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Rak gene helps protect tumor suppressor in breast cancer

Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a gene that protects PTEN, a major tumor-suppressor that is reduced but rarely mutated in about half of all breast cancers.

6 Apr 2009

Locking parasites in host cell could be new way to fight malaria

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that parasites hijack host-cell proteins to ensure their survival and proliferation, suggesting new ways to control the diseases they cause.

6 Apr 2009

Alzheimer's disease linked to mitochondrial damage

Investigators at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have demonstrated that attacks on the mitochondrial protein Drp1 by the free radical nitric oxide-which causes a chemical reaction called S-nitrosylation-mediates neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease.

5 Apr 2009

Molecule called miR-29b could be a potent treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

A new study by Ohio State University cancer researchers shows that boosting the level of a molecule called miR-29b in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells can reverse gene changes that trap the cells in an immature, fast growing state of development.

5 Apr 2009

Varicella zoster infection causes severe autoimmune hepatitis

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic liver inflammation of unknown etiology that is characterized by the presence of circulatory autoantibodies and ongoing liver tissue damage.

2 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene that modifies severity of cystic fibrosis lung disease

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues, have identified a gene that modifies the severity of lung disease in people with cystic fibrosis, a lethal genetic condition.

2 Apr 2009

High novelty-seeking and low avoidance of harm contribute to alcohol dependence

Personality factors can influence the development of alcohol dependence (AD).

2 Apr 2009

Researchers discover structure-building role for 2 non-coding RNAs

Most of the DNA in the nucleus of each of our cells is converted into RNA, but only a small fraction of these RNA molecules serve as coding templates for the synthesis of proteins.

2 Apr 2009

New HIV drug may help patients not responding to treatment

A potential treatment for HIV may one day help people who are not responding to Anti-Retroviral Therapy, suggests new research published tomorrow in The Journal of Immunology.

1 Apr 2009

Novel assays provide new insight into why patients are in heart failure

A failing heart makes a lot of a hormone needed to eliminate the excess salt and water bloating the body but not enough of the enzyme needed to activate it, researchers say.

1 Apr 2009

Researchers develop mouse models of leukemia that predict response to chemotherapy

Being able to accurately predict how a given cancer will respond to chemotherapy would spare patients with non-responsive tumors the burden of undergoing toxic and ultimately unhelpful treatment.

1 Apr 2009

Research reveals new options for people with phenylketonuria

For people with the genetic condition known as phenylketonuria (PKU), diet is a constant struggle.

30 Mar 2009

In lab supplements of lipoic acid lower triglyceride levels

Studies done with laboratory rats suggest that supplementation of their diet with lipoic acid had a significant effect in lowering triglycerides, which along with cholesterol levels and blood pressure are one of the key risk factors in cardiovascular disease.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of 'lock-like' molecule may provide new ways to starve cancer tumors or prevent drug side effects

Scientists have shed new light -- literally -- on a possible way to starve cancer tumors or prevent side effects from a wide range of drugs.

30 Mar 2009

BioMarin receives notice of allowance for Kuvan patent

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has announced that it has received a notice from the United States Patent Office reporting allowance of claims covering once daily dosing methods for Kuvan (sapropterin dihydrochloride) in the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).

30 Mar 2009

Missing enzyme GNSOR conveys major heart protection in pre-clinical work

Mice born without a certain enzyme can resist the normal effects of a heart attack and retain nearly normal function in the heart's ventricles and still-oxygenated heart tissue, according to a study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

30 Mar 2009

Discovery of new tumor suppressor gene

National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers have identified a gene that suppresses tumor growth in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

30 Mar 2009

New high-throughput screening technique makes probing puzzling proteins possible

Understanding the tens of thousands of proteins that compose the human proteome has emerged as a key challenge of this century, and research efforts to date have already enabled major advances in drug discovery and understanding basic biology.

29 Mar 2009

NTRILIPIX (fenofibric acid) in combo with Rosuvastatin calcium shows improvement on key lipids for cholesterol management

Data from a new study showed that Abbott's TRILIPIX (fenofibric acid) delayed-release capsules in combination with rosuvastatin calcium met all of the study's primary endpoints.

29 Mar 2009

Enzyme and vitamin define the yin and yang of asthma

The allergen breathed in by a person with asthma triggers a proteinase or enzyme called MMP7 that activates a cascade of events to prompt an allergic reaction, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Immunology.

29 Mar 2009