Animal Model News and Research

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Short stressful events may improve working memory

Experiencing chronic stress day after day can produce wear and tear on the body physically and mentally, and can have a detrimental effect on learning and emotion. However, acute stress -- a short stressful incident -- may enhance learning and memory.

23 Jul 2009

Scientists create new way to study brain function

Scientists at Duke University and the University of North Carolina have devised a chemical technique that promises to allow neuroscientists to discover the function of any population of neurons in an animal brain, and provide clues to treating and preventing brain disease.

15 Jul 2009

Research reveals major genetic differences between blood and tissue cells

Research by a group of Montreal scientists calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. Their results appear in the July issue of the journal Human Mutation.

15 Jul 2009

Novel drug discovery tool could bring new therapies for Parkinson’s

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have turned simple baker?s yeast into a virtual army of medicinal chemists capable of rapidly searching for drugs to treat Parkinson's disease.

13 Jul 2009

Thiarabine shows promise for rheumatoid arthritis

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today new preclinical data demonstrating that thiarabine shows remarkable efficacy in the prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

7 Jul 2009

Early detection of pancreatic cancer closer thanks to multifunctional nanoparticles

Pancreatic cancer has a devastatingly low survival rate (less than 5 percent after 5 years) because it is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. The initial symptoms, such as pain, jaundice, or weight loss, often do not allow the disease to be caught early enough for surgery and chemotherapy to be effective.

28 Jun 2009

Computer-guided nanoparticle therapy destroys tumors

Gold nanoshells are among the most promising new nanoscale therapeutics being developed to kill tumors, acting as antennas that turn light energy into heat that cooks cancer to death. Now, a multi-institutional research team has shown that polymer-coated gold nanorods one-up their spherical counterparts, with a single dose completely destroying all tumors in a nonhuman animal model of human cancer.

28 Jun 2009

Mouse model of Parkinson's reproduces non-motor symptoms

The classic symptoms of Parkinson's disease involve tremor, stiffness and slow movements. Over the last decade, neurologists have been paying greater attention to non-motor symptoms, such as digestive and sleep problems, loss of sense of smell and depression.

23 Jun 2009

Antisense Therapeutics trial of ATL1101 in prostate cancer shows promise

Antisense Therapeutics Ltd. (ASX: ANP) has reported further positive results from its collaborative preclinical research studies on the therapeutic potential of ATL1101 in prostate cancer. In experimental models, ATL1101 treatment significantly enhanced the tumor-suppressive effect of the cancer drug Paclitaxel. Paclitaxel is one of a class of drugs known as taxanes.

18 Jun 2009

Improved toxicology test method

Researchers at Oregon State University recently completed the largest animal study ever done in the field of toxicology, and the findings challenge some basic concepts about how to determine what level of a cancer-causing compound can be considered safe.

18 Jun 2009

Animal model for human gambling

UBC researchers have created the world's first animal laboratory experiment to successfully model human gambling. The advance will help scientists develop and test new treatments for gambling addictions, a devastating condition that affects millions worldwide.

17 Jun 2009

New insights into causes of multiple sclerosis

Over 100,000 people suffer from multiple sclerosis in Germany alone. Despite intensive research, the factors that trigger the disease and influence its progress remain unclear.

10 Jun 2009

Novel approach for treating cognitive impairments

Researchers have been seeking a safe and effective way to treat cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia by enhancing N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors. Functional deficits in NMDA receptors may contribute to the underlying neurobiology of this disorder.

9 Jun 2009

Cisplatin doubles lung cancer survival time in mice

A lung cancer treatment that inhibits nicotine receptors was shown to double survival time in mice, according to Italian researchers.

9 Jun 2009

Hydrogen peroxide marshals immune system

When you were a kid your mom poured it on your scraped finger to stave off infection. When you got older you might have even used it to bleach your hair. Now there's another possible function for this over-the-counter colorless liquid: your body might be using hydrogen peroxide as an envoy that marshals troops of healing cells to wounded tissue.

3 Jun 2009

Rapamycin epilepsy-prevention effect may be widely applicable

A drug with potential to prevent epilepsy caused by a genetic condition may also help prevent more common forms of epilepsy caused by brain injury, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

1 Jun 2009

Findings in epilepsy gene in animals may guide treatment directions for infants

Researchers studying a difficult-to-treat form of childhood epilepsy called infantile spasms have developed a line of mice that experiences seizures with features closely resembling those occurring in patients with infantile seizures. These genetically engineered mice provide a new opportunity for scientists to test treatments that may benefit children.

1 Jun 2009

Adult bone marrow stem cells injected into skeletal muscle can repair heart tissue

University at Buffalo researchers have demonstrated for the first time that injecting adult bone marrow stem cells into skeletal muscle can repair cardiac tissue, reversing heart failure.

28 May 2009

Diabetes drug pioglitazone shows potential against multiple sclerosis

A drug currently FDA-approved for use in diabetes shows some protective effects in the brains of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine report in a study currently available online in the Journal of Neuroimmunology.

26 May 2009

Relationship discovered between tumors and depression

In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers at the University of Chicago have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative mood changes.

18 May 2009