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Indomethacin given after digestive diagnostic procedure may prevent pancreatitis: Study

There is a high risk of pancreatitis after a diagnostic procedure - ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography). ERCP is a procedure that is commonly utilized to treat or diagnose problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts. During an ERCP procedure, a lighted scope is inserted through the mouth while X-ray pictures are taken to check the tubes that drain the liver, pancreas and gallbladder.

15 Apr 2012

Breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express higher level of PRDX2

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have shown that breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express a higher level of the protein peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2). The study suggests that the modulation of the levels of this protein could be a new therapeutic strategy to prevent lung metastases.

11 Apr 2012

Amyloid precursor protein appears to regulate its own production

A research team led by the University of South Florida Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences has found that a fragment of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) -- known as sAPP-α and associated with Alzheimer's disease -- appears to regulate its own production.

11 Apr 2012

Black fly's blood-sucking tactics may be used for medical advancement

Black flies drink blood and spread disease such as river blindness-creating misery with their presence. A University of Georgia study, however, proves that the pesky insects can be useful.

9 Apr 2012

Researchers question wisdom of blocking DP1 in patients prone to cardiovascular disease

Niacin, or vitamin B3, is the one approved drug that elevates "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) while depressing "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein , LDL), and has thereby attracted much attention from patients and physicians. Niacin keeps fat from breaking down, and so obstructs the availability of LDL building blocks.

9 Apr 2012

Research on how cells cope with stress could lead to more effective cancer treatment

Both radiation and many forms of chemotherapy try to kill tumors by causing oxidative stress in cancer cells. New research from USC on a protein that protects cancer and other cells from these stresses could one day help doctors to break down cancer cells' defenses, making them more susceptible to treatment.

7 Apr 2012

African American women more likely to have ER-negative breast cancer

American women of African ancestry are more likely than European Americans to have estrogen-receptor-negative (ER-negative) breast cancer. There continues to be discussion about the role of low levels of vitamin D in the development of breast cancer for these women.

6 Apr 2012

Spectrum’s apaziquone Phase 3 trials on bladder cancer do not meet primary endpoint

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with fully integrated commercial and drug development operations with a primary focus in hematology and oncology, today announced that the two double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, Phase 3 clinical trials for apaziquone did not meet their primary endpoint of a statistically significant difference in the rate of tumor recurrence at 2 years between the two arms.

6 Apr 2012

Scientists uncover structure and operating mechanism of TPPII

Uncontrolled or inaccurate degradation of cellular proteins can lead to diseases like cancer or Alzheimer's disease. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, have now uncovered the structure and the operating mechanism of an important component of the human cellular degradation machinery, tripeptidyl peptidase II.

5 Apr 2012

Scripps Florida scientists to create new screening tests for HCV treatment discovery

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded just over $1 million from the National Institutes of Health for a three-year study to develop new high-throughput screening tests to find compounds that disable a protein essential to hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication.

5 Apr 2012

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute performs most adult heart transplants of any U.S. medical center

For the second year in a row, the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and Comprehensive Transplant Center performed the most adult heart transplants of any U.S. medical center, according to government statistics.

4 Apr 2012

Study: Functional link between two major causes of treatment failure in breast cancer

Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows a functional link between two major causes of treatment failure in breast cancer, showing the protein behind one of these causes plays a role in increasing the drug resistance properties of the other.

4 Apr 2012

Gbb38 protein helps explain how cells send many long-haul messages

As they work together to form body parts, cells in developing organisms communicate like workers at a construction site. The discovery of a new signaling molecule in flies by Brown University biologists not only helps explain how cells send many long-haul messages, but also provides new clues for researchers who study how human development goes awry, for instance in cases of cleft lip and palate.

3 Apr 2012

Scientists discover new serine protease: NSP4

Neutrophil granulocytes comprise important defences for the immune system. When pathogenic bacteria penetrate the body, they are the first on the scene to mobilise other immune cells via signal molecules, thereby containing the risk. To this end, they release serine proteases - enzymes that cut up other proteins to activate signal molecules. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now discovered a new serine protease: neutrophil serine protease 4, or NSP4.

3 Apr 2012

CYP1B1 protein may be a potential target for intervention in head and neck cancer

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck-which typically arises from thin, flat cells that line moist surfaces inside the mouth, nose and throat-is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, and it has a relatively low five-year survival rate and a high recurrence rate.

2 Apr 2012

Special fatty molecules pave novel way to treat infections, autoimmune diseases, allergies and cancer

An international research team led by scientists from Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) under the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) discovered that a special class of fatty molecules is essential for activating a unique group of early-responding immune cells.

2 Apr 2012

Study sheds light on cellular mechanisms involved in flu resistance

Scientists from the University of Utah School of Medicine have discovered that a mouse protein called IFITM3 contributes to the body's defense against some types of viral infections by binding to an enzyme responsible for regulating the pH of a cell's waste disposal system.

2 Apr 2012

WCMC receives SU2C-PCF Prostate Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant

An international team of investigators from centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, including Weill Cornell Medical College, have been awarded a grant for $10 million over a three-year period to study the molecular underpinnings of metastatic prostate cancer while creating a comprehensive testing system to optimize personalized treatments.

2 Apr 2012

Nmnat enzyme plays a critical role in nerve injury

A new animal model of nerve injury has brought to light a critical role of an enzyme called Nmnat in nerve fiber maintenance and neuroprotection.

31 Mar 2012

Needle-free vaccine shows promise against RSV in children

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are closing in on a needle-free vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a major cause of respiratory illness in children under two years of age.

30 Mar 2012

Enzyme News and Research

Indomethacin given after digestive diagnostic procedure may prevent pancreatitis: Study

Breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express higher level of PRDX2

Amyloid precursor protein appears to regulate its own production

Black fly's blood-sucking tactics may be used for medical advancement

Researchers question wisdom of blocking DP1 in patients prone to cardiovascular disease

Research on how cells cope with stress could lead to more effective cancer treatment

African American women more likely to have ER-negative breast cancer

Spectrum’s apaziquone Phase 3 trials on bladder cancer do not meet primary endpoint

Scientists uncover structure and operating mechanism of TPPII

Scripps Florida scientists to create new screening tests for HCV treatment discovery

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute performs most adult heart transplants of any U.S. medical center

Study: Functional link between two major causes of treatment failure in breast cancer

Gbb38 protein helps explain how cells send many long-haul messages

Scientists discover new serine protease: NSP4

CYP1B1 protein may be a potential target for intervention in head and neck cancer

Special fatty molecules pave novel way to treat infections, autoimmune diseases, allergies and cancer

Study sheds light on cellular mechanisms involved in flu resistance

WCMC receives SU2C-PCF Prostate Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant

Nmnat enzyme plays a critical role in nerve injury

Needle-free vaccine shows promise against RSV in children

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