Pancreas News and Research

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The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that pass to the small intestine. These enzymes help in the further breakdown of the carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the chyme.

Two studies show how cells adapt to stressors by reprogramming internal signaling networks

In a pair of publications, researchers have shown how cells adapt to stressors--like water loss--by reprogramming their internal signaling networks.

20 Dec 2017

Doing more harm than good? Epidemic of screening burdens nation’s older patients

Elena Altemus is 89 and has dementia. She often forgets her children's names, and sometimes can't recall whether she lives in Maryland or Italy.

20 Dec 2017

Nano-encapsulation of bilirubin could enhance survival rates of pancreatic islet cells

By encapsulating bilirubin within tiny nanoparticles, researchers from North Carolina State University and the Ohio State University have improved the survival rates of pancreatic islet cells in vitro in a low-oxygen environment.

18 Dec 2017

‘Sushi-like’ nanodiscs provide structural snapshots of misfolding proteins

When proteins misfold, accumulate and clump around insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, they kill cells. Now, researchers, including University of Michigan biophysicists, have obtained a structural snapshot of these proteins when they are most toxic, detailing them down to the atomic level.

15 Dec 2017

Genentech researchers uncover epigenetic regulator of pancreatic cancer cells

Genentech researchers have identified an enzyme that shifts pancreatic cancer cells to a more aggressive, drug-resistant state by epigenetically modifying the cells' chromatin.

11 Dec 2017

Tgen And Baylor secure federal grant to develop early detection system for pancreatic cancer

A group of the nation's premier cancer researchers led by the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and the Translational Genomics Research Institute -- has secured a $5.13 million federal grant to develop an early detection system for pancreatic cancer, the nation's third-leading cause of cancer-related death.

11 Dec 2017

Russian researchers create new approaches to prevention and treatment of diabetes

A team of scientists from the Ural Federal University and the Institute of Immunology and Physiology modeled type 1 diabetes in an experiment to study recovery processes in the pancreas.

11 Dec 2017

Simple molecular test may help predict presence of high-grade pancreatic cancers

A report in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, describes a new simple molecular test to detect chromosomal abnormalities -- biomarkers known as telomere fusions--in pancreatic tumor specimens and pancreatic cyst fluids.

8 Dec 2017

Specific protein negatively affects pancreatic cells and leads to cancer growth

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer and is currently very difficult to treat. However, the last few years have seen advances in the scientific understanding of how this cancer develops at a molecular level.

6 Dec 2017

Intensive weight management program can help people with type 2 diabetes achieve remission

Type 2 diabetes can be reversed following an intensive weight management program, according a randomized trial in adults who have had the condition for up to 6 years, published in The Lancet.

6 Dec 2017

Guidelines to control opioid prescribing for post-surgery pain

A recent study, conducted at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, suggests that more vigilant prescribing guidelines could reduce the number of opioid pills a patient receives after surgery, whilst still meeting pain management needs.

1 Dec 2017

Guideline for surgeons could reduce opioids prescribed after operations by 40%

Rising rates of opioid prescriptions have been linked to the opioid epidemic, and a significant number of opioid deaths have been linked to prescriptions written by surgeons.

1 Dec 2017

New targeted treatment could benefit patients with certain pancreatic tumors

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have shown that a new targeted treatment could benefit patients with certain pancreatic tumors by preventing spread of the cancer and protecting their heart from damage--a direct result of the tumor.

1 Dec 2017

Researchers identify key mechanism by which obesity causes type 2 diabetes

UT Southwestern researchers have identified a major mechanism by which obesity causes type 2 diabetes, which is a common complication of being overweight that afflicts more than 30 million Americans and over 400 million people worldwide.

28 Nov 2017

CF patients in the U.S. show faster rate of improvement in lung function and nutrition

New research comparing cystic fibrosis patients in the United States and Canada showed that, although the patients' nutritional status and lung function improved in both countries over the period from 1990 to 2013, the rate of improvement was faster in the United States.

22 Nov 2017

Oncologists find new biomarker for breast cancer having poor prognosis

With the support of the FWF, an oncologist found a biomarker for breast cancer having a poor prognosis and developed two viable methods to detect it in tissue samples.

22 Nov 2017

Controlling organ functions with your cell phone may be possible in future

Think about this. You have diabetes, are trying to control your insulin levels and instead of taking a pill or giving yourself an injection, you click an app on your phone that tells your pancreas to bring blood sugar levels back to normal.

22 Nov 2017

Diabetes patients’ immune system can regulate insulin production

Inflammation processes are responsible for the failure of insulin production in diabetes patients. The patients' own immune systems can contribute to treatment of this disease: researchers at the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel have found a feedback mechanism that could help maintain insulin production in overweight sufferers, as they report in the journal Immunity.

21 Nov 2017

New mechanism in cancer cells to disarm attacking immune cells, study reveals

A new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, identified a substance Gdf-15, which is secreted by pancreatic cancer cells and shields cancerous cells from attack by immune cells known as macrophages.

21 Nov 2017

Enterovirus vaccine protects against virus-induced diabetes in mouse model

Scientists at the University of Tampere and the Karolinska Institutet have demonstrated that an enterovirus vaccine can protect against virus-induced diabetes in a mouse model for Type 1 diabetes.

20 Nov 2017

Pancreas News and Research

Further Reading

Two studies show how cells adapt to stressors by reprogramming internal signaling networks

Doing more harm than good? Epidemic of screening burdens nation’s older patients

Nano-encapsulation of bilirubin could enhance survival rates of pancreatic islet cells

‘Sushi-like’ nanodiscs provide structural snapshots of misfolding proteins

Genentech researchers uncover epigenetic regulator of pancreatic cancer cells

Tgen And Baylor secure federal grant to develop early detection system for pancreatic cancer

Russian researchers create new approaches to prevention and treatment of diabetes

Simple molecular test may help predict presence of high-grade pancreatic cancers

Specific protein negatively affects pancreatic cells and leads to cancer growth

Intensive weight management program can help people with type 2 diabetes achieve remission

Guidelines to control opioid prescribing for post-surgery pain

Guideline for surgeons could reduce opioids prescribed after operations by 40%

New targeted treatment could benefit patients with certain pancreatic tumors

Researchers identify key mechanism by which obesity causes type 2 diabetes

CF patients in the U.S. show faster rate of improvement in lung function and nutrition

Oncologists find new biomarker for breast cancer having poor prognosis

Controlling organ functions with your cell phone may be possible in future

Diabetes patients’ immune system can regulate insulin production

New mechanism in cancer cells to disarm attacking immune cells, study reveals

Enterovirus vaccine protects against virus-induced diabetes in mouse model

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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