VEGF News and Research

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VEGF is a substance made by cells that stimulates new blood vessel formation. Also called vascular endothelial growth factor.

Melatonin pre-treatment greatly increases cell survival, say researchers

When melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland, was used as a pre-treatment for mesenchymal stem cells prior to their transplantation into the brains of laboratory animals to repair damage from stroke, researchers in China found that the stem cells survived longer after transplantation. Previous studies had shown that 80 percent of transplanted MSCs died within 72 hours of transplantation.

23 Jul 2013

Researchers discover new protein that encourages ‘bad’ blood vessel growth

The discovery of a protein that encourages blood vessel growth, and especially 'bad' blood vessels - the kind that characterise diseases as diverse as cancer, age-related macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis - has been reported in the journal Nature.

18 Jul 2013

Multiple pregnancies conceived after IVF associated with increased breast cancer risk

Women who give birth to multiple babies following IVF treatment are at a higher risk of breast cancer than those giving birth to singletons or who remain childless. Dutch investigators from the Omega study group said the explanation may not be the multiple pregnancy per se but a maternal trait related to a higher implantation potential and to breast cancer itself.

9 Jul 2013

Scientists identify molecular signals that spur the formation of arteries

The ability to form blood vessels is one of evolution's crowning achievements, and something that separates vertebrates (animals with a backbone) from the rest of the animal kingdom.

4 Jul 2013

Bayer, Onyx submit sNDA to FDA, marketing authorization application to EMA for Nexavar tablets

Bayer HealthCare and Onyx Pharmaceuticals today announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and an application for marketing authorization to the European Medicines Agency for the oral multi-kinase inhibitor Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.

1 Jul 2013

Ico Therapeutics completes Phase 2 iDEAL study for treatment of diabetic macular edema

iCo Therapeutics Inc. announced today that it has completed enrollment of its Phase 2 iDEAL study evaluating the efficacy and safety after repeated injections of iCo-007 in patients with Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). The study has shown a good safety profile with no drug-related serious adverse events to date.

19 Jun 2013

Eylea can ease vision problems for wet AMD patients

There is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that is the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in older Americans. Last year, the National Institutes of Health reported that two drugs injected into the eyes, Avastin and Lucentis, eased symptoms for sufferers, especially those in the advanced, "wet" stage of the disease, when blood vessels in the eye become swollen and leak fluids in the eye.

19 Jun 2013

Liver regeneration using cell therapy may be possible, study suggests

Liver transplantation is the mainstay of treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease, the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, but new research from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, published in the online journal Cell Stem Cell today, suggests that it may one day become possible to regenerate a liver using cell therapy in patients with liver disease.

10 Jun 2013

EORTC BOS 2 trial to test efficacy of adding bevacizumab to peri-operative FOLFOX 4 chemotherapy

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most frequent cause of cancer-related mortality in both Europe and the United States. Treatment for patients with resectable hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer consists of surgery combined with chemotherapy, but recurrence is observed in two thirds of these patients.

5 Jun 2013

Early detection methods can help cure cervical cancer

Cervical cancer, a disease that will affect more than 12,000 women in the United States this year and more than a half million women worldwide, leads to significantly fewer deaths when effective early detection methods are available, either via a Pap smear or with a test for presence of the human papilloma virus.

4 Jun 2013

Research: Bevacizumab fails to increase overall survival for glioblastoma patients

The angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab (Avastin) failed to increase overall survival (OS) or statistically significant progression-free survival (PFS) for glioblastoma patients in the frontline setting, according to research led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

3 Jun 2013

Study investigates gene expression signature to predict response to bevacizumab

A new test may help identify newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients more likely to benefit from bevacizumab (Avastin-), according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

3 Jun 2013

Glioblastoma patients treated with bevacizumab have deterioration in neurocognitive function

Many glioblastoma patients treated with bevacizumab (Avastin-) have significant deterioration in neurocognitive function, symptoms and quality of life. Not only that, the changes often predict treatment outcomes, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

1 Jun 2013

Transplantation of human stem cells improves muscle function in rats used to model ALS

Transplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS, a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure.

29 May 2013

Study: VEGF inhibitor appears to improve glaucoma surgical outcomes

The most common cause of failure after glaucoma surgery is scarring at the surgical site, so researchers are actively looking for ways to minimize or prevent scar formation. Previous work had suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activates fibrosis, whereas VEGF inhibition results in reduced scar formation and better surgical results.

18 May 2013

Bayer HealthCare to present new data on oncology portfolio at ASCO meeting

Bayer HealthCare announced today that new data on the oncology portfolio, including Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets, Stivarga (regorafenib) tablets and the recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved product Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride) injection will be presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 31 – June 4, in Chicago, IL (USA).

16 May 2013

Bayer HealthCare: Patient enrollment underway in Phase III trial of Stivarga tablets for treatment of HCC

Bayer HealthCare announced today that patient enrollment is underway for RESORCE (Regorafenib after Sorafenib in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma), an international Phase III trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Stivarga (regorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have progressed on Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets, an anticancer medicine for the treatment of patients with unresectable HCC.

15 May 2013

Cancers physically alter cells in lymphatic system to promote the spread of disease

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center report that cancers physically alter cells in the lymphatic system - a network of vessels that transports and stores immune cells throughout the body - to promote the spread of disease, a process called metastasis.

14 May 2013

Patients with ASPS appear to benefit from anti-cancer drug, cediranib

Patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS), a rare cancer, achieved some control of their disease using an experimental anti-cancer drug called cediranib.

8 May 2013

Molecular pathway that helps form new arteries after heart attacks uncovered

Scientific collaborators from Yale School of Medicine and University College London have uncovered the molecular pathway by which new arteries may form after heart attacks, strokes and other acute illnesses bypassing arteries that are blocked.

30 Apr 2013