Biomarker News and Research

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A biomarker is a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease. A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. Also called molecular marker and signature molecule.

Aelan's researchers develop novel epigenetic biomarker for diagnosis of AD

Aelan Cell Technologies today announced the development of a novel epigenetic biomarker. An early human clinical feasibility study has indicated that serological tests using the biomarker alongside other proprietary components developed by Aelan's researchers could potentially help physicians diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD).

12 Jul 2016

Leukemia drug increases brain dopamine, lowers toxic proteins linked to Parkinson's or dementia

A small phase I study provides molecular evidence that an FDA-approved drug for leukemia significantly increased brain dopamine and reduced toxic proteins linked to disease progression in patients with Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.

12 Jul 2016

Gut bacteria can help predict susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis

The bacteria in your gut do more than break down your food. They also can predict susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis, suggests Veena Taneja, Ph.D., an immunologist at Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine. Dr. Taneja recently published two studies — one in Genome Medicine and one in Arthritis and Rheumatology — connecting the dots between gut microbiota and rheumatoid arthritis.

11 Jul 2016

Study identifies new blood markers to accurately diagnose Gulf War Illness

Based on a study of 85 Gulf War veterans, Veterans Affairs researchers in Minneapolis have developed a tentative panel of blood markers they say can verify a diagnosis of Gulf War Illness with 90 percent accuracy.

11 Jul 2016

JAX researchers find precise, reliable way to identify leukemia cells of origin

Every cancer starts with a single cell, and Jackson Laboratory researchers have found a precise and reliable way -- whole-genome profiling of open chromatin -- to identify the kind of cell that leads to a given case of leukemia, a valuable key to cancer prognosis and outcome.

11 Jul 2016

I-SPY2 research initiative employs exciting new model for testing breast cancer drugs

In a new paradigm of breast cancer research, physicians are fast-tracking promising new experimental drugs for further study, while immediately dropping drugs and drug combinations that don't work.

8 Jul 2016

Mitochondrial stress can trigger tumor-related metabolic shifts, study finds

Cancerous tumors must be fed. Their unregulated growth requires a steady stream of blood flow and nutrients. Thus, one way that researchers have tried to wipe out cancer is to target cells undergoing the metabolic shifts that enable a tumor's rapid growth.

7 Jul 2016

Tiny micro-vesicle structures may help predict probability of developing Alzheimer's dementia

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine say tiny micro-vesicle structures used by neurons and other cells to transport materials internally or dispose of them externally carry tell-tale proteins that may help to predict the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) developing into full-blown Alzheimer's disease (AD).

6 Jul 2016

Researchers identify potential biomarker for Parkinson's disease in biobanked urine samples

For more than five years, urine and cerebral-spinal fluid samples from patients with Parkinson's disease have been locked in freezers in the NINDS National Repository, stored with the expectation they might someday help unravel the still-hidden course of this slow-acting neurodegenerative disease.

6 Jul 2016

Anaemia in heart failure may impact prognosis

Anaemia is common in patients with heart failure, regardless of the underlying phenotype, and is often associated with iron deficiency, UK researchers report.

6 Jul 2016

LouLou Foundation, ODC announce 11 new grants for research on CDKL5 deficiency

LouLou Foundation and the Orphan Disease Center (ODC) in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are pleased to announce the award of 11 new research grants into CDKL5 deficiency - a rare X-chromosome-linked genetic disorder that causes severe neuro-developmental impairment and early-onset, difficult-to-control seizures.

5 Jul 2016

Scientists identify genetic mutations linked to synchronous colorectal cancers

Researchers have identified genetic mutations affecting the immune system which may lead to the development of more than one bowel tumour at the same time. Understanding how these cancers develop could improve targeting of therapies, according to the study published in Nature Communications.

5 Jul 2016

Circulating angiogenic factor shows PAH biomarker potential

Hepatoma-derived growth factor predicts disease severity and survival in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, showing some possible clinical advantages over N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, researchers report.

5 Jul 2016

TAILOR study shows treatment with Erbitux plus FOLFOX improves survival in RAS wild-type mCRC patients

Merck, a leading science and technology company, will present data at the ESMO 18th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer from the pivotal Phase III TAILOR study in patients from China, the first prospective trial to evaluate an anti-EGFR antibody in the first-line therapy of patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

4 Jul 2016