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SLU researchers examine health outcomes for obese transplant recipients

In a research review article published in the American Journal of Nephrology, Saint Louis University investigators examined data from multiple studies to better understand how obesity, an epidemic in the U.S., impacts kidney transplant patients.

16 Jan 2013

p53 activation suppresses malic enzyme expression and leads to senescence in pre-cancerous cells

It is perhaps impossible to overstate the importance of the tumor suppressor gene p53. It is the single most frequently mutated gene in human tumors. p53 keeps pre-cancerous cells in check by causing cells, among other things, to become senescent - aging at the cellular level. Loss of p53 causes cells to ignore the cellular signals that would normally make mutant or damaged cells die or stop growing.

16 Jan 2013

Over-expression of NEK2 in cancer cells significantly enhances drug resistance

Increased NEK2 gene expression linked to increased drug resistance, faster cancer growth, and poorer patient outcome - The finding may improved diagnostic and prognostic tools for cancer care and could lead to improved cancer therapies

16 Jan 2013

Researchers discover molecular blueprint behind the IFIT protein

Researchers at McGill University and the Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have discovered the molecular blueprint behind the IFIT protein.

15 Jan 2013

Aggressive breast cancer’s metastasis molecular switch identified

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered the molecular switch that allows aggressive triple negative breast cancer cells to grow the amoeba-like protrusions they need to crawl away from a primary tumor and metastasize throughout the body. Their findings, published in Cancer Cell, suggest a novel approach for developing agents to treat cancer once it has spread.

15 Jan 2013

Tailored asthma therapy on the horizon

UK researchers report that montelukast therapy is more effective than salmeterol in children with asthma who have a particular genotype – a finding that could pave the way for personalized asthma management.

15 Jan 2013

Dizziness does not hamper neck pain therapy

Neck pain patients with dizziness may suffer more pain and disability than their peers without dizziness, but they are no less likely to improve with chiropractic treatment, study findings indicate.

15 Jan 2013

NSAID–antihypertensive combinations may risk kidney damage

Physicians should be aware that treating patients with a combination of antihypertensives along with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may cause kidney damage, say researchers.

14 Jan 2013

Intermittent therapy may be answer to treating drug-resistant melanoma

Findings from a study carried out in mice suggest that an intermittent dosing strategy may be the answer to combating lethal tumor resistance to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib, in patients with late-stage BRAF-mutated melanoma.

14 Jan 2013

Daytime insomnia impact varies by subtype

Insomnia’s daytime impact appears to be greatest among those patients who have trouble both initiating and maintaining sleep, those with poor mental health, and those with childhood onset of the disorder, findings from the Great British Sleep Survey suggest.

14 Jan 2013

Off-label drug ineffective in frontotemporal dementia

A randomized, controlled trial has dashed hopes that memantine therapy could benefit patients with frontotemporal dementia.

14 Jan 2013

Greater selectivity in GI bleeding prophylaxis needed

Researchers have developed a risk-scoring system to identify noncritically ill hospital patients most likely to benefit from prophylactic acid-suppressive medication.

14 Jan 2013

Complications of suppurative otitis media characterized

Researchers emphasize the importance of an early and accurate diagnosis of chronic suppurative otitis media followed by surgical therapy to prevent complications.

14 Jan 2013

Bionic devices: an interview with Dr Rylie Green

Bionic devices are implants which replace biological functions which have been lost due to nerve damage. They use electrical signals to stimulate the remaining nerve cells following disease or injury. Although the term bionic was only coined in the late 1950s, the earliest bionic devices were cardiac pacemakers, developed in the early 1900s. However the first commercial implantable units were not available until the 1950s.

14 Jan 2013

BGI-Shenzhen, CHOP to collaborate on research into pediatric brain tumors

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and BGI-Shenzhen today announced a formal agreement to collaborate on research into next-generation sequencing and analysis of pediatric brain tumors, in support of the Childhood Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium (CBTTC).

11 Jan 2013

Cancer researchers solve mystery of how Chd5 protein exerts its beneficial effects

A team of cancer researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has solved the mystery of how one of the most powerful of the body's natural tumor-suppressing proteins, called Chd5, exerts its beneficial effects.

11 Jan 2013

Placing peanut protein under a patient's tongue helps dampen allergic reactions

Of all foods, peanuts are the most frequent cause of life-threatening and fatal allergic reactions. New research at National Jewish Health provides additional support for a strategy to reduce the severity of reactions to peanut- repeatedly consuming small amounts of the very food that causes those reactions in the first place, a practice called immunotherapy.

11 Jan 2013

Blocking TRIP-Br2 gene protects against obesity and insulin resistance

Scientists observed that blocking the expression of the gene TRIP-Br2 in mice protects them against obesity and insulin resistance. The study shows that the gene modulates fat storage by regulating energy expenditure and lipolysis, the process which transforms fat into lipids for the body's energy consumption.

11 Jan 2013

DESI technique identifies cancer type, grade and tumor margins in brain surgery patients

A new tool that could allow for faster, more comprehensive testing of brain tissue during surgery successfully identified the cancer type, grade and tumor margins in five brain surgery patients, according to a Purdue University and Brigham and Women's Hospital study.

11 Jan 2013