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Gene therapy shows promise for severe coronary artery disease

Diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, a group of patients too ill for or not responding to other treatment options decided to take part in a clinical trial testing angiogenic gene therapy to help rebuild their damaged blood vessels.

21 Dec 2012

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

Research led by Paola Leone, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine (UMDNJ-SOM), demonstrates the long term safety and benefit of a virus-based gene therapy that has been applied for the first time in a clinical setting.

21 Dec 2012

New low-cost combined therapy shows promise against malaria

Malaria brings misery and death to millions in the developing world each year, and fighting it keeps medical researchers up at night because the mosquito-borne parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which causes the deadliest form of the disease, has developed resistance to every drug thrown at it. Resistance has cut short the useful life of nearly every therapy tried so far, experts say.

21 Dec 2012

Researcher looks at role of TIMP3 protein linked with aortic aneurysms in the abdomen

A researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute is looking closely at a molecule linked to aortic aneurysms in the abdomen, and her findings could lead to a treatment to reduce swelling of the aortic artery, which would be a life-saving treatment.

21 Dec 2012

NPR, Inter Press Service examine efforts to prevent drug-resistant malaria

As part of its continuing coverage of malaria, NPR's "Shots" blog features a story on counterfeit anti-malarial drugs, which "are among the most popular drugs to fake." According to the blog, "These faux pharmaceuticals are particularly dangerous because malaria can kill a person in a matter of days," and, if the drugs contain only a small amount of the real drug, they can contribute to the development of drug-resistant malaria parasites.

21 Dec 2012

Androgen deprivation therapies may have adverse effects in men with precancers

The use of androgen deprivation therapies to prevent precancerous prostate abnormalities developing into aggressive prostate cancer may have adverse effects in men with precancers with specific genetic alterations, according to data from a preclinical study recently published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

21 Dec 2012

Melanoma patients may benefit from microRNA-26a replacement therapy

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study in this month's edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology describes a new target and potential treatment for melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. MicroRNA can decide which genes in a cell's DNA are expressed and which stay silent. Melanoma tends to lack microRNA-26a, which makes the gene SODD go silent.

21 Dec 2012

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

Using mesenchymal stromal cells derived from adipose (fat) tissues, genetically modified to express a bioluminescent marker, researchers in Italy have tracked cells after transplantation. The cells were followed from their injection into the spleen of mice modeling liver disease, to their characterization as "hepatic precursors," and to their subsequent migration through the spleen before engrafting at regenerating sites in the liver by bioluminescent imaging.

21 Dec 2012

New work on Akt's role in cancer stem cell biology

The protein kinase Akt is a key regulator of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, survival, and death. New work on Akt's role in cancer stem cell biology from the lab of senior author Honglin Zhou, MD, PhD and Weihua Li, co-first author, both from the Center for Resuscitation Sciences, Department of Emergency Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Xiaowei Xu, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, appears in Molecular Cell.

21 Dec 2012

Study shows dramatic underuse of basic medical therapy

Patients who quit smoking and took an aspirin and statin before undergoing treatment for blocked leg arteries were less likely to suffer a complication six months later, according to new research led by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

21 Dec 2012

Two recent experimental treatments improve visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

Two recent experimental treatments - one involving skin-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell grafts, the other gene therapy - have been shown to produce long-term improvement in visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to the Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists who led the studies. At present, there is no cure for RP, the most common form of inherited blindness.

20 Dec 2012

Study identifies mechanisms responsible for regenerating blood vessels in the brain

New research from the University of Georgia identifies the mechanisms responsible for regenerating blood vessels in the brain.

20 Dec 2012

Study finds new signaling pathway involved in development of chronic inflammation of brain cells

The number of Alzheimer's patients will continue to dramatically increase in the next several decades. Various teams of researchers worldwide are feverishly investigating precisely how the illness develops. A

20 Dec 2012

Merck’s TREDAPTIVE clinical study on high-risk CVD patients does not meet primary endpoint

Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced that the HPS2-THRIVE (Heart Protection Study 2-Treatment of HDL to Reduce the Incidence of Vascular Events) study of TREDAPTIVE(extended-release niacin/laropiprant) did not meet its primary endpoint.

20 Dec 2012

Biotest receives FDA approval for BIVIGAM to treat primary humoral immunodeficiency

Biotest AG announced today that Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corporation received approval for BIVIGAM for the treatment of patients with Primary Humoral Immunodeficiency (PI) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

20 Dec 2012

Disparities in HIV care in Ontario

Researchers have found significant disparities in hospital admission rates for certain groups of individuals living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

20 Dec 2012

CBT boosts response in medication-resistant depression

Patients with depression who have not responded to pharmacologic treatment should be offered cognitive behavioral therapy, suggest the results of a randomized trial conducted in a primary care setting.

20 Dec 2012

Scientists uncover TDP-43 protein as possible target for treatment of ALS, FTD

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center say they have new evidence that challenges scientific dogma involving two fatal neurodegenerative diseases - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) - and, in the process, have uncovered a possible therapeutic target as a novel strategy to treat both disorders.

20 Dec 2012

Investigators report non-coding miRNAs as appealing biomarkers for cancer malignancy

As many as 50 percent of all human protein-coding genes are regulated by microRNA (miRNA) molecules. While some miRNAs impact onset and progression of cancer, others can actually suppress the development of malignant tumors and are useful in cancer therapy. They can also serve as potential biomarkers for early cancer detection. In a new issue of Cancer Biomarkers, investigators report on non-coding miRNAs as appealing biomarkers for malignancy.

20 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

Therapy News and Research

Gene therapy shows promise for severe coronary artery disease

Novel virus-based gene therapy holds promise for Canavan disease

New low-cost combined therapy shows promise against malaria

Researcher looks at role of TIMP3 protein linked with aortic aneurysms in the abdomen

NPR, Inter Press Service examine efforts to prevent drug-resistant malaria

Androgen deprivation therapies may have adverse effects in men with precancers

Melanoma patients may benefit from microRNA-26a replacement therapy

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

New work on Akt's role in cancer stem cell biology

Study shows dramatic underuse of basic medical therapy

Two recent experimental treatments improve visual function in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa

Study identifies mechanisms responsible for regenerating blood vessels in the brain

Study finds new signaling pathway involved in development of chronic inflammation of brain cells

Merck’s TREDAPTIVE clinical study on high-risk CVD patients does not meet primary endpoint

Biotest receives FDA approval for BIVIGAM to treat primary humoral immunodeficiency

Disparities in HIV care in Ontario

CBT boosts response in medication-resistant depression

Scientists uncover TDP-43 protein as possible target for treatment of ALS, FTD

Investigators report non-coding miRNAs as appealing biomarkers for cancer malignancy

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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