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Researchers prevent post-traumatic brain damage using experimental drug

In animal studies, researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center have shown how traumatic brain injury leads to loss of brain function - and found that an experimental drug can stop the damage and promote recovery.

18 May 2005

Nutrition gene key in regulating immune system

A gene that signals a yeast cell to make bread rise and mice to eat a better diet also helps selectively silence the immune system, researchers have found.

18 May 2005

Unrestrained retina too much of a good thing

When primitive nerve cells begin forming an eye in the mouse embryo, they are programmed to build a retina. But the ability to see depends upon connecting the retina to the brain via the optic nerve. Unless these embryonic cells are given the right cue at the right time, they mistakenly form a huge eye that consists entirely of retina and lacks the optic nerve.

18 May 2005

New discovery sparks hope of safer dosage of Warfarin

The blood-thinning drug Warfarin tops the list of drug side-effects in Sweden. Patient sensitivity to Warfarin varies, which can lead to over-dosage and in certain cases to death.

17 May 2005

Genetic factors appear to influence individual differences in language development among children

The study, which also found that environmental influences on children's language development were unique to the individual, not the shared environment, was published in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development.

17 May 2005

Deletion on chromosome 11q may guide decision to use chemotherapy for neuroblastoma

When genes are deleted on a particular section of chromosome 11, the result is an aggressive form of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. A new study suggests that detecting this genetic deletion during the initial evaluation of children with neuroblastoma may indicate to physicians that they should recommend a more aggressive regimen of chemotherapy to fight the cancer.

16 May 2005

Drugs that block the enzyme Odc prevent the onset of cancers

The drug DFMO prevents cancer in laboratory models of lymphoma but fails to kill existing cancerous cells that have lost the ability to self-destruct, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

16 May 2005

Scientists discover how excess body fat can lead to the onset of diabetes

One out of 12 people in the western world suffers from type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Worldwide, 150 million people are diabetic and their numbers are expected to double in the next 20 years, a result of the growing obesity epidemic. Yet, the reasons for the strong correlation between excess body fat and diabetes have been puzzling researchers.

16 May 2005

Combined MRI and mammography more effective at detecting breast cancer in high risk women

Annual screening, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray mammography, is the best way to detect breast cancer in women that have a high genetic risk of the disease, according to a study published online by The Lancet.

16 May 2005

More health benefits from green tea

Green tea appears to protect against cancer by affecting a "promiscuous" protein that pharmaceutical experts are already targeting in an effort to develop a new drug to stop the disease, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found.

16 May 2005

Disabling gene defuses rheumatoid arthritis in mice

Scientists studying mice have identified a gene that allows immune cells known as neutrophils to protect themselves from the inflammatory chemicals they secrete.

16 May 2005

Genetic biomarker that may improve quality of life during treatment for colorectal cancer

A Mayo Clinic-led study has revealed a genetic biomarker that can predict which patients are most likely to experience unwanted side effects from one of the most commonly used and highly effective chemotherapy regimens designed to treat colorectal cancer.

16 May 2005

Molecule found in liver cells could explain a lot about the relationship between diet, lipid levels in blood, and atherosclerosis

A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have made a discovery that a molecule found in liver cells is important in explaining the relationship between diet, lipid levels in blood, and atherosclerosis.

15 May 2005

Discovery of new genes involved in the development of cancer

Dutch researcher Sebastian Nijman has discovered new genes which are involved in the development of cancer. The results of his research have led to a new treatment for patients with an inherited form of cancer, cylindromatosis.

15 May 2005

Researchers to explore genome of disease-fighting fungus

A team of Texas Agricultural Experiment Station scientists will soon begin genome sequencing a disease-fighting fungus used to protect crops, which has implications for both agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry.

15 May 2005

Humans more prone to cancer than chimpanzees

Chimpanzees and humans share a common ancestor, and even today 99 percent of the two species' DNA is identical. But since the paths of man and chimp diverged 5 million years ago, that one percent of genetic difference appears to have changed humans in an unexpected way: It could have made people more prone to cancer.

15 May 2005

Researchers identify mechanism which increases lung inflammation, making Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) more severe

An international team of researchers has identified a mechanism which increases lung inflammation, making Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) more severe, and potentially points towards new treatments.

11 May 2005

Targeted Genetics announces new patent for Hyperlipidemia

Targeted Genetics Corporation announced today issuance of U.S. patent #6,887,463, entitled, "Methods and Compositions for Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Defects in Lipoprotein Metabolism."

11 May 2005

Healthy dose of fat is needed for a healthy metabolism

Just when we had all been convinced by information from just about every quarter, that fat was the bad guy of the diet kingdom, new research has found that a healthy dose of fat is needed for a healthy metabolism.

11 May 2005

Discovery of a fundamental new route into cells may lead to new methods of drug delivery

Researchers from The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), and the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis used electron microscopy to uncover new structures, 100,000th of a mm in size, which are involved in the very first step of particle and nutrient uptake into cells.

10 May 2005