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Singapore researchers discover new mechanism in the liver's response to blocked bile ducts

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore at the National University of Singapore, the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology of A*STAR, and BioSyM, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology have described the mechanical principles adopted by liver cells as they remove excess bile during obstructive cholestasis.

30 Jun 2017

'Mismatch repair' genetic defects drive cancer patient's response to immunotherapy drugs

In an expanded, three-year clinical trial of 86 patients with colorectal and 11 other kinds of cancer that have so-called 'mismatch repair' genetic defects, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy have found that half of the patients respond to an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab.

9 Jun 2017

Genetic sequencing could help direct treatment for 72% of advanced cancer patients

A new analysis finds that nearly three-quarters of 500 patients with advanced cancer could be referred to a potential targeted treatment based on the results of a comprehensive analysis of their tumor's genetic landscape.

2 Jun 2017

MGH scientists show how Shigella survives journey from mouth to the colon

Surviving the treacherous journey through the human body from the mouth to the colon takes a special kind of bacterial pathogen.

31 May 2017

Investigational compound inhibits cancer-specific mutations in mice

Many malignancies develop as a result of genetic alterations in individual cells. These gene mutations often cause altered proteins that give new, growth-promoting properties to the cell.

30 May 2017

Medical methods in the life of Shakespeare’s son-in-law

During this period, there was a revival of the Classical medicine of Ancient Greece and Rome, particularly the ideas of the Greek philosopher Hippocrates and the Roman physician Galen of Pergamon.

24 May 2017

Researchers identify DNA repair deficiency in many types of solid tumors

A new investigation of more than 48,000 stored tumor samples finds evidence of a key deficiency in a repair mechanism designed to keep DNA from being mutated and causing cancer.

18 May 2017

Researchers take important step toward using transplanted fetal cells to treat liver failure

In a new study, researchers demonstrate successful transplantation of fetal rat liver cells to an injured adult rat liver. The work is an important step toward using transplanted cells to treat liver failure, which currently requires an organ transplant.

26 Apr 2017

Researchers map gene activity to reveal how the liver performs different functions

If you get up in the morning feeling energetic and clearheaded, you can thank your liver for manufacturing glucose before breakfast time. Among a host of other vital functions, it also clears our body of toxins and produces most of the carrier proteins in our blood.

11 Apr 2017

Fat cells take over production of uridine from liver during fasting

How do mammals keep two biologically crucial metabolites in balance during times when they are feeding, sleeping, and fasting? The answer may require rewriting some textbooks.

17 Mar 2017

New approach shows promise to prevent, treat cholesterol gallstone disease

According to current estimates, 20 to 25 million Americans have or will develop gallstones, representing almost 15% of adults. Although only a small percentage of individuals with gallstones develop symptoms, more than 700,000 individuals annually undergo surgical gallbladder removal and many more take medications to manage the condition or undergo stone-dissolving procedures.

13 Mar 2017

Researchers identify gene variants that may predispose individuals to develop gallbladder cancer

By comparing the genetic code of gallbladder cancer patients with those of healthy volunteers at nearly 700,000 different locations in the genome, researchers say they have found several gene variants which may predispose individuals to develop the disease.

6 Mar 2017

Mice study provides clues to how genetic variations in gut microbes influence metabolic disease

The community of microorganisms that resides in the gut, known as the microbiome, has been shown to work in tandem with the genes of a host organism to regulate insulin secretion, a key variable in the onset of the metabolic disease diabetes.

17 Feb 2017

Researchers map genetic changes resulting from short bowel syndrome

Investigators at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, led by Tracy C. Grikscheit, MD, have mapped the genetic changes resulting from short bowel syndrome using a novel zebrafish model and by performing intensive gene sequencing.

25 Jan 2017

New study shows outcomes after obesity surgery in teenagers

Obesity surgery has proven to be just as effective for teenagers as for adults. Five years on, those who underwent the procedure as teenagers weighed, on average, 28 percent less than prior to the surgery.

23 Jan 2017

Children's Hospital Los Angeles performs 300th pediatric liver transplant

At 7 months old, Donovan Daniels of Westminster may not understand for some time just how serious his medical condition, biliary atresia, really is.

30 Dec 2016

Revolutionary approach could save lives of sickest patients waiting for liver transplant

There's new hope for patients with liver disease who are waiting for a donor liver to become available for transplantation.

15 Dec 2016

Researchers discover new pathway that opens door to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Researchers from the University of South Carolina, Duke University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Metabolon Inc. Research Triangle Park have discovered a new pathway in the liver that opens the door to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition that affects up to 25 percent of the population and may lead to cirrhosis and eventually liver cancer or failure, and likely other liver diseases.

9 Dec 2016

Researchers discover first toxin antitoxin system in biofilms

Bacterial resistance does not come just through adaptation to antibiotics, sometimes the bacteria simply go to sleep.

8 Dec 2016

New discovery could help reduce heart disease and boost nutrition security

A new discovery at the University of Queensland could help reduce heart disease and boost nutrition security - the access to balanced nourishment - globally.

6 Dec 2016