Retinoic Acid News and Research

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Retinoic Acid is a nutrient that that body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy. All-trans retinoic acid is made in the body from vitamin A and helps cells to grow and develop, especially in the embryo. A form of all-trans retinoic acid made in the laboratory is put on the skin to treat conditions such as acne and is taken by mouth to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (a fast-growing cancer in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells in the blood and bone marrow). All-trans retinoic acid is being studied in the prevention and treatment of other types of cancer. Also called ATRA, retinoic acid, tretinoin, and vitamin A acid.

Two Chicago students develop novel treatment method for fetal alcohol syndrome

Two Chicago high school students have developed a novel treatment method to reduce the negative effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and a new understanding of genetics behind the disease.

19 Oct 2012

Study sheds light on why women gain fat following menopause

A high-fat diet triggers chemical reactions in female mice that could explain why women are more likely than men to gain fat in the abdomen after eating excess saturated fat, new research suggests. The study also sheds light on why women gain fat following menopause.

6 Sep 2012

Arsenic induces acute promyelocytic leukemia remission

Elderly patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia have a high rate of response to arsenic trioxide, say researchers who believe the drug should be a first-line treatment in this population.

5 Sep 2012

ALDH enzyme marks melanoma stem cells

Cancer stem cells are defined by three abilities: differentiation, self-renewal and their ability to seed a tumor. These stem cells resist chemotherapy and many researchers posit their role in relapse. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Stem Cells, shows that melanoma cells with these abilities are marked by the enzyme ALDH, and imagines new therapies to target high-ALDH cells, potentially weeding the body of these most dangerous cancer creators.

24 Aug 2012

MOZ protein could explain variations in severity of DiGeorge syndrome

The discovery of a 'switch' that modifies a gene known to be essential for normal heart development could explain variations in the severity of birth defects in children with DiGeorge syndrome.

24 Aug 2012

Angion Biomedica initiates BB3 Phase II trial in heart attack

Angion Biomedica Corp. announced today that the first patient was dosed in a Phase II multicenter clinical trial evaluating BB3 for the treatment of heart attack (acute myocardial infarction).

19 Jul 2012

CytRx achieves key milestone in advancing tamibarotene Phase 2b trial for NSCLC

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today announced the recommendation by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) to continue with the global Phase 2b clinical trial with tamibarotene in combination with chemotherapeutical agents as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

26 Jun 2012

Innovimmune receives $600,000 NIH grant to develop MIF inhibitors for RA

Specialty drug discovery company, Innovimmune Biotherapeutics, Inc. has been awarded a $600,000 Advanced Technology Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

14 Jun 2012

Researchers make white fat take on characteristics of brown fat

Brown seems to be the color of choice when it comes to the types of fat cells in our bodies. Brown fat expends energy, while its counterpart, white fat stores it. The danger in white fat cells, along with the increased risk for diabetes and heart disease it poses, seems especially linked to visceral fat. Visceral fat is the build-up of fat around the organs in the belly.

7 May 2012

Beta-carotene-derived molecules have opposite effect in the body

New research suggests that there could be health hazards associated with consuming excessive amounts of beta-carotene.

2 May 2012

BRG1 gene loss implies lack of response of cells to retinoic acid and steroids

Retinoic acid (vitamin A) and steroids are hormones found in our body that protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation and are involved in cellular differentiation processes. One of the characteristics of tumours is that their cells have lost the ability to differentiate; therefore these hormones have useful properties to prevent cancer. Currently, retinoic acid and steroids are being used to treat some types of leukaemia.

16 Mar 2012

Tranylcypromine shows promise against AML

A retinoid called all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), which is a vitamin A-derivative, is already used successfully to treat a rare sub-type of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), however this drug has not been effective for the more common types of AMLs.

12 Mar 2012

CytRx reports net loss of $0.6 million for third quarter 2011

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today reported financial results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2011, and provided a business update.

9 Nov 2011

UCLA professor to receive ATA's Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award

The American Thyroid Association's (ATA) Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award recognizes outstanding academic achievements in thyroidology. An honorarium is conferred each year at the ATA Annual Meeting to an established investigator who has made major contributions to thyroid-related research over many years.

28 Oct 2011

WTSI announces new technique to reprogramme human cells

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute today announce a new technique to reprogramme human cells, such as skin cells, into stem cells. Their process increases the efficiency of cell reprogramming by one hundred-fold and generates cells of a higher quality at a faster rate.

11 Oct 2011

Kineta's next generation antiviral program receives $2.8 million NIH SBIR grant

Kineta, Inc. announced today its next generation antiviral program has received a 2.8 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Awarded under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the prestigious phase two grant will provide on-going support for Kineta's work on a new class of antiviral drugs targeting an array of global, deadly viruses.

12 Aug 2011

Scientists show how RET gene in breast cancer cells responds to estrogen

Using human breast cancer cells and the protein that causes fireflies to glow, a Johns Hopkins team has shed light on why some breast cancer cells become resistant to the anticancer effects of the drug tamoxifen. The key is a discovery of two genetic "dimmer switches" that apparently control how a breast cancer gene responds to the female hormone estrogen.

28 Jul 2011

Non-steroidal, oral contraceptive for men

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are honing in on the development of what may be the first non-steroidal, oral contraceptive for men. Tests of low doses of a compound that interferes with retinoic acid receptors (RARs), whose ligands are metabolites of dietary vitamin A, showed that it caused sterility in male mice.

7 Jun 2011

MGH, Duke University and Angion Biomedica partner to develop novel therapeutics for ischemic stroke

Angion Biomedica Corp. announced today the establishment of an alliance with Duke University and Massachusetts General Hospital to pursue advanced development and clinical studies of its lead therapeutics for treatment of ischemic stroke.

10 May 2011

CytRx reports $6.3 million net loss for first quarter 2011

CytRx Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in oncology, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2011, and provided a business update.

5 May 2011