Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) News and Research

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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

Some people experience worse cholesterol levels during colder months

Cholesterol levels fluctuate based on the time of year with more unfavorable lipid profiles seen in the colder months, a trend that may be driven by related behavior changes, according to research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session.

28 Mar 2014

Researchers decode effects of antimicrobial peptide on bacterial cells

The team of Julia Bandow, who heads the RUB's Junior Research Group Microbial Antibiotic Research, has been studying the MP196 peptide as a representative of a group of very small positively charged peptides that consist of some four to ten amino acids.

27 Mar 2014

New probes help to quantify normally folded and misfolded conformations of protein in cells

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have invented small-molecule folding probes that enable them to quantify functional, normally folded and disease-associated misfolded conformations (shapes) of a protein-of-interest in cells under different conditions.

5 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

Forest Laboratories plans to discontinue sale of NAMENDA 5 mg and 10 mg tablets

Forest Laboratories, Inc., a leading, fully integrated, specialty pharmaceutical company largely focused on the United States market, today announced that it plans to discontinue the sale of NAMENDA (memantine HCl) 5 mg and 10 mg tablets effective August 15, 2014.

16 Feb 2014

Jazz Pharmaceuticals' Versacloz now commercially available in the U.S. for schizophrenia

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc today announced U.S. commercial availability of Versacloz (clozapine, USP) oral suspension, the first and only oral suspension clozapine for severely ill treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients or those at risk of recurrent suicidal behavior with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers explore treatment targets for hypobaric hypoxia brain injury

Hypobaric hypoxia can cause severe brain damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, and is involved in hypoxic brain injury. Dr. Jianyu Li and colleagues from Logistics College of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces evaluated the degree of brain damage with different exposure times to hypoxia and further investigate the differential expression of cerebral mitochondrial proteins by comparative proteomic analysis, in a broader attempt to search for treatment targets of hypobaric hypoxia brain injury.

6 Jan 2014

Protein responsible for excretion of copper in body cells utilizes unique transport mechanism

We are fundamentally dependent on the presence of copper in the cells of the body. Copper is actually part of the body's energy conversion and protective mechanisms against oxygen radicals, as well as part of the immune system, and it also has great importance for the formation of e.g. hormones and neurotransmitters.

28 Dec 2013

Researchers discover new way to make chemotherapy treatment effective for pancreatic cancer patients

Scientists from The University of Manchester - part of Manchester Cancer Research Centre believe they have discovered a new way to make chemotherapy treatment more effective for pancreatic cancer patients.

From The University of Manchester 21 Dec 2013

Aerobic glycolysis is a cause of malignancy, show Berkeley Lab researchers

Metabolism was lost in the shadows of cancer research for decades but has recently been reclaiming some of the spotlight. Now, Mina Bissell, Distinguished Scientist with Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division and a leading authority on breast cancer, has shown that aerobic glycolysis - glucose metabolism in the presence of oxygen - is not the consequence of the cancerous activity of malignant cells but is itself a cancerous event.

18 Dec 2013

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

New approach for combating seasonal flu

Reducing glucose metabolism dials down influenza viral infection in laboratory cell cultures, providing an entirely new approach for combating seasonal flu, according to research that will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting in New Orleans.

15 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

Shifts in zinc's location could be exploited for early diagnosis of prostate cancer

Zinc, an essential nutrient, is found in every tissue in the body. The vast majority of the metal ion is tightly bound to proteins, helping them to perform biological reactions. Tiny amounts of zinc, however, are only loosely bound, or "mobile," and thought to be critical for proper function in organs such as the brain, pancreas, and prostate gland. Yet the exact roles the ion plays in biological systems are unknown.

9 Dec 2013

TSRI scientists discover natural mechanism that cells use to protect mitochondria

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered a natural mechanism that cells use to protect mitochondria, the tiny but essential "power plants" that provide chemical energy for cells throughout the body. Damage to mitochondria is thought to be a significant factor in common neurodegenerative disorders, cancer and even the aging process. The TSRI researchers' discovery could lead to new methods for protecting mitochondria from such damage, thereby improving human health.

4 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

Copper intake via food and water can accelerate growth of tumors

Copper imbalances have been associated with a number of pathological conditions, including cancer. Publishing in PNAS scientists at EPFL have found that copper in drinking water - given at the maximum levels permitted in public water supplies - accelerated the growth of tumors in mice. On the other hand, reducing copper levels reduced tumor growth.

15 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

Nutranomics provides update on GenEpic prostate cancer human clinical study

Nutranomics, Inc. is pleased to provide this update regarding the GenEpic prostate cancer human clinical study that is currently underway. Nutranomics has previously announced a non-binding Letter of Intent with Genesar Nutraceuticals, LLC with the intent of completing a licencing agreement to market and distribute GenEpic globally.

11 Nov 2013