Enzyme News and Research

RSS

New test for TB could improve speed and accuracy of diagnosis for deadliest diseases

A new test for tuberculosis (TB) could dramatically improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis for one of the world's deadliest diseases, enabling health care providers to report results to patients within minutes, according to a study published this week in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

8 Jul 2014

Promising new drug for metabolic syndrome

University of Utah researchers have discovered that an enzyme involved in intracellular signaling plays a crucial role in developing metabolic syndrome, a finding that has a U of U spinoff company developing a drug to potentially treat the condition.

4 Jul 2014

Researchers discover new way by which metabolism is linked to regulation of DNA

A research team at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have discovered a new way by which metabolism is linked to the regulation of DNA, the basis of our genetic code. The findings may have important implications for the understanding of many common diseases, including cancer.

4 Jul 2014

Beleodaq gets FDA approval for treatment of patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Beleodaq (belinostat) for the treatment of patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), a rare and fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The action was taken under the agency's accelerated approval program.

3 Jul 2014

Study reveals mechanism underlying abnormal fat accumulation in HIV patients

Building upon their earlier research on the biology of fat metabolism, Joslin scientists discovered that microRNAs -small RNA molecules that play important roles in regulation in many types of tissue - play a major role in the distribution and determination of fat cells and whole body metabolism.

3 Jul 2014

Exome sequencing improves diagnosis of mitochondrial disease

Use of exome sequencing improved the ability to identify the underlying gene mutations in patients with biochemically defined defects affecting multiple mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (enzymes that are involved in basic energy production), according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Jul 2014

New compound blocks action of key 'gatekeeper' enzyme for malaria parasite survival

Melbourne researchers are homing in on a new target for malaria treatment, after developing a compound that blocks the action of a key 'gatekeeper' enzyme essential for malaria parasite survival.

2 Jul 2014

First step toward new drugs that can transcend antibiotic resistance issues

Scientists in the United States and India have successfully modified the precursor to one of the drugs used to treat tuberculosis, an important first step toward new drugs that can transcend antibiotic resistance issues that experts consider a serious threat to global health.

28 Jun 2014

ALS is aggravated by over-activity of HDAC6 enzyme, shows study

Scientists at VIB and KU Leuven have demonstrated in fruit-flies that over-activity of the enzyme HDAC6 in the nerve ends exacerbates the symptoms of the neurodegenerative condition Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS / Lou Gehrig's Disease). Inhibition of this enzyme could offer a protective effect against ALS.

27 Jun 2014

ASPIRE completes patient enrollment in Phase III trial of vaginal ring for HIV prevention

ASPIRE, one of two Phase III trials of a promising method for preventing HIV in women - a vaginal ring worn for a month at a time - has completed enrollment of participants, with 2,629 women from 15 clinical research sites in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe now taking part in the study.

27 Jun 2014

Blocking enzyme Cdk5 could reduce brain damage after stroke

A drug that blocks the action of the enzyme Cdk5 could substantially reduce brain damage if administered shortly after a stroke, UT Southwestern Medical Center research suggests.

27 Jun 2014

Scientists report first successful step toward vaccine that targets mutation in brain cancer

Astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas are subtypes of a brain cancer called 'glioma'. These incurable brain tumors arise from glial cells, a type of support cell found in the central nervous system.

26 Jun 2014

New rapid diagnostic test for multi-resistance to broad-spectrum antibiotics

A rapid diagnostic test for multi-resistance to broad-spectrum antibiotics has just been developed at the University of Fribourg. Prof Patrice Nordmann and Dr Laurent Poirel of the Medical and Molecular Microbiology Unit have been collaborating with Unit 914 of the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Paris, of which Patrice Nordmann is also Director.

26 Jun 2014

Current sequencing protocols overlook DNA crucial to bacterial virulence

Genomic sequencing is supposed to reveal the entire genetic makeup of an organism. For infectious disease specialists, the technology can be used to analyze a disease-causing bacterium to determine how much harm it is capable of causing and whether or not it will be resistant to antibiotics.

26 Jun 2014

Small antioxidant molecules suppress colon cancer associated with colitis

Researchers from Case Western Reserve and Dartmouth universities have shown that a class of small antioxidant molecules carries enormous promise for supressing colon cancer associated with colitis.

25 Jun 2014

Animal study: Common BPA substitute alters brain development, causes hyperactive behavior

A chemical found in many "BPA free" consumer products, known as bisphenol S (BPS), is just as potent as bisphenol A (BPA) in altering brain development and causing hyperactive behavior, an animal study finds.

24 Jun 2014

Discovery provides scientists with better understanding of limiting uncontrolled cell growth

Biologists at UC San Diego have found the "missing link" in the chemical system that enables animal cells to produce ribosomes-the thousands of protein "factories" contained within each cell that manufacture all of the proteins needed to build tissue and sustain life.

24 Jun 2014