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Acetyl-L-carnitine likely to improve outcomes and recovery for individuals with SCI

A commonly used supplement is likely to improve outcomes and recovery for individuals who sustain a spinal cord injury (SCI), according to research conducted by University of Kentucky neuroscientists.

29 Sep 2011

Halozyme commences HTI-501 clinical trial for cellulite in women

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix for the diabetes, cancer, dermatology and drug delivery markets, today announced the commencement of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial with HTI-501 (rHuCAT-L) in women with moderate to severe edematous fibrosclerotic panniculopathy (also known as cellulite).

28 Sep 2011

Lovastatin appears to be safe, effective for children with neurofibromatosis type 1

Researchers at Children's National Medical Center have found that a cholesterol-lowering statin drug appears to be safe in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and may improve learning disabilities, including verbal and nonverbal memory.

28 Sep 2011

Treatment of CMV infection can inhibit medullablastomas development

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to inhibit the growth of brain tumours by treating the common Cytomegalovirus (CMV). The virus, which is found in a wide range of tumour types, offers a possible route towards controlling tumour growth and reducing the size of the tumour as a complement to conventional cytotoxin-based therapies.

28 Sep 2011

Researchers validate two parasite enzymes as potential anti-malarial drug targets

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Monash University, and Virginia Tech have used a set of novel inhibitors to analyze how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, uses enzymes to chew up human hemoglobin from host red blood cells as a food source.

28 Sep 2011

Organic tomato juice contains more phenolic components than conventional crop juice

Organic tomato juice contains more phenolic components than juice from conventionally grown crops, according to a new study published in the journal Food Chemistry directed by Rosa M. Lamuela, a lecturer from the Department of Nutrition and Bromatology of the University of Barcelona (UB) and researcher for the Nutrition and Food Safety Research Institute (INSA) and the Spanish Biomedical Research Centre-Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition.

28 Sep 2011

Scientists identify proteasome phosphatase that appears to regulate removal of damaged proteins

A study by scientists at the University of California, San Diego and UC Irvine has identified an enzyme called a proteasome phosphatase that appears to regulate removal of damaged proteins from a cell. The understanding of how this process works could have important implications for numerous diseases, including cancer and Parkinson's disease.

28 Sep 2011

Scientists uncover how methylation changes can influence blood stem cell's fate

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered intriguing new evidence helping to explain one of the ways in which a stem cell's fate can be determined.

27 Sep 2011

Weill Cornell receives NIH's T-R01 Award for spina bifida research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year, $5.5 million Transformative Research Project (T-R01) Award to fund research into risk factors for spina bifida and related congenital defects in which an area of the affected baby's spine or brain is not fully enclosed.

27 Sep 2011

New insights into actions of NSAIDs

Ibuprofen, naproxen, and related non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - the subjects of years of study - still have some secrets to reveal about how they work.

26 Sep 2011

Letrozole reduces risk of breast cancer recurrences and death in post-menopausal women

Results from the longest-running trial comparing tamoxifen with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole show unequivocally that letrozole has withstood the test of time and continues to prevent breast cancer recurrences and reduce the risk of death in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.

26 Sep 2011

NIH honors Utah biochemist with Pioneer Award for dsRNA research

University of Utah biochemist Brenda L. Bass, Ph.D., has dedicated her career to following the path less traveled.

23 Sep 2011

Cyclin E plays a crucial role in the formation of nerve connections

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School have found that a common cancer protein leads a second, totally different life in normal adult brain cells: It helps regulates memory formation and may be implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

23 Sep 2011

Longevity research till date may be riddled with flaws: Study

Research over the last decade showing that proteins called sirtuins can increase lifespan is deeply flawed, according to a new study in Nature that debunks prior claims of a direct causal link.

22 Sep 2011

Acetylon initiates ACY-1215 Phase 1-2a clinical trial for multiple myeloma

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals today announced the initiation of patient treatments in a three-part Phase 1-2a clinical trial of ACY-1215, an oral Class II histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, in adults with relapsed and relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

22 Sep 2011

Three Johns Hopkins scientists receive NIH Director's New Innovator Awards

A pioneer in the field of epigenetics who has been spearheading the use of genome-wide technology for epigenetics research, a researcher who has revealed a weakness in the tuberculosis bacterium that makes it more susceptible to antibiotics, and a scientist who seeks to revolutionize new methods for toxicological testing to improve human health and reduce animal testing have received Director's Awards from the National Institutes of Health.

22 Sep 2011

Water plays a decisive role in biologically active enzyme substrate compounds

In biologically active enzyme substrate compounds, as can be found in medicines, water plays a more decisive role than has been imagined up to now. The surrounding water acts like an "adhesive", in order to keep the substrate at the right place on an enzyme.

20 Sep 2011

UNC researchers develop technique that can observe cellular intricacies of CF

When researchers discovered the primary genetic defect that causes cystic fibrosis (CF) back in 1989, they opened up a new realm of research into treatment and a cure for the disease. Since then, scientists have been able to clone the defective gene and study its effects in animals. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique for observing the defects at work in human tissue donated by patients with CF.

20 Sep 2011

Online gamers decipher 3D molecular structure that may help AIDS research

Online gamers have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade. The exploit was published in the journal, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where - exceptionally in scientific publishing - both gamers and researchers are honored as co-authors.

19 Sep 2011

High dietary salt intake and obesity together trigger abnormal activation of cellular protein

Dietary salt intake and obesity are two important risk factors in the development of high blood pressure. Each packs its own punch, but when combined, they deliver more damage to the heart and kidneys than the sum of their individual contributions.

19 Sep 2011