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Potential drug targets and prognostic markers for prostate cancer

Two proteins that act in opposing directions - one that promotes cancer and one that suppresses cancer - regulate the same set of genes in prostate cancer, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have found.

6 Aug 2012

Common ragweed may induce airways irritation through terpenoids

Allergy to pollen of common ragweed is increasingly affecting patients and is second only to grass pollen in terms of incidence in the general population of many European countries.

6 Aug 2012

Scientists identify key factor that drives resistance to cancer drug

Developing resistance to chemotherapy is a nearly universal, ultimately lethal consequence for cancer patients with solid tumors - such as those of the breast, prostate, lung and colon - that have metastasized, or spread, throughout the body. A team of scientists led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has discovered a key factor that drives this drug resistance - information that ultimately may be used to improve the effectiveness of therapy and buy precious time for patients with advanced cancer.

6 Aug 2012

Genocea announces new data that supports novel approach for development of HSV-2 vaccine

Genocea Biosciences announced today the presentation of new data supporting its novel approach to developing a first-in-class, protein subunit therapeutic vaccine for Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2).

6 Aug 2012

Neutrophils play an unexpected role in mediating insulin resistance

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say neutrophils, an abundant type of white blood cell typically tasked with attacking bacteria and other foreign invaders, also plays an unexpected role in mediating insulin resistance - the central characteristic of type 2 diabetes, which afflicts an estimated 26 million Americans.

6 Aug 2012

TAU research identifies protein group that may kick-start allergic reactions

Allergies, or hypersensitivities of the immune system, are more common than ever before. According to the Asthma and Allergies Foundation of America, one in five Americans suffers from an allergy - from milder forms like hay fever to more severe instances, like peanut allergies which can lead to anaphylactic shock.

6 Aug 2012

Sanofi-aventis receives FDA approval for Zaltrap to treat colorectal cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zaltrap (ziv-aflibercept) for use in combination with a FOLFIRI (folinic acid, fluorouracil and irinotecan) chemotherapy regimen to treat adults with colorectal cancer.

6 Aug 2012

Drug molecules designed for influenza may be adapted to treat other viruses

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital study shows how compounds blocking an enzyme universal to all influenza viruses may allow development of new antiviral drugs that also avoid the problem of drug resistance

3 Aug 2012

Similar molecular pathways involved in intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes

Intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes involves similar molecular pathways report researchers in The EMBO Journal. The two disorders share disturbances in the molecular events that regulate the way nerve cells develop dendritic spines, the small extensions found on the surface of nerve cells that are crucial for communication in the brain.

3 Aug 2012

Potential new drug to treat common inherited kidney disease

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have demonstrated in the laboratory that a new drug is effective in treating a very common kidney disease -- although it will be a few years before it becomes available for clinical testing. The findings resulted from a collaboration between UCSB and a biotech firm based in Indiana. The study is published in this week's Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

3 Aug 2012

New role for oncogenic signaling pathway in embryonic stem cell self-renewal

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the University of Manchester, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center have found a new role for an oncogenic signaling pathway in embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal and in reprogramming adult cells into an ESC-state, which will aid in the development of future cancer therapies.

3 Aug 2012

TAT-ARC fusion protein helps treat acute liver failure

Acute liver failure is a life-threatening disease, characterized by a sudden, massive death of liver cells. Unfortunately, few treatment options exist, especially for advanced-stage liver failure. As a last resort a liver transplant may be the only remaining option.

3 Aug 2012

Exercise benefits influenced by sRAGE levels in diabetes

Increased levels of the soluble form of the receptor for advanced glycation end products may underly the beneficial effects of exercise in patients with Type 2 diabetes, research shows.

3 Aug 2012

HSF1 increases expression of chaperones and supports cancer metastasis

Whitehead Institute researchers have found that increased expression of a specific set of genes is strongly associated with metastasis and death in patients with breast, colon, and lung cancers.

3 Aug 2012

Researchers identify how telomerase is recruited to chromosome ends

Stem cells are special. Nestled in muscle and skin, organ and bone, they bide their time over years or decades until called to replace damaged or lost tissue. One secret to their longevity is an enzyme called telomerase, which stills the relentless ticking of the molecular clock that limits the life span of other cells.

3 Aug 2012

Anacardic acid can rescue some ALS phenotypes in vitro

A research group at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Japan's Kyoto University has successfully recapitulated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-associated abnormalities in motor neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) obtained from patients with familial ALS, a late-onset, fatal disorder which is also known for Lou Gehrig's disease. In a drug screening assay using the disease model, the team further found that the chemical compound anacardic acid can rescue some ALS phenotypes in vitro.

3 Aug 2012

Myc-directed repression of tristetraprolin important for development and maintenance of cancer

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a protein that impairs the development and maintenance of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), but is repressed during the initial stages of the disease, allowing for rapid tumor growth.

3 Aug 2012

Fatty acid synthase provides new target for treatment of obesity and diabetes

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a potential target for treating diabetes and obesity.

3 Aug 2012

Ginger muscles in on diabetes

Ginger, the common spice and ancient Asian remedy, could have the power to help manage the high levels of blood sugar which create complications for long-term diabetic patients, a University of Sydney study reports.

2 Aug 2012

Possible molecular link between circadian rhythm disturbances and increased inflammatory response

Scientists have known for some time that throwing off the body's circadian rhythm can negatively affect body chemistry. In fact, workers whose sleep-wake cycles are disrupted by night shifts are more susceptible to chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cancer.

2 Aug 2012