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.

Alcoholic liver disease: an interview with Dr Vinood Patel, University of Westminster

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and also in the UK. As its name indicates this disease arises due to consuming excessive amounts of alcohol (80 g/day) over an extended period, normally 10-20 years.

24 Jun 2014

Third-line treatment options remain elusive for advanced, EGFR wild-type NSCLC

Phase II study findings show only marginal positive effects of third-line treatment with afatinib for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in patients with wild-type epidermal growth-factor receptor tumour status.

23 Jun 2014

Trevena reports positive results from TRV734 Phase 1 trial for treating acute/chronic pain

Trevena, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRVN) today announced positive results from its Phase 1 trial of TRV734, which Trevena is developing with the goal of providing improved analgesia while avoiding gastrointestinal and respiratory side effects typically associated with opioids.

23 Jun 2014

Definiens closes €15M financing round to expand into digital tissue diagnostics

Definiens AG, which offers a unique approach to tissue diagnostics aimed at helping physicians improve treatment, said that it has closed a round of financing for € 15 million.

23 Jun 2014

FAK inhibitors prevent ovarian cancer progression

A team of scientists, led by principal investigator David D. Schlaepfer, PhD, professor in the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that small molecule inhibitors to a protein called focal adhesion kinase (FAK) selectively prevent the growth of ovarian cancer cells as tumor spheroids.

20 Jun 2014

Brain iron levels offer potential biomarker in the diagnosis of ADHD

Brain iron levels offer a potential biomarker in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and may help physicians and parents make better informed treatment decisions, according to new research published online in the journal Radiology.

18 Jun 2014

UT Southwestern launches regional brain tissue collection program

To promote greater understanding of autism, UT Southwestern Medical Center has launched a regional brain tissue collection program that will support research on this condition, which affects an estimated one in 68 children.

18 Jun 2014

AB SCIEX introduces TripleTOF 6600 system with SWATH Acquisition 2.0

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, today introduced the TripleTOF® 6600 system with SWATH™ Acquisition 2.0 - the company's revolutionary solution for quantitative proteomics.

16 Jun 2014

Heart rate may identify premature infants at risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis

Measuring variability of heart rate may identify premature infants at risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis, a serious inflammatory condition that can lead to death, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

13 Jun 2014

DNA methylation identified as potential anti-TNF response biomarker for RA

DNA methylation has been identified as a potential biomarker of response to etanercept and adalimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) according to preliminary results from one of the largest methylome-wide investigations of treatment response to anti-TNF therapies.

12 Jun 2014

Cancer drug offers protection against thrombosis

Case Western Reserve University researchers have discovered that an existing drug used to help cancer patients has the potential to protect thousands of others from the often-deadly impact of vascular clots.

12 Jun 2014

Text messages to smokers' mobile phones help quit smoking

Sending smokers individualized text messages to their mobile phones was found to be twice as effective at helping them quit smoking compared to simply providing self-help materials, according to a study in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

11 Jun 2014

Scientists discover important new biomarker that could improve HER2 targeted cancer treatments

Scientists from the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin have made a significant discovery of a new biomarker which may help overcome resistance to newer and more targeted anti-cancer drugs, such as Herceptin, for HER2 positive cancers. These findings may also help the early identification of patients who will benefit more from these treatments.

11 Jun 2014

UCF College of Nursing interim dean receives NIH grant to improve care for critically-ill patients

More than one hospital television drama has played out an emergency room scene where a patient has to be "tubed" to re-establish breathing.

11 Jun 2014

New framework for monitoring oral cancer development, progression, recurrence

Each year, approximately 22,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer. The five-year survival rate of 40% in the U.S. is one of the lowest of the major cancers, and it has not improved in the past 40 years.

11 Jun 2014

Alnylam announces new pre-clinical results with DC for ALN-CC5 to treat complement-mediated diseases

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today new pre-clinical results with its Development Candidate (DC) for ALN-CC5, a subcutaneously administered investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting complement component C5 in development for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases.

10 Jun 2014

Professor opens new University of Leicester British Heart Foundation CRC on 11 June 2014

The new University of Leicester British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Research Centre (CRC) will be officially opened on Wednesday 11 June 2014 by Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Robert Burgess.

10 Jun 2014

MolecularHealth launches innovative oncology program for employers

MolecularHealth announced today the official launch of MolecularHealth COPE (Corporate Oncology Program for Employers), powered by its cancer treatment decision support offering, TreatmentMAP.

6 Jun 2014

Data from Caris Registry clinical outcomes presented at ASCO annual meeting

Caris Life Sciences and investigators from Inova Fairfax Hospital presented the first clinical outcomes data presentation from the Caris Registry™ at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, Ill., this weekend.

5 Jun 2014

Novel diagnostic tool helps differentiate between dementia diseases

A new diagnostic tool helps clinicians to differentiate between Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Presented in the doctoral thesis of MD Miguel ángel Muñoz Ruiz at the University of Eastern Finland, the new method consists of a Disease State Index combining data from multiple sources, and of a Disease State Fingerprint showing the findings in a visual format.

5 Jun 2014