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Blocking C5a protein prevents low birth weight in babies born to pregnant women with malaria

An international team of tropical medicine researchers have discovered a potential method for preventing low birth weight in babies born to pregnant women who are exposed to malaria. Low birth weight is the leading cause of infant death globally.

14 Feb 2013

Stress and mental illness: an interview with Professor Akira Sawa

As a psychiatrist I am interested in how stress may play a role in the pathology of adult mental disorders. You may know that most of the major mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, mood-disorder, substance abuse or even anxiety disorder, become prominent in early adulthood.

14 Feb 2013

IQGAP1 molecule can suppress growth of tumors in the liver

A molecule already implicated in a number of diverse cellular functions can suppress the growth of tumors in the liver, a Mayo Clinic Cancer Center study has found. Its name is IQGAP1, and when the molecule is active in the cells that surround a tumor cell, this "tumor microenvironment" becomes less hospitable to cancer growth. When the molecule is deficient, cancer thrives.

14 Feb 2013

FOXC2 vital to epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast cancer

Researchers have identified a pivotal protein in a cellular transformation that makes a cancer cell more resistant to treatment and more capable of growing and spreading, making it an inviting new target for drug development.

14 Feb 2013

Researchers identify new way to influence the vital serotonin signaling system

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the University of Houston has found a new way to influence the vital serotonin signaling system - possibly leading to more effective medications with fewer side effects.

14 Feb 2013

Link between Jagged-1 protein and bone formation

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have discovered that a protein called Jagged-1 stimulates human stem cells to differentiate into bone-producing cells.

14 Feb 2013

Targacept reports net loss of $15.9 million for fourth quarter 2012

Targacept, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel NNR Therapeutics, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012.

14 Feb 2013

GSK, Vanderbilt partner to develop and commercialize new therapies for severe obesity

Vanderbilt University announced today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for severe obesity.

13 Feb 2013

Low vitamin D not linked to poor physical performance in octogenarians

Researchers have found no evidence for a link between low vitamin D levels and impaired physical performance in people aged 80 years or older.

12 Feb 2013

Berkeley Lab researchers resolve EGFR activation mystery

Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have provided important new details into the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface protein that has been strongly linked to a large number of cancers and is a major target of cancer therapies.

12 Feb 2013

Combination of two antibodies prevents growth and spread of triple-negative breast tumors

Cancer drugs of the new, molecular generation destroy malignant breast tumors in a targeted manner: They block characteristic molecules on tumor cells - receptors for the hormones estrogen or progesterone, or a co-receptor, called HER2, that binds to many growth factors. But about one in every six breast tumors has none of these receptors. Such cancers, called triple-negative, are particularly aggressive and notoriously difficult to treat.

10 Feb 2013

Broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice

When motors break down, getting where you want to go becomes a struggle. Problems arise in much the same way for critical brain receptors when the molecular motors they depend on fail to operate. Now, researchers reporting in Cell Reports, a Cell Press publication, on February 7, have shown these broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice. The discovery may point the way to new kinds of drugs to treat anxiety and other disorders.

10 Feb 2013

Tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 involved in renal decline in diabetes

Researchers have found that circulating levels of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 are independently associated with the development of chronic kidney disease in nonobese Japanese patients with Type 2 diabetes.

8 Feb 2013

Oral eosinophilic ulcers ‘a self-limiting, reactive condition’

A review of patients with oral eosinophilic ulcers suggests that the lesions should be considered a reactive, local condition rather than a CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorder.

8 Feb 2013

Novel combination of ibrutinib and bortezomib could be effective new therapy for blood cancers

Laboratory experiments conducted by scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center suggest that a novel combination of the drugs ibrutinib and bortezomib could potentially be an effective new therapy for several forms of blood cancer, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

7 Feb 2013

Researchers design guideline for physicians and patients on Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome

University of Granada researchers have designed a guideline for physicians and patients on the Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), a rare disease that makes the subject develop reverse sex, which occurs when a subject looks like a woman but has male genes.

7 Feb 2013

Glimmer of hope for imatinib-resistant GIST

The monoclonal antibody SR1 can significantly inhibit gastrointestinal stromal tumor cell growth, report researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

7 Feb 2013

Tumor suppressor mutant may predict poor outcome in breast cancer

An oncogenic variant of the Krüppel-like family 6 tumor suppressor gene appears to play a role in driving breast cancer metastasis and may be a prognostic marker for poor patient outcome, report researchers.

6 Feb 2013

Acceleron commences dalantercept phase 2 study in metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, announced the initiation of a phase 2 study of dalantercept, a novel angiogenesis inhibitor that targets the activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) pathway.

5 Feb 2013

Acceleron Pharma initiates dalantercept phase 2 study in advanced ovarian cancer

Acceleron Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan disease, today announced that the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) initiated a phase 2 study of dalantercept in patients with persistent or recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

5 Feb 2013