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New finding about the relationship between stress and cancer

One way environmental stress causes cancer is by reducing the activity level of an enzyme that causes cell death, researchers say.

6 Nov 2007

Brain chemical anandamide work as antidepressant

American and Italian researchers have found that boosting the amounts of a marijuana-like brain transmitter called anandamide produces antidepressant effects in test rats.

6 Nov 2007

FADS2 gene governs IQ boost from breastfeeding

The known association between breast feeding and slightly higher IQ in children has been shown to relate to a particular gene in the babies, according to a report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

6 Nov 2007

Manipulation of MOF enzyme may make tumors more sensitive to radiation therapy

To make tumors more sensitive to the killing power of radiation is a key aspiration for many radiation oncologists. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered new information that leads them closer to that goal.

5 Nov 2007

Common blood pressure medications ACEIs and ARBs provide equal control

Two common classes of blood pressure medications – angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) – are equally effective at controlling high blood pressure, according to a report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

5 Nov 2007

Carnegie Mellon researchers to develop new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy

Carnegie Mellon University's Stefan F. Zappe is using adult neural stem cells to develop a new stem cell-based drug delivery therapy that may ultimately help treat a variety of inherited genetic disorders like Hunter syndrome.

5 Nov 2007

Enzyme sphingosine kinase 2 show to be potential new target to fight cancer

Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have identified the enzyme sphingosine kinase 2 as a possible new therapeutic target to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy for colon and breast cancer.

2 Nov 2007

New designer toxins kill Bt-resistant insect pests

A new way to combat resistant pests stems from discovering how the widely used natural insecticide Bt kills insects.

2 Nov 2007

Mice predict the effectiveness of orally taken drugs

The amount of an orally taken drug that makes it to the site in the body at which it exerts its effects is much lower than the amount of an intravenously administered drug and it varies considerably between individuals.

2 Nov 2007

Discovery of novel mechanism to predict survival in older women with early stage lung cancer

A novel mechanism to predict survival in older women with early stage lung cancer has been uncoverecd by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, a discovery that may have significant implications for new treatment approaches.

2 Nov 2007

Case Western Reserve researchers breed a "Lance Armstrong" mouse

Case Western Reserve University researchers have bred a line of "mighty mice" (PEPCK-Cmus mice) that have the capability of running five to six kilometers at a speed of 20 meters per minute on a treadmill for up to six hours before stopping.

2 Nov 2007

Novel approach to discovering drugs for Chagas disease

Mexican researchers highlight a novel approach to discovering drugs for Chagas disease in a laboratory study reported in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

31 Oct 2007

DIY liver test tells you how damage has been done

According to the manufacturers, a simple DIY test can tell drinkers how much damage has been done to their livers.

30 Oct 2007

Attenuation of NASH by stimulation of free fatty acid metabolism

Medically-complicated obesity is a societal problem that needs to be solved. Liver disease, specifically non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH, is just one of the many complications of increased body weight.

28 Oct 2007

Scientists discover new causes for neurodegeneration

Diseases that cause neurons to break-down, such as Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (Mad Cow Disease), continue to be elusive to scientists and resistant to treatments.

25 Oct 2007

Role of cholesteryl ester hydrolase in reducing heart disease identified

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified the role of a key enzyme called CEH in reducing heart disease, paving the way for new target therapies to reduce plaques in the arteries and perhaps in the future, help predict a patient's susceptibility to heart disease.

24 Oct 2007

Amazon jungle plant compound blocks tissue destruction

Scientists at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine have published in the Journal of Inflammation a remarkable discovery with a natural product derived from the Amazon rainforest.

24 Oct 2007

Potential new ways to treat ulcers

The alarming truth is more than 14.5 million people suffer from ulcers worldwide due to factors such as stress and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

24 Oct 2007

Combination targets offer new hope in fight against cancer

While some targeted therapies - drugs developed to attack specific molecules in the critical chemical pathways occurring within cancer cells - work well by themselves, increasingly researchers are finding that they work better when teamed with other targeted and conventional therapies.

24 Oct 2007

Legionnaire's bacterial proteins work together to survive

Proteins within the bacteria that cause Legionnaire's disease can kidnap their own molecular "coffin" and carry it to a safe place within the cell, ensuring their survival, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature Wednesday.

24 Oct 2007