Mouse Model News and Research

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Could statins treat muscular dystrophy? An interview with Dr. Nick Whitehead and Dr Stan Froehner

In addition to their well established cholesterol lowering benefits, statins also have potent anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and antioxidant effects, which continue to be identified in a wide range of diseases.

30 Nov 2015

Research reveals MECP2 Duplication Syndrome can be reversed

The methyl CpG binding protein 2 gene (MECP2) produces a protein of the same name, the level of which is critical for normal brain function. Mutations leading to protein under-expression cause Rett Syndrome while gene duplication causing over-expression lead to MECP2 Duplication Syndrome. Both disorders are severely debilitating childhood neurological diseases.

26 Nov 2015

UF Health researcher finds simple way to treat immune-related disorder in mice

A University of Florida Health researcher has found a simple, rapid way to treat an immune-related disorder in mice, an approach that could eventually help multiple sclerosis patients after further research.

25 Nov 2015

Crucial tumor-suppressing gene protects immune attack against lung cancer

A crucial tumor-thwarting gene protects an immune attack against lung cancer by blocking the key to an off switch on T cells, the customized warriors of the immune system, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

21 Nov 2015

Research shows how scientists altered stem cells, triggered bone growth

Imagine you have a bone fracture or a hip replacement, and you need bone to form, but you heal slowly - a common fact of life for older people. Instead of forming bone, you could form fat. Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have found a way to tip the scale in favor of bone formation. They used cytochalasin D, a naturally occurring substance found in mold, as a proxy to alter gene expression in the nuclei of mesenchymal stem cells to force them to become osteoblasts (bone cells).

17 Nov 2015

Drug prevents onset of cognitive and cellular effects in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

In a novel animal study design that mimicked human clinical trials, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that long-term treatment using a small molecule drug that reduces activity of the brain's stress circuitry significantly reduces Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology and prevents onset of cognitive impairment in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition.

17 Nov 2015

Experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer's disease has anti-aging effects

Salk Institute researchers have found that an experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer's disease has a host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals.

13 Nov 2015

Berkeley Lab scientists identify genetic factors that influence neurological disorders and body weight

Many neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, are marked by impaired motor skills. In addition, growing evidence suggests there's a link between some neurodegenerative diseases and body weight. A recent NIH study, for example, found that adults who are obese or overweight at midlife may be at risk for earlier onset of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Nov 2015

FEC recognizes Rachel S. Weinerman for receiving 2015 Scientific Program Prize Paper Award

The Foundation for Embryonic Competence is pleased to recognize Dr. Rachel S. Weinerman, a clinical assistant professor, reproductive endocrinology and infertility at University Hospitals Case Medical in Cleveland, for receiving the 2015 Scientific Program Prize Paper Award at the 71st Annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Baltimore, Maryland on October 21, 2015.

12 Nov 2015

New findings reveal association between colorectal cancer and melanoma drug treatment

Veteran cancer reseacher Prof. Emeritus Alexander Levitzki of Hebrew University of Jerusalem says new findings show link between colorectal cancer and melanoma drug treatment knoqwn as "NT157" in two recently published studies in journal, "Ocogene."

10 Nov 2015

Two studies explore potential new blood tests for Alzheimer's disease

There is increasing evidence that the brain changes of Alzheimer's disease begin decades before memory and thinking problems occur, prompting the need for better methods of early detection for this progressive, fatal brain disease. Consequently, there is a growing school of thought that the most effective future Alzheimer's drug therapies will be administered to those who are at high risk of the disease before cognitive symptoms appear.

10 Nov 2015

New funding for Centenary's life saving research

The Centenary Institute has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of funding for 9 new and innovative medical research projects via the latest round of NHMRC grant rounds funding, officially confirmed today.

9 Nov 2015

Combatting viral and bacterial lung infections with volatile anesthetics: an interview with Dr Chakravarthy

Inhaled anesthetics are fairly common all over the world for minor and extensive surgical procedures in patients of all age groups. In the olden days when anesthesia was first developed, ether was the first inhaled anesthetic. That has been replaced, with the more recent discoveries of sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane.

9 Nov 2015

Genetic reduction of AMPK enzyme can prevent or delay hearing loss

A mitochondrial defect is responsible for a type of human hereditary deafness that worsens over time and can lead to profound hearing loss.

6 Nov 2015

Sanford Research scientists develop animal model to study neurodegenerative disease

Sanford Research scientists have developed a pig model for a neurodegenerative disease that could help better treat the disorder and other physiological conditions. The findings of the project are published in Human Molecular Genetics.

4 Nov 2015

Secret tunnels used by cancer cells can be exploited to deliver drug therapies, suggests new study

A new discovery published in the Nov. 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal shows that cancer cells use previously unknown channels to communicate with one another and with adjacent non-cancerous cells.

3 Nov 2015

Specialized type of immunotherapy can boost survival from pancreatic cancer

A new study in mice by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a specialized type of immunotherapy — even when used without chemotherapy or radiation — can boost survival from pancreatic cancer, a nearly almost-lethal disease, by more than 75 percent. The findings are so promising, human clinical trials are planned within the next year.

30 Oct 2015

UAB researcher awarded NIH grant to study pathogenesis of thrombotic microangiopathy

University of Alabama at Birmingham researcher X. Long Zheng, M.D., Ph.D., has received a five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to study the pathogenesis of thrombotic microangiopathy, or TMA. In simple terms, this means looking for factors that cause or aid the onset of extensive microscopic clots in small blood vessels throughout the body. Though tiny, these spots can damage kidneys, heart and brain, and they can cause death.

29 Oct 2015

Hiroshima University researchers report promising new avenue for treating hepatitis B

A promising new avenue for treating hepatitis B has been reported by researchers at Hiroshima University who have developed a new animal model of the disease.

28 Oct 2015

MGH researchers identify mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have discovered a mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles - one of the two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease - through the brains of affected individuals.

27 Oct 2015