Compound News and Research

RSS

Chemists say they have identified a gene that appears to play a key role in the development of type 1 diabetes

In the current study, the researchers focused on the formation of the MIF protein (macrophage migration inhibitory factor), a proinflammatory protein that they showed in previous studies is elevated in diabetic animals and may be involved in the cascade of immunological events that leads to the destruction of the pancreas and the subsequent onset of type 1 diabetes.

21 Mar 2005

Dental researchers map the gene that causes dentinogenesis imperfecta

Dental researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center are the first in the world to successfully map the gene that causes dentinogenesis imperfecta (DGI) Type III, a disease that affects tooth density and color and over time can cause teeth to wear to the gum line.

16 Mar 2005

Brewing up potential anti-cancer drugs from green tea

Drinking green tea has a protective effect against some forms of cancer but drinking large amounts can increase the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida – according to previous epidemiological studies.

15 Mar 2005

New insight into key mechanism by which cells limit cholesterol

The finding suggests a novel approach to the development of cholesterol-lowering drugs that may boost the effect of statins, one of the most prescribed cholesterol inhibitors, according to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

15 Mar 2005

New cancer drug looks promising

Dr. E. Premkumar Reddy from Temple University School of Medicine and colleagues, in a study examining the effects of Plk1 inhibitor ON01910 on tumor growth in several animal models have found that a small molecule inhibitor of polo-like kinase1 (Plk1) could lead to a new avenue for targeted cancer therapy.

14 Mar 2005

Biomedical engineers, chemists collaborate on novel method to design better medicines

The ability to select and develop compounds that act on specific cellular targets has just gained a computational ally -- a mathematical algorithm that predicts the precise effects a given compound will have on a cell's molecular components or chemical processes.

8 Mar 2005

Neuren and Metabolic collaborate to develop range of nerve repair compounds

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Neuren) and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Metabolic) have announced that the two companies have agreed to collaborate to co-develop Neuren's class of Neuro-regenerative Peptides (NRPs) for the treatment of degenerative conditions such as peripheral neuropathy, motor neuron disease and repairing the brain or nerves after injuries such as spinal cord injury.

7 Mar 2005

Definitive evidence that TRPV3 is a temperature sensor

The human brain is like a general in a bunker. Floating in its bubble of cerebrospinal fluid, it has no direct window to the outside world, so the only way for the brain to observe, comprehend, and order the body into action is to rely on information it receives.

6 Mar 2005

Proteins link cellular aging and response to calorie restriction

In the March 3 issue of Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers report that two proteins best known for very different activities actually come together to turn the liver into a sugar-producing factory when food is scarce.

6 Mar 2005

Nuclear reactor as a cancer cure

Despite the millions of dollars that have been invested into research to improve methods of treatments for various types of cancer, oncological diseases continue to have a high mortality rate, remaining one of the main causes of death globally. Traditional cancer treatment methods, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy are effective in approximately only half of all patients.

3 Mar 2005

Future diabetes drugs may target new protein interaction

2 Mar 2005

Liquorice - the black stuff we love to eat, may help prevent cancer

Liquorice - the black stuff we love to eat, contains a compound - glycyrrhizic acid which may stop people with a herpes virus from developing cancer.A research team at New York University found the compound - glycyrrhizic acid - possibly has the ability to stop the virus triggering a form of cancer called Kaposi sarcoma.

2 Mar 2005

Targeting the Hedgehog pathway could be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Aberrant activation of the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway has been associated with numerous malignancies including basal cell carcinoma, medulloblastoma, and pancreatic cancer. Several reports also suggest that positive regulators of the Hh pathway could be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

27 Feb 2005

New compounds for the treatment of HIV/AIDS

Scientists from Tibotec Pharmaceuticals Ltd. presented data on several new compounds for the treatment of HIV/AIDS at the 12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held February 22-25 in Boston, MA, USA.

27 Feb 2005

Pfizer acquires Idun Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Idun Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapies to control apoptosis, a process of cell death that occurs in a broad range of diseases.

24 Feb 2005

Feverfew or Bachelor's Button, kills human leukemia stem cells like no other single therapy

A daisy-like plant known as Feverfew or Bachelor's Button, a traditional remedy for reducing fevers and a treatment for nervousness, hysteria and low spirits, is the source of an agent that kills human leukemia stem cells like no other single therapy

23 Feb 2005

New compound, AMN107, 20 times more potent than Gleevec for chronic myelogenous leukemia treatment

A laboratory study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has shown that a potent and highly selective therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) may ultimately be more effective than Gleevec®, the current standard of care.

21 Feb 2005

Green tea protects livers

A new study investigating the effects of the major flavonoid component of green tea on hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) found that it significantly protected livers that suffered ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in mice. I/R injury, which is caused by decreased blood flow, can lead to complications after liver transplantation.

20 Feb 2005

Changing chemistry helps explain estrogen threat to the heart

A piece of the topical puzzle of how estrogen goes from protecting women from heart disease to apparently increasing their risk later in life may have been found.

16 Feb 2005

Link between diabetes and obesity

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis used genetically modified mice to uncover a potentially important link between diabetes and obesity.

15 Feb 2005