Proliferation News and Research

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Semafore Pharmaceuticals awarded U.S. patent covering PI-3 kinase inhibitor prodrugs

Semafore Pharmaceuticals today announced today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued United States Patent Number 7,662,977 entitled “PI-3 Kinase Inhibitor Prodrugs.” This composition of matter patent covers a genus of novel compounds that includes SF1126, Semafore’s clinical stage, small molecule inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), two key members of the PI3K signaling pathway that is vital to several essential biological processes, such as cell proliferation and survival.

25 Feb 2010

Gene expression in prostate cancer cell more complex than ever imagined

Scientists from Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research have published a paper, online today in Nature Cell Biology, describing gene expression in a prostate cancer cell: more sweeping, more targeted and more complex than we could ever have imagined, even five years ago.

24 Feb 2010

Findings suggest bitter melon extract may help in preventing breast cancer

Bitter melon extract, a common dietary supplement, exerts a significant effect against breast cancer cell growth and may eventually become a chemopreventive agent against this form of cancer, according to results of a recent study.

23 Feb 2010

Key mechanism that makes brain cells become tumorous identified

Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth (UK), the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Cornell University in New York, Weil Medical College in New York and the Center for Neural Tumour Research in Los Angeles, have for the first time identified a key mechanism that makes certain cells become tumorous in the brain. The resulting tumours occur most often spontaneously but can also occur in numbers as part of the inherited disease Neurofibromatosis type 2.

23 Feb 2010

DNA interval in unexplored region of human genome increases risk for coronary artery disease

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have learned how an interval of DNA in an unexplored region of the human genome increases the risk for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.

23 Feb 2010

Animal study shows calcineurin enzyme is critical for normal heart function

Scientists are reporting the first-ever data to show that the enzyme calcineurin is critical in controlling normal development and function of heart cells, and that loss of the protein leads to heart problems and death in genetically modified mice.

20 Feb 2010

Research shows natural compound in marine sponges reduces cancer cell motility

Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research) led by Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D., have discovered that the natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity.

19 Feb 2010

Single microRNA exhibits potential to forecast outcomes of MPM

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd., a leading developer and provider of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, announced today that the results of a joint study with the NYU Langone Medical Center were published online on February 16th, 2010, and are set to be published in the March 1st issue of the American Association for Cancer Research’s journal, Cancer Research.

18 Feb 2010

Proteins found in intestines can recognize and kill bacteria that have human blood type molecules

A set of proteins found in our intestines can recognize and kill bacteria that have human blood type molecules on their surfaces, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine have discovered.

15 Feb 2010

VIPPS accreditation program for Internet pharmacies

Rogue Internet drug outlets will soon find it more difficult to advertise to unsuspecting consumers, thanks to Google's decision to require VIPPS® (Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Sites(CM)) accreditation.

12 Feb 2010

Researchers discover cancer gene in ancestral metazoan

To find the causes for cancer, biochemists and developmental biologists at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, retraced the function of an important human cancer gene 600 million years back in time. For the first time, they have identified the oncogene myc in a fresh water polyp and they have shown that this oncogene has similar biochemical functions in ancestral metazoan and in humans.

12 Feb 2010

MHQP: Massachusetts primary care physicians achieve measurable improvements in health care quality

Massachusetts primary care physicians continue to achieve measurable improvements in important aspects of health care quality as reported by Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP). Today, the organization released its sixth annual Quality Insights: Clinical Quality in Primary Care report, comparing the performance of more than 150 medical groups across the state.

11 Feb 2010

Oncogene has similar biochemical functions in ancestral metazoan and in humans

11 Feb 2010

Research suggests a potential means of circumventing drug resistance in breast cancer patients

Overexpression of low-molecular-weight (LMW-E) forms of the protein cyclin E renders the aromatase inhibitor letrozole ineffective among women with estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in Clinical Cancer Research.

10 Feb 2010

Findings point towards new therapeutic approach for breast and prostate cancer

In a new approach to developing treatments for breast cancer, prostate cancer and enlarged hearts, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine researchers are zeroing in on a workhorse protein called RSK.

9 Feb 2010

Doctors do not follow evidence-based guidelines for treating low back pain, says report

Australian general practitioners often treat patients with low back pain in a manner that does not appear to match the care endorsed by international clinical guidelines, according to a report in the February 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Feb 2010

Boston researchers identify new mechanism that inhibit tumor growth in mice

A team of researchers, led by Pier Paolo Pandolfi, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, has identified a new type of cellular senescence (i.e., irreversible arrest of cell growth) and determined a way to enhance it to suppress prostate tumor development and growth in mice.

9 Feb 2010

Study could lead to non-surgical alternatives for tonsillectomies

Children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may one day be able to have an injection or use a throat spray instead of getting their tonsils removed to cure their snoring, according to a new study from the University of Chicago, which found that a specific gene product may be responsible for the proliferation of adenotonsillar tissue that can cause pediatric OSA.

4 Feb 2010

Questionable health insurance plans cause concern

Officials worry that people with no insurance will be drawn in by questionable health insurance plans. ABC News reports: The "[h]ealth care overhaul is stalled, resulting in a proliferation of plans that don't fully protect people, officials said. Watchdogs worry about two kinds of plans in particular."

3 Feb 2010

Research suggests growth factor gene plays a central role in palate development

Cleft palate has been linked to dozens of genes. During their investigation of one of these genes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were surprised to find that cleft palate occurs both when the gene is more active and when it is less active than normal.

3 Feb 2010