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U-M researchers target a protein channel in the cell’s lysosome to selectively kill cancer cells

Cancer treatments necessarily target unchecked cell growth, and selectively kill cancer cells while sparing normal cells and avoiding general toxicity in the human body.

20 Oct 2021

New class of CXCR4 antagonists could prevent airway inflammation and atopic dermatitis

Aberrant CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling is involved in many pathophysiological processes such as cancer and inflammatory diseases. A natural fragment of serum albumin, named EPI-X4, has previously been identified as endogenous peptide antagonist andinverse agonistof CXCR4 and is a promising compound for the development of improved analogues for the therapy of CXCR4-associated diseases.

18 Oct 2021

Existing drug used to treat constipation may boost people's ability to think more clearly

The development of drugs to treat cognitive problems in patients with mental illness may be a step closer after a team of researchers discovered that an existing drug - used to treat constipation - may be able to boost our ability to think more clearly.

4 Oct 2021

Researchers develop nanoparticles delivering STING agonists for intravenous cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy seeks to turn "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors––those that respond to immunotherapy––by awakening and enlisting the body's own immune system.

30 Sep 2021

Primary sclerosing cholangitis: Therapy with synthetic bile acid acts directly on the immune system

Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a rare, chronic inflammatory disease of the bile ducts and is difficult to treat. Studies conducted by the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at MedUni Wien under the guidance of Michael Trauner (Department of Internal Medicine III) were able to show positive effects from the administration of synthetically produced bile acids and bile acid receptor agonists.

28 Sep 2021

Drug treatment decreases risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with Type 2 diabetes

A type of drug already used to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes, when taken six months prior to the diagnosis of COVID-19, was associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization, respiratory complications and death in COVID-19 patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

27 Sep 2021

Cardiotoxic effects of common chemotherapy drug could be prevented

Harmful side effects from a common chemotherapy drug could be the result of a single mutation, according to a study published in Cell Stem Cell.

24 Sep 2021

Inactivated egg-based Newcastle disease virus vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

A new study presents initial results from a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1/2 trial in Thailand.

24 Sep 2021

Increased signaling by sonic hedgehog protein can inhibit LID in Parkinson's patients

Levodopa, or L-dopa, is considered the most effective treatment for Parkinson's disease today. After a few years of treatment, however, almost all patients develop a debilitating side-effect called L-dopa induced dyskinesia, or LID, which causes involuntary movements in the limbs, face, and torso. Deep brain stimulation can alleviate LID, but the procedure is highly invasive and not all patients are eligible.

23 Sep 2021

Pinning down Pin1: Potential COVID-19 therapy

In a recent study scientists have demonstrated that Pin1 is one of the key cellular molecules necessary for SARS-CoV-2 propagation.

22 Sep 2021

Drugs and surgery show promise for reducing long-term effects of obesity-related hypertension

Weight-loss medications and surgical procedures show promise for reducing the long-term effects of high blood pressure (also called hypertension) in people who are overweight or have obesity, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Association's journal Hypertension.

20 Sep 2021

Popular class of diabetes medications may be protective against glaucoma

A popular class of diabetes medications called GLP-1R agonists (Trulicity and Rybelsus) may also protect against glaucoma in diabetic patients, according to a new study led by researchers in the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

20 Sep 2021

Research on SARS-CoV-2 and dendritic cells may explain why virus is so virulent

In a recent study released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, the researchers suggest that an aberrant inflammatory reaction associated with COVID-19 could be a result of escape from direct sensing by toll-like receptors (TLRs). Moreover, the researchers indicate that this phenomenon might underlie the lack of efficient immunity to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) early during infection.

20 Sep 2021

'Spice' users likely to experience more severe withdrawal symptoms, study finds

Research published today by psychologists at the University of Bath suggests that 'Spice' – which contains synthetic drugs originally designed to mimic the effects of cannabis – is more harmful than cannabis and that users are likely to experience more severe withdrawal symptoms when attempting to quit.

18 Sep 2021

Research suggests current smokers not at excess risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Now, a new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server investigates this relationship further and suggests that current smoking is not associated with a higher incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

13 Sep 2021

Newly identified mechanism can accelerate the development of STING-activating drugs using imaging

A new study from scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that emerging drugs that activate the protein STING, a well-established regulator of immune cell activation, substantially alter the activity of metabolic pathways responsible for generating the nucleotide building blocks for DNA.

7 Sep 2021

New review looks at the bottlenecks and breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy

After over a century of development, cancer immunotherapy (CIT) has risen to become a promising approach for treating cancer. Unlike conventional methods that try to kill cancer cells directly, CIT involves modifying or stimulating the immune system's natural ability to fight the disease. So far, various CIT treatments have shown remarkable results in terms of survival rates, and many new and combination strategies are currently under study.

1 Sep 2021

Cardiovascular safety of prostate cancer treatments remains unresolved

The relative cardiovascular safety of different types of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer remains unresolved after the PRONOUNCE trial was terminated early. The late breaking research is presented in a Hot Line session today at ESC Congress 2021.

30 Aug 2021

Next-gen COVID vaccine to make persistent neutralizing antibodies

Presently, there is a need to develop improved versions of COVID-19 vaccines that are effective against the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) and can confer long-term protection. Considering the need of the hour, scientists from the University of Sydney in Australia have generated a new COVID-19 vaccine CoVac-II and evaluated its effect against COVID-19 strains. The findings from this study are published on the bioRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

30 Aug 2021

Improving lifestyle and medication use could add healthy years of life after a heart attack

Adherence to lifestyle advice and medications could add seven healthy years of life after a heart attack, according to a study presented at ESC Congress 2021.

26 Aug 2021

Agonist News and Research

U-M researchers target a protein channel in the cell’s lysosome to selectively kill cancer cells

New class of CXCR4 antagonists could prevent airway inflammation and atopic dermatitis

Existing drug used to treat constipation may boost people's ability to think more clearly

Researchers develop nanoparticles delivering STING agonists for intravenous cancer immunotherapy

Primary sclerosing cholangitis: Therapy with synthetic bile acid acts directly on the immune system

Drug treatment decreases risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with Type 2 diabetes

Cardiotoxic effects of common chemotherapy drug could be prevented

Inactivated egg-based Newcastle disease virus vaccine expressing SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

Increased signaling by sonic hedgehog protein can inhibit LID in Parkinson's patients

Pinning down Pin1: Potential COVID-19 therapy

Drugs and surgery show promise for reducing long-term effects of obesity-related hypertension

Popular class of diabetes medications may be protective against glaucoma

Research on SARS-CoV-2 and dendritic cells may explain why virus is so virulent

'Spice' users likely to experience more severe withdrawal symptoms, study finds

Research suggests current smokers not at excess risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Newly identified mechanism can accelerate the development of STING-activating drugs using imaging

New review looks at the bottlenecks and breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy

Cardiovascular safety of prostate cancer treatments remains unresolved

Next-gen COVID vaccine to make persistent neutralizing antibodies

Improving lifestyle and medication use could add healthy years of life after a heart attack

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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