Becker News and Research

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Single-walled carbon nanotubes may pose health risks

DNA-wrapped single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) shorter than about 200 nanometers readily enter into human lung cells and so may pose an increased risk to health, according to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

2 Apr 2007

Scientists decipher a signaling pathway crucially involved in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis, severely impair the lives of more than four million people worldwide. The development of effective therapies against these diseases requires an understanding of their underlying molecular mechanisms.

15 Mar 2007

A chocolate or two a day, just what the doctor ordered!

A recent study has news that chocolate lovers will be overjoyed to hear, it seems that chocolate is good for the heart!

16 Nov 2006

Largest U.S. hepatitis C trial yields treatment insights

Community-Based WIN-R Study Shows Significantly Better Outcomes with Weight-Based Dosing

24 May 2006

Cognitive impairment in people with AIDS exists in two forms

The researchers say their findings indicate there probably are two separate mechanisms that can cause cognitive impairment in people with AIDS.

10 Apr 2006

Aspirin therapy offers equal heart-protection to both men and women

Previous studies have suggested that when it comes to using aspirin as a preventative for heart attacks, it is less effective in women than in men.

27 Mar 2006

Low-dose aspirin lowers potential for clot-forming blood cells - in both men and women

In what is believed to be the first direct comparison of blood cell testing in both sexes of 81 milligrams of acetyl salicylic acid a day, Hopkins researchers found aspirin therapy prevents the clumping together of these clot-forming cells, called platelets.

23 Mar 2006

Salmonella research provides clues to antibiotic development

Pathogens are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, causing problems for therapy. Doctors need to have antibiotics available that work in new kinds of ways.

19 Mar 2006

Australia boost preparedness for Avian Influenza

Australia's preparedness for a potential Avian Influenza pandemic will be boosted by four new projects at The Australian National University (ANU), funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

24 Feb 2006

Study establishes two forms of mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between normal cognition and Alzheimer's disease, exists in two different forms, according to a study published today by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of California, Los Angeles in the Archives of Neurology.

9 Jan 2006

The role of genes in the development of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

An international consortium of epidemilogists - including Dr. Alexandra Nieters and Professor Nikolaus Becker of the Clinical Epidemiology Division of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) - has conducted the first ever investigation of genetic factors in the development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) in a study called InterLymph.

15 Dec 2005

Largest hepatitis-C U.S. study defines optimal therapy

Final results of the WIN-R trial,[1] the largest hepatitis C study conducted in U.S. patients, showed that weight-based REBETOL (ribavirin, USP) in combination therapy with PEG-INTRON (peginterferon alfa-2b) achieved significantly higher rates of sustained virologic response (SVR)[2] and lower rates of relapse compared to the combination therapy using a flat dose of ribavirin.

14 Nov 2005

Early diagnosis and treatment of heart disease may lead to longer life in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy patients

Cardiac disease, particularly dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure, is the major cause of mortality in patients with muscular dystrophy and is present in most boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and approximately 70 percent of those with Becker muscular dystrophy. These are the two common forms of muscular dystrophy caused by defects in a gene called dystrophin.

30 Oct 2005

New way to measure the impact of AIDS on the living brain

A new University of California - Los Angeles/University of Pittsburgh imaging study for the first time shows the selective pattern of destruction inflicted by AIDS on brain regions that control motor, language and sensory functions. High-resolution 3-D color scans created from magnetic resonance images (MRI) vividly illustrate the damage.

10 Oct 2005

Mechanism of X-chromosome dosage compensation in Drosophila

In Drosophila, like in humans, male cells have a single X chromosome, while female cells have two. Researchers have long debated over how X and autosomal chromosome gene expression is equalized between the sexes (generally regarding two different models, known as the activation model and the inverse model).

4 Oct 2005

Three-dimensional molecular structure of a promising malaria-vaccine component

An international team of scientists that includes a researcher from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory has determined the three-dimensional molecular structure of a promising malaria-vaccine component.

29 Aug 2005

Over-supply of blood sugar could be a major cause of erectile dysfunction in diabetic men

Researchers have found that one particular simple sugar, present in increased levels in diabetics, interferes with the chain of events needed to achieve and maintain erection and can lead to permanent penile impairment over time.

9 Aug 2005

Cytogen Corporation and Dowpharma collaborate to create a targeted oncology product designed to treat prostate and other cancers

Under the agreement, Dowpharma's proprietary MeO-DOTA bifunctional chelant technology will be used to radiolabel Cytogen's prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) antibody with a therapeutic radionuclide. PSMA is a protein highly expressed on the surface of prostate cancer cells and the neovasculature of many solid tumors.

10 May 2005

Tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than thought

A recent study found that tumors of the pituitary gland are more common than many health care professionals realize, with national prevalence rates averaging 16.7 percent. To neurosurgeon Dr. Gail Rosseau, this isn't surprising.

1 May 2005

Enhancing the resources available to low-income, urban African American women could protect against poor health and symptoms of depression

Enhancing the resources available to low-income, urban African American women to make their neighborhoods safer could protect them against poor health and symptoms of depression, says Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine community health researcher Adam Becker.

20 Apr 2005