Mitochondria News and Research

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Obesity bottlenecks cellular power plant

The machinery responsible for energy production in fat cells is working poorly as a result of obesity.

13 Mar 2008

New discovery on programmed cell death

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered a dance of proteins that protects certain cells from undergoing apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Understanding the fine points of apoptosis is important to researchers seeking ways to control this process.

1 Mar 2008

Diabetes is rapidly increasing globally, and Asian Indians have the highest prevalence

The incidence of type 2 diabetes is rising, especially in urbanized parts of the world where sedentary lifestyles and obesity abound.

1 Mar 2008

Potential novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke

A new compound that blocks an early step in cell death could lead to a novel class of drugs for treating heart attacks and stroke.

28 Feb 2008

New chemical tool kit manipulates mitochondria, reveals insights into drug toxicity

Why do nearly 1 million people taking cholesterol-lowering statins often experience muscle cramps? Why is it that in the rare case when a diabetic takes medication for intestinal worms, his glucose levels improve? Is there any scientific basis for the purported health effects of green tea?

26 Feb 2008

Discovery of gene expression pathway that influences process of oxidative stress

The same chemical reaction that causes iron to rust plays a similarly corrosive role in our bodies.

21 Feb 2008

Lithium slows ALS progression

Daily doses of lithium, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder, have been found to delay progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in an Italian study of 44 people with the disease.

4 Feb 2008

British scientists given go-ahead for human-animal embryo research

Scientists in Britain have been given the go-ahead to create human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

20 Jan 2008

Depletion of antioxidant glutathione linked to Parkinson's in mice

Scientists at the Buck Institute have shown that mice suffering from a depletion of the antioxidant glutathione in dopamine-producing neurons developed nerve damage and symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) in humans.

20 Dec 2007

Agent orange chemical, dioxin, attacks the mitochondria to cause cancer

Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the process by which the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks the cellular machinery, disrupts normal cellular function and ultimately promotes tumor progression.

18 Dec 2007

Sunitinib may be associated with cardiac toxicity

Another FDA-approved targeted cancer drug, sunitinib (SutentTM, Pfizer), may be associated with cardiac toxicity, report researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston), and Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia).

17 Dec 2007

Can fruit flies help treat stroke and transplant patients?

Reperfusion injury takes place when an animal or an organ is starved of oxygen, then exposed to oxygen again.

5 Dec 2007

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals unveils promising, novel SIRT1 activators for treating diseases of aging

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals has announced that findings in the journal Nature demonstrate that Sirtris has developed novel drug candidates that offer a promising, new approach to treating diseases of aging, including Type 2 Diabetes, by targeting SIRT1, a gene that controls the aging process.

29 Nov 2007

New genetic findings on malaria parasite

The malaria parasite has been studied for decades, but surprisingly, little is known about how it behaves in humans to cause disease.

29 Nov 2007

New drug may restore memory with Alzheimer's disease

A 2006 study by MetLife found that adults over age 55 fear Alzheimer's disease more than cancer, and with good reason. Alzheimer's creeps up on patients and their families, robbing more than half of all Americans over age 85 of their memory and ability to care for themselves.

14 Nov 2007

Case Western Reserve researchers breed a "Lance Armstrong" mouse

Case Western Reserve University researchers have bred a line of "mighty mice" (PEPCK-Cmus mice) that have the capability of running five to six kilometers at a speed of 20 meters per minute on a treadmill for up to six hours before stopping.

2 Nov 2007

Cellular power plant fault explains abnormal metabolism of tumours

The increased consumption of glucose that tumour cells exhibit, was thought to be a cause of the extra demand of building blocks required to keep up with an uncontrolled cell growth, but now it is more accepted that it could be the effect of a programmed metabolic change that favours this malignant growth.

23 Oct 2007