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CUMC researchers identify gene that appears to play major role in motor neuron degeneration in ALS

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have identified a gene, called matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), that appears to play a major role in motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The findings, made in mice, explain why most but not all motor neurons are affected by the disease and identify a potential therapeutic target for this still-incurable neurodegenerative disease. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Neuron.

23 Jan 2014

New study identifies correlation between cranberry juice consumption and healthy body composition

As the New Year kicks off and resolutions become reality, cranberry juice lovers can feel good knowing their favorite cranberry products are the perfect solution to a healthy 2014. A recent study published in Nutrients, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by MDPI, identified a correlation between cranberry juice consumption and healthy body composition. The study joins the list of mounting evidence highlighting the fruit's exceptional health benefits, giving consumers one more reason to feel good about enjoying the festive fruit every day, everywhere, every way.

23 Jan 2014

Research reveals new information about the genetic complexity underpinning schizophrenia

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai today announced the publication of two papers in the journal Nature that reveal new information about the genetic complexity underpinning schizophrenia. These collaborative studies represent the largest exome sequencing efforts to date to elucidate this mental illness, and together found that the disorder is likely caused by far more rare genetic mutations than previously suspected.

23 Jan 2014

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

A European consortium of epilepsy researchers has reported the discovery of a new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy. Using a novel combination of technologies, including trio exome sequencing of patient/parental DNA and genetic studies in the tiny larvae of zebrafish, the EuroEPINOMICS RES consortium found that mutations in the gene CHD2 are responsible for a subset of epilepsy patients with symptoms similar to Dravet syndrome - a severe form of childhood epilepsy that is in many patients resistant to currently available anti-epileptic drugs.

23 Jan 2014

Researchers identify five new genes associated with increased waist-to-hip ratio

Excess abdominal fat can be a precursor to diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. A person's measure of belly fat is reflected in the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference, and it is estimated that genetics account for about 30-60 percent of waist-to-hip ratio.

23 Jan 2014

Structural biologists advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in brain

Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and collaborators at Emory University have obtained important scientific results likely to advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in the brain.

23 Jan 2014

New injectable material delivers drug therapies and sensor technology to targeted areas in human body

A new injectable material designed to deliver drug therapies and sensor technology to targeted areas within the human body is being developed by a Texas A&M University biomedical engineer who says the system can lock its payload in place and control how it is released.

23 Jan 2014

Rice University scientists create new technique to widen bottleneck for pharmaceutical, other industries

Rice University scientists have created a way to fine tune a process critical to the pharmaceutical industry that could save a lot of time and money.

23 Jan 2014

Researchers find that 20% of women with ovarian cancer had inherited mutations in gene pathway

A new study conservatively estimates that one in five women with ovarian cancer has inherited genetic mutations that increase the risk of the disease, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

23 Jan 2014

ICR, Nuevolution and CRT partner to identify novel drug candidates for cancer treatment

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, Cancer Research Technology, London and Nuevolution A/S, Copenhagen have entered into a drug discovery collaboration to identify novel lead candidates for cancer treatment.

23 Jan 2014

Chinese and American researchers introduce new approach to gene therapy

Resistance of tumor cells toward multiple cytostatic drugs is a serious problem in cancer treatment. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a team of Chinese and American researchers has now introduced a new approach to gene therapy that could counter this problem: The gene that codes for resistance is “silenced” through the use of an ingenious nanocomplex.

22 Jan 2014

New oral drug appears to offer hope for fighting indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Slow-growing, or indolent, non-Hodgkin lymphomas are difficult to treat, with most patients relapsing repeatedly and the disease becoming increasingly resistant to therapy over time.

22 Jan 2014

Lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver leads to lower levels of liver FGF21

A new study led by Boston University School of Medicine demonstrates that the abnormal metabolism linked to obesity could be regulated in part by the interaction of two metabolic regulators, called the NAD-dependent deacetylase SIRT1 and fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Using experimental models, the researchers found that a lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver led to lower levels of a liver secreted protein FGF21, which resulted in an increased likelihood of developing fatty liver disease and obesity.

22 Jan 2014

Blood methylome offers clues to schizophrenia

Researchers show that a methylome-wide association study of the blood can provide a glimpse of past environmental insults that may contribute to the development of schizophrenia.

22 Jan 2014

High-protein diet increases chance of developing kidney stones, other renal diseases

High-protein diets, like the popular Dr. Dukan diet, increase the long-term risk of developing kidney disease and have a negative effect on renal urinary and morphological markers. What's more, they may promote serious pathologies like nephrolithiasis (calcium kidney stones) because they drastically reduce urinary citrate (an inhibitor of calcium salt crystallization) and urinary pH, and increase urinary calcium (to compensate for the metabolic acidity caused by excess protein).

22 Jan 2014

Scientists identify specific enzyme essential for brain development

Scientists from the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have identified a specific enzyme, histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), as essential for brain development. The findings published in Development are important to advance the development of new drugs to treat neurological diseases.

22 Jan 2014

Joint research program in SMA enters initial stage of clinical development

PTC Therapeutics, Inc., the SMA Foundation, and Roche, announced today that their joint research program in Spinal Muscular Atrophy has entered the first stage of clinical development aiming to assess safety and tolerability of an oral compound in healthy volunteers.

22 Jan 2014

UT Southwestern' faculty receives Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award for contributions to understanding of autophagy

Dr. Beth Levine, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Director of the Center for Autophagy Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has received the 2014 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

22 Jan 2014

Italian biochemist receives Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for the year 2014

The 2014 LOUIS-JEANTET PRIZE FOR MEDICINE is awarded to the Italian biochemist Elena Conti, Director of the Department of Structural Cell Biology at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich (Germany) and to Denis Le Bihan, the French medical doctor, physicist and Director of NeuroSpin, an institute at the French Nuclear and Renewable Energy Commission (CEA) at Saclay near Paris.

22 Jan 2014

Researchers demonstrate existence of an epigenetic lesion in hippocampus of Alzheimer patients

Alzheimer's disease can reach epidemic range in the coming decades, by the increasing average age of society. There are two key issues for Alzheimer's disease: there is currently no effective treatment and it has been described very few associated genetic changes (mutations) which reduces the number of targets for future therapies.

22 Jan 2014

Protein C News and Research

CUMC researchers identify gene that appears to play major role in motor neuron degeneration in ALS

New study identifies correlation between cranberry juice consumption and healthy body composition

Research reveals new information about the genetic complexity underpinning schizophrenia

Researchers discover new gene involved in severe childhood epilepsy

Researchers identify five new genes associated with increased waist-to-hip ratio

Structural biologists advance efforts to develop new drugs targeting NMDA receptors in brain

New injectable material delivers drug therapies and sensor technology to targeted areas in human body

Rice University scientists create new technique to widen bottleneck for pharmaceutical, other industries

Researchers find that 20% of women with ovarian cancer had inherited mutations in gene pathway

ICR, Nuevolution and CRT partner to identify novel drug candidates for cancer treatment

Chinese and American researchers introduce new approach to gene therapy

New oral drug appears to offer hope for fighting indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver leads to lower levels of liver FGF21

Blood methylome offers clues to schizophrenia

High-protein diet increases chance of developing kidney stones, other renal diseases

Scientists identify specific enzyme essential for brain development

Joint research program in SMA enters initial stage of clinical development

UT Southwestern' faculty receives Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award for contributions to understanding of autophagy

Italian biochemist receives Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine for the year 2014

Researchers demonstrate existence of an epigenetic lesion in hippocampus of Alzheimer patients

Event guide: 4th Extra-Hepatic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Delivery Summit eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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