked why and how brain cells change tones so frequently. Today National Institutes of Health researchers showed that brief bursts of chemical energy coming from rapidly moving power plants, called mitochondria, may tune brain cell communication.

26 Jul 2013

Study shows activated blood platelets enable cancer cells to penetrate blood vessels

Malignant tumours often spread to remote areas of the body. In the majority of cases, metastases formation develops via the blood vascular system. The blood platelets thereby provide invaluable help to the tumour cells in penetrating new organs.

4 Jul 2013

3 out of 20 GI endoscopes used for screening harbor unacceptable levels of "bio dirt"

Three out of 20 flexible gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes used for screening were found to harbor unacceptable levels of "bio dirt" - cells and matter from a patient's body that could pose potential infection risk -- according to a study of endoscopes used at five hospitals across the U.S.

10 Jun 2013

Kinase inhibitors: an interview with Jan Hoflack, CSO of Oncodesign

Kinase inhibitors are molecules that block the activity of kinases. Kinases are a specific class of enzymes. They are extremely important in signal transduction processes in the human body meaning that they actually regulate most of the physiological processes that take place in the body.

7 May 2013