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Prompt smoking cessation important for patients to receive CABG

Smoking cessation even a year prior to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery does not fully normalize the changes smoking has made to the saphenous (leg) veins used for the surgery and may lead to later graft failure, according to a study published in the January 2013 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

2 Jan 2013

DNA adducts linked to oral cancer in smokers

Having a high susceptibility to certain types of DNA damage caused by tobacco smoking could significantly increase the risk for oral cancer, show results of a Taiwanese study.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers study response of living cells to artificial protein

One approach to understanding components in living organisms is to attempt to create them artificially, using principles of chemistry, engineering and genetics. A suite of powerful techniques-collectively referred to as synthetic biology-have been used to produce self-replicating molecules, artificial pathways in living systems and organisms bearing synthetic genomes.

28 Dec 2012

Researchers develop unique approach to calpain inhibition

Calpain, a calcium-regulated enzyme, is essential to a host of cellular processes, but can cause severe problems in its overactivated state. It has been implicated as a factor in muscular dystrophy, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. As such, finding and exploiting calpain inhibitors is an important area of research.

28 Dec 2012

Genetic differences in enzyme CYP2D6 play a key role in effectiveness of tamoxifen for breast cancer

For nearly a decade, breast cancer researchers studying the hormone therapy tamoxifen have been divided as to whether genetic differences in a liver enzyme affect the drug's effectiveness and the likelihood breast cancer will recur.

27 Dec 2012

Juxtapid receives FDA approval for treatment of rare cholesterol disorder

On Dec. 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Juxtapid (lomitapide) to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH). Juxtapid is intended for use in combination with a low fat diet and other lipid-lowering treatments.

27 Dec 2012

Cancer-associated inflammation boosts ADAR1 enzyme activity

An international team, headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a key enzyme in the reprogramming process that promotes malignant stem cell cloning and the growth of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a cancer of the blood and marrow that experts say is increasing in prevalence.

25 Dec 2012

Halozyme grants Pfizer worldwide license to develop products combining Enhanze with biologics

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a worldwide Collaboration and License Agreement with Pfizer Inc. for the purpose of developing and commercializing products combining proprietary Pfizer biologics with Halozyme's Enhanze technology.

21 Dec 2012

Researchers track adipose tissue-derived stromal cells after transplantation

Using mesenchymal stromal cells derived from adipose (fat) tissues, genetically modified to express a bioluminescent marker, researchers in Italy have tracked cells after transplantation. The cells were followed from their injection into the spleen of mice modeling liver disease, to their characterization as "hepatic precursors," and to their subsequent migration through the spleen before engrafting at regenerating sites in the liver by bioluminescent imaging.

21 Dec 2012

Proteins detected in urine may enable diagnosis of Kawasaki disease

A set of proteins detected in urine by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital may prove to be the first biomarkers for Kawasaki disease, an uncommon but increasingly prevalent disease which causes inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to enlarged coronary arteries and even heart attacks in some children.

20 Dec 2012

V-chip could allow health care providers to do 50 different tests in one go

A new device about the size of a business card could allow health care providers to test for insulin and other blood proteins, cholesterol, and even signs of viral or bacterial infection all at the same time—with one drop of blood. Preliminary tests of the V-chip, created by scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and MD Anderson Cancer Center, were published last night by Nature Communications.

20 Dec 2012

AAV-based gene therapy cocktail may help extend lives of children with Canavan disease

Results of a clinical trial that began in 2001 show that a gene therapy cocktail conveyed into the brain by a molecular special delivery vehicle may help extend the lives of children with Canavan disease, a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.

20 Dec 2012

SR9238 compound can reverse effects of fatty liver disease

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first synthetic compound that can reverse the effects of a serious metabolic condition known as fatty liver disease. True to its name, the disease involves an abnormal buildup of fat in the liver.

20 Dec 2012

Researchers uncover mechanism that switches off cell transport regulating proteins

Researchers at the RUB and from the MPI Dortmund have uncovered the mechanism that switches off the cell transport regulating proteins. They were able to resolve in detail how the central switch protein Rab is down-regulated with two "protein fingers" by its interaction partners.

20 Dec 2012

The association alfa-enolase/plasmin is a new selective target for treating muscular pathologies

Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have described a new selective target in muscle regeneration. This is the association of alpha-enolase protein and plasmin.

19 Dec 2012

New antibiotic principle for fighting bacterial infections

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have presented a new principle for fighting bacterial infections, in other words, a new type of antibiotic, in the FASEB Journal.

19 Dec 2012

MiR-122 plays a critical role in the life cycle of hepatitis C virus

Hepatitis C virus has evolved to invade and hijack the basic machinery of the human liver cell to ensure its survival and spread. Researchers at the University of North have discovered how hepatitis C binds with and repurposes a basic component of cellular metabolism known as a microRNA to help protect and replicate the virus.

19 Dec 2012

PRSS3 enzyme linked to aggressive prostate cancer

Researchers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida have identified an enzyme specifically linked to aggressive prostate cancer, and have also developed a compound that inhibits the ability of this molecule to promote the metastatic spread of the cancer.

18 Dec 2012

UCSD Moores Cancer Center offers insights into flavorful healthy foods

What's round, red, full of holiday cheer, and (dare we say it) good for you? It's the cranberry. Its powerful goodness, coupled with cruciferous vegetables- such as broccoli, bok choy, and kale- and festive seasonal fruits like persimmons, can change attitudes about "healthy" eating during the holidays. Gain some flavorful food insights in Food for Thought: Healing Foods to Savor, authored by nutritional experts at University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

18 Dec 2012

New MIT technology may help make cancer biomarker detection much easier

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could greatly improve the chances of survival for many patients. One way to do this is to look for specific proteins secreted by cancer cells, which circulate in the bloodstream. However, the quantity of these biomarkers is so low that detecting them has proven difficult.

17 Dec 2012