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Findings may provide new insights into diabetes; suggest novel targets for drug intervention

The neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) makes cameo appearances throughout the body, but its leading role is as the opening act in the stress response, jump-starting the process along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that CRF also plays a part in the pancreas, where it increases insulin secretion and promotes the division of the insulin-producing beta cells.

22 Jan 2010

Mice study shows obesity can increase risk of developing liver cancer

Obesity comes with plenty of health risks, but there's one that's perhaps not so well known: an increased risk of developing cancer, and especially certain types of cancer like liver cancer. Now, a group of researchers reporting in the January 22nd issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, have confirmed in mice that obesity does indeed act as a "bona fide tumor promoter." They also have good evidence to explain how that happens.

22 Jan 2010

HIV infection causes premature aging of the brain

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-San Diego have found.

22 Jan 2010

CPRIT awards the first $61M in grants for cancer research

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded on January 20th the first $61 million in grants for cancer research projects at academic institutions and private companies throughout Texas. These are the inaugural grants of the $3 billion to be invested in cancer research in Texas over the next ten years.

21 Jan 2010

Results of two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 published

Results of the TRANSFORMS and FREEDOMS studies, the two pivotal Phase III clinical trials with oral FTY720 (fingolimod), have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, providing comprehensive evidence to support the efficacy and safety profile of this first-in-class therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS).

21 Jan 2010

Study lays groundwork to develop new treatments for cardiovascular disease and other conditions

In a significant step toward restoring healthy blood circulation to treat a variety of diseases, a team of scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has developed a new technique and described a novel mechanism for turning human embryonic and pluripotent stem cells into plentiful, functional endothelial cells, which are critical to the formation of blood vessels.

21 Jan 2010

Study: PrEP treatment offers protection against HIV transmission in humanized mice

Systemic pre-exposure administration of antiretroviral drugs provides protection against intravenous and rectal transmission of HIV in mice with human immune systems, according to a new study published January 21, 2010 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

21 Jan 2010

Discovery of new class of compounds may help fight hepatitis C

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have discovered a novel class of compounds that, in experiments in vitro, inhibit replication of the virus responsible for hepatitis C. If these compounds prove effective in infected humans as well, they may dramatically accelerate efforts to confront this virus’s propensity to rapidly acquire drug resistance, while possibly skirting some of the troubling side effects common among therapies in current use and in late-stage development.

21 Jan 2010

Study links thyroid disease with human exposure to PFOA

A study by the University of Exeter and the Peninsula Medical School for the first time links thyroid disease with human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). PFOA is a persistent organic chemical used in industrial and consumer goods including nonstick cookware and stain- and water-resistant coatings for carpets and fabrics.

21 Jan 2010

Medco Health Solutions launches Medco TRC for oncology patients

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today announced the launch of the Medco Therapeutic Resource Center® (TRC) for oncology patients headquartered in Whitestown, Ind., where specialist pharmacists will manage the company's more than 850,000 patients currently living with cancer, one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare.

21 Jan 2010

Gambro acquires CHF Solutions

Gambro and CHF Solutions, Inc. (CHF) announced today that Gambro has acquired CHF, a medical device company that manufactures and distributes ultrafiltration devices to treat fluid overload.

20 Jan 2010

Copper-free version of click chemistry crafted to create biomolecular probes

For the first time, the widely used molecular synthesis technique known as click chemistry has been safely applied to a living organism. Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have crafted a unique copper-free version of click chemistry to create biomolecular probes for in vivo studies of live mice. Conventional click chemistry reactions require a copper catalyst that is toxic to cells and organisms.

20 Jan 2010

New LNP compositions that improve systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics discovered

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced the publication of new data in the journal Nature Biotechnology by Alnylam scientists and collaborators from Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, AlCana Technologies, Inc., and The University of British Columbia (UBC). The new study employed a rational design approach for the discovery of novel lipids that can be incorporated into lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

20 Jan 2010

Protein supplements do not improve athletes' performance

Protein supplements don't improve performance or recovery time and, according to a recent study, such supplements are inefficient for most athletes. "They are often poorly used or unnecessary by both high-level athletes and amateurs," says Martin Fr-chette, a researcher and graduate of the Universit- de Montr-al Department of Nutrition.

20 Jan 2010

Telaprevir effective in HCV patients

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that data from recent clinical trials suggest that Vertex/Johnson & Johnson/Mitsubishi Tanabe's telaprevir is efficacious in hepatitis C virus patients who have not responded to previous treatment with peg-IFN/ribavirin. In contrast, the efficacy of Merck's (formerly Schering-Plough) boceprevir in treatment nonresponders has yet to be proven.

20 Jan 2010

Statins may protect SCD children from pneumococcal infection

New research suggests a family of widely used cholesterol-lowering drugs might help protect individuals from serious illness following bacterial infection, including the pneumococcal infections that pose a deadly threat to those with sickle cell disease.

20 Jan 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents data on multiple therapeutic programs at RNAi Symposium

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced that it presented data from multiple pre-clinical and clinical programs at the “RNA Silencing: Mechanism, Biology, and Application” Keystone Symposium held January 14-19, 2010 in Keystone, Colorado. Alnylam and its collaborators presented data from Alnylam’s therapeutic programs including transthyretin (TTR)-mediated amyloidosis and Huntington’s disease, as well as new data on delivery approaches for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

20 Jan 2010

Need for further studies on clinical characteristics of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Incidence of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is increasing worldwide and its prognosis is very poor. Thus, further studies on its clinical characteristics for early detection and on surgical treatment for better prognosis are urgently needed.

18 Jan 2010

Treatment for metastatic tumor based on its unique protein makeup

Imagine if treatments for disease could be based not on a patient's diagnosis but instead on the characteristics of their tissue. By identifying and decoding the cryptic messages hidden deep inside the human proteome, scientists and physicians who study personalized medicine are seeking more effective treatments and disease management for patients.

18 Jan 2010

Regulus Therapeutics presents new data on oncology, immune disease and HCV therapeutic programs

Regulus Therapeutics Inc. today announced that new pre-clinical data from multiple therapeutic programs were presented at the “RNA Silencing: Mechanism, Biology and Application” Keystone Symposium held January 14 – 19, 2010 in Keystone, Colorado. Regulus and its collaborators presented data showing microRNA target regulation by anti-miRs, as well as data from therapeutic programs focused on oncology, immune disease and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

18 Jan 2010