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Problem drinkers’ depression often related to heavy alcohol intake

For problem drinkers, bouts of depressive symptoms are often the direct result of their heavy alcohol intake, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

12 Feb 2013

Blood vessels play an important role in preventing spread of tumour cells

A lack of the protein endoglin in the blood vessels of tumour-bearing mice enables the spread of daughter tumours, according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden in a study published in the scientific periodical The Journal of Experimental Medicine. Given that the tumour vasculature constitutes an important barrier to the spread of cancer cells, the team suggests that drugs should be developed to strengthen the blood vessels' protective function.

12 Feb 2013

RNF20 protein required for MLL-rearranged leukemia amplification

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive blood cancer that is currently incurable in 70% of patients. In a bold effort, CSHL scientists are among those identifying and characterizing the molecular mechanisms responsible for this cancer in order to generate potential new therapeutics.

12 Feb 2013

Unilife revenues decrease to $0.7 million for three months ended December 31, 2012

Unilife Corporation, a developer and supplier of injectable drug delivery systems, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, (the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2013).

12 Feb 2013

Arrhythmia may confound heart failure treatment

Meta-analysis findings question whether beta-blocker treatment remains effective in patients who have heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction if they also have atrial fibrillation.

11 Feb 2013

Valproate, pregnancy and IQ: an interview with Professor Kimford Meador

Valproate (sodium salt of valproic acid) is an anticonvulsant used in the treatment of epilepsy, migraine and bipolar disorder as well as some other off label psychiatric indications.

11 Feb 2013

UPC develops new system for electroporation of cell cultures

Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia have developed a technique that improves and cuts the cost of a technique called electroporation, which involves opening pores in cell membranes using an electric field to introduce substances like drugs and DNA. Current methods are aggressive and expensive whereas the new system manages to apply low voltage electroporation with a small printed circuit board, which costs less than a Euro per unit and does not damage cells.

11 Feb 2013

FDA hears concerns on new narcotic pain pill rules

Survivors of those who died from opioid overdoses urge changes in the drugs' labels, but some patients express concerns that they might have trouble getting the drugs.

11 Feb 2013

Review describes long-term side-effects of molecularly targeted therapies in children with cancer

A University of Colorado Cancer Center review published this week in the journal Lancet Oncology describes possible long-term side-effects of new, targeted therapies in pediatric cancer patients: what we don't know may hurt us.

11 Feb 2013

Epithelium able to sense bladder fullness through activity of integrins

If you have an overactive bladder or incontinence, help could be on the way. A new research report published online in the FASEB Journal, shows that the epithelium, a thin layer of cells which line the surface of the bladder, is able to sense how full the bladder is through the action of a family of proteins called integrins.

11 Feb 2013

FDA issues draft guidance on developing new treatments for Alzheimer's

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposal designed to assist companies developing new treatments for patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, before the onset of noticeable (overt) dementia.

11 Feb 2013

sFRP3 protein appears to be target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy

Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy.

11 Feb 2013

Scientists demonstrate new approach for quickly assembling drug-like compounds

A team of scientists anchored at Yale University has demonstrated a new, highly versatile approach for quickly assembling drug-like compounds, establishing a broad new route to drug discovery and medical treatment.

11 Feb 2013

Sunitinib does not cause lingering risks for cancer patients after their treatment ends

Studies in animals have raised concerns that tumors may grow faster after the anticancer drug sunitinib is discontinued. But oncologists and physicists who collaborated to analyze data from the largest study of patients with kidney cancer convincingly demonstrate that such tumor acceleration does not occur in humans.

10 Feb 2013

Scientists discover natural trigger that enables stem cell development

A natural trigger that enables stem cells to become any cell-type in the body has been discovered by scientists.

10 Feb 2013

Infusions of regulatory T cells turn off autoimmune attack on joints

Farber Cancer Institute scientists have demonstrated a new strategy for treating autoimmune disease that successfully blocked the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model. They say it holds promise for improved treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune disorders in people.

10 Feb 2013

Sunitinib shows promise against metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Findings from clinical trial patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, a common kidney cancer, show they did not have accelerated tumor growth after treatment with sunitinib, in contrast to some study results in animals. Sunitinib is one of several drugs, either on the market or undergoing testing, that target blood vessel growth.

10 Feb 2013

WHO-sponsored meeting discusses post-2015 goals for tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) experts gathered in Geneva on Wednesday for a WHO-sponsored two-day meeting "to discuss a consensus on the appropriate post-2015 tuberculosis goals," Nature reports.

10 Feb 2013

Combination of two antibodies prevents growth and spread of triple-negative breast tumors

Cancer drugs of the new, molecular generation destroy malignant breast tumors in a targeted manner: They block characteristic molecules on tumor cells - receptors for the hormones estrogen or progesterone, or a co-receptor, called HER2, that binds to many growth factors. But about one in every six breast tumors has none of these receptors. Such cancers, called triple-negative, are particularly aggressive and notoriously difficult to treat.

10 Feb 2013

UIC receives $2.3M federal grant to study how young adults use new tobacco products

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy have received a $2.3 million federal grant to study how young adults use hookahs, snus, electronic cigarettes, and other new tobacco products.

10 Feb 2013