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HSCI researchers find surprising similarities between SMA and ALS

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers studying spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) have found what they term "surprising similarities" between this childhood disorder that attacks motor neurons and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

25 Sep 2015

Protein-coding gene identified as tumor suppressor for acute myeloid leukemia

A protein-coding gene called hnRNP K has been identified as a tumor suppressor for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a finding that could be important for investigating how best to target treatment of a blood cancer striking mostly older individuals.

24 Sep 2015

Stanford researchers successfully defeat C. difficile bacteria

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists successfully defeated a dangerous intestinal pathogen, Clostridium difficile, with a drug targeting its toxins rather than its life.

24 Sep 2015

Salsalate drug offers new hope for treating Alzheimer's disease and FTD

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have discovered that salsalate, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, effectively reversed tau-related dysfunction in an animal model of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Salsalate prevented the accumulation of tau in the brain and protected against cognitive impairments resembling impairments seen in Alzheimer's disease and FTD.

21 Sep 2015

$Common Alzheimer's disease drug increases bone density, reduces fracture risks$

Common Alzheimer's disease drug increases bone density, reduces fracture risks

The most common drug used to treat Alzheimer's disease increases bone mass in mice, according to one of the first research articles published in the new open access journal Heliyon. The authors of the study, from Saitama Medical University in Japan, say this means the drug could also be used to treat bone loss diseases like osteoporosis and periodontitis, following further clinical research.

21 Sep 2015

BGB324 shows enhanced tumour clearance in mouse carcinoma models

BerGenBio AS, an oncology biopharmaceutical company, has announced new preclinical data on lead compound, BGB324, in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, has been presented as a poster at CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR - The Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival, in New York.

21 Sep 2015

Inhibition of FGFR3 receptor could be a new way of treating patients with liver cell cancer

In a recent study, scientists from the Institute for Cancer Research at MedUni Vienna have shown that the growth factor receptor FGFR3 increases the rate of growth and aggressiveness of hepatocellular carcinomas (liver cell cancer). Inhibition of this receptor could be a new and effective way of treating patients.

15 Sep 2015

Combining epigenetic drugs with immunotherapies may provide additional clinical benefit to cancer patients

Recent data suggest that epigenetic therapies are likely to provide additional clinical benefit to cancer patients when rationally combined with immunotherapeutic drugs, according to a review published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Sep 2015

Research: Cancer preventative surgery may not be necessary in the future

Surgery to remove the breasts of women at increased risk of developing breast cancer may not be necessary in the future, according to research published in EBioMedicine. Two new studies looking at the effect the menstrual cycle has on the development of breast and ovarian cancer reveal alternative prevention strategies that may render surgery unnecessary.

11 Sep 2015

Study reveals why long-term use of L-DOPA leads to dyskinesia

Researchers have discovered why long-term use of L-DOPA (levodopa), the most effective treatment for Parkinson's disease, commonly leads to a movement problem called dyskinesia, a side effect that can be as debilitating as Parkinson's disease itself.

11 Sep 2015

A new approach to prevent breast and ovarian cancer

Surgery to remove the breasts of women at increased risk of developing breast cancer may not be necessary in the future, according to research published in EBioMedicine.

10 Sep 2015

Researchers identify new way to help AML patients avoid a relapse

A protein domain once considered of little importance may be key to helping patients who are fighting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) avoid a relapse.

8 Sep 2015

Endothelin system offers potential therapeutic target for ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disorder in which cells of the nervous system die, leading to muscle weakness that impacts breathing, movement and other physical functions.

4 Sep 2015

Novel approach to reduce 'bad' lipids in blood circulation

Xian-Cheng Jiang, PhD, professor of cell biology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, has led a study identifying a new approach for lowering "bad" lipids in blood circulation, a critical means to combat devastating cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. The research was published in the online edition of Gastroenterology.

3 Sep 2015

Common antidepressant can help stroke patients improve movement and coordination

Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have added to evidence that a commonly prescribed antidepressant called fluoxetine helps stroke victims improve movement and coordination, and possibly why.

2 Sep 2015

Gene therapy restores visual function in mouse model of LCA1

Mice lacking the protein retGC1, which is deficient in humans suffering Leber congenital amaurosis-1 (LCA1), a disorder that causes severe visual impairment beginning in infancy, received gene therapy to replace retGC1 and showed fully restored visual function that persisted for at least 6 months.

1 Sep 2015

Newly discovered prion causes Multiple System Atrophy

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a neurodegenerative disorder with similarities to Parkinson's disease, is caused by a newly discovered type of prion, akin to the misfolded proteins involved in incurable progressive brain diseases such Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), according to two new research papers led by scientists at UC San Francisco.

1 Sep 2015

Brainbow technique reveals surprising data about brain's visual circuitry

Neuroscientists know that some connections in the brain are pruned through neural development. Function gives rise to structure, according to the textbooks. But scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have discovered that the textbooks might be wrong.

28 Aug 2015

Researchers find way to trigger 'virus alert' that may help boost drug's ability to prevent cancer cells

Working with human cancer cell lines and mice, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and elsewhere have found a way to trigger a type of immune system "virus alert" that may one day boost cancer patients' response to immunotherapy drugs. An increasingly promising focus of cancer research, the drugs are designed to disarm cancer cells' ability to avoid detection and destruction by the immune system.

27 Aug 2015

Study reveals how inflammation triggers colon cancer cells to metastasize

A new Arizona State University research study led by Biodesign Institute executive director Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., has identified for the first time the details of how inflammation triggers colon cancer cells to spread to other organs, or metastasize.

26 Aug 2015