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Metformin kills some cancer cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that a commonly prescribed diabetes drug kills tumor cells that lack a key regulatory gene called p53.

16 Aug 2007

Fibrin may be new target for Alzheimer's drugs

Despite the rapid rise of Alzheimer's disease - the Alzheimer's Association predicts as many as 7.7 million cases by 2030 - there are no preventative treatments available, few in the pharmaceutical pipeline, and those drugs being developed all share the same two molecular targets.

15 Aug 2007

Longer term effects of dementia drugs to be investigated

A £50,000 grant from the Alzheimer's Research Trust will look at whether ACE inhibitors used to treat Alzheimer's could have a longer term effect.

15 Aug 2007

Why is heart disease so prevalent among diabetics?

Heart disease hits people with diabetes twice as often as people without diabetes.

13 Aug 2007

Mitochondrial DNA variants are linked to risk factors for type 2 diabetes

Researchers report for the first time that genetic variants in mitochondria,energy-producing structures harboring DNA that are inherited only from the mother,are directly linked to metabolic markers for type 2 diabetes.

13 Aug 2007

Green tea for cancer prevention

Concentrated chemicals derived from green tea dramatically boosted production of a group of key detoxification enzymes in people with low levels of these beneficial proteins, according to researchers at Arizona Cancer Center.

13 Aug 2007

Genetic engineering offers promising new approaches to improve dietary iron intake

Using selective plant breeding and genetic engineering could be used to reduce the incidence of iron deficiency worldwide by improving the quality of dietary iron, conclude authors of a Seminar in this week’s edition of The Lancet.

13 Aug 2007

New drug targets for multiple myeloma

Research investigators have identified molecular changes in multiple myeloma cells that activate an important biological pathway associated with cell growth and survival, thereby revealing potential new targets for drugs to treat this cancer.

13 Aug 2007

Antioxidant overload

Despite the popular notion that antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, offer health-promoting benefits by protecting against damaging free radicals, a new study in the August 10 issue of the journal Cell reveals that, in fact, balance is the key.

12 Aug 2007

Connection between reduced glutathione and heart failure

Antioxidants are widely considered an important defense against heart disease, but University of Utah researchers have found excessive levels of one antioxidant - reduced glutathione - actually may contribute to the disease.

12 Aug 2007

New pathway for inflammation-induced cancer

A well-known inflammatory protein spawns an enzyme that inactivates two tumor-suppressing genes, ultimately triggering production of new blood vessels to nourish breast cancer cells, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of the journal Cell .

11 Aug 2007

Researchers turn mouse into factory for human liver cells

Oregon Health & Science University researchers have figured out how to turn a mouse into a factory for human liver cells that can be used to test how pharmaceuticals are metabolized.

11 Aug 2007

Promising new line in anti-cancer therapy

A promising new line in anti-cancer therapy by blocking the molecular motors involved in copying genetic information during cell division is being pursued by young Dutch researcher Dr. Nynke Dekker in one of this year's EURYI award winning projects sponsored by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the European Heads of Research Councils (EuroHORCS).

11 Aug 2007

Sex and gender in cardiovascular-renal physiology and pathophysiology

Gender influences the prevalence and progression rate of many renal diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

9 Aug 2007

Scientists produce functioning neurons from human embryonic stem cells

Scientists with the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at UCLA were able to produce from human embryonic stem cells a highly pure, large quantity of functioning neurons that will allow them to create models of and study diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, prefrontal dementia and schizophrenia.

8 Aug 2007

Vitamin B1 deficiency key to vascular problems for diabetic patients

Researchers at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, have discovered that deficiency of thiamine - vitamin B1 - may be key to a range of vascular problems for people with diabetes.

8 Aug 2007

New player in the control of HDL cholesterol

Researchers have identified a new player in the control of so-called "good" cholesterol that circulates in the bloodstream and reduces heart attack risk, according to a report in the August issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

8 Aug 2007

Statin drugs may delay progressive artery damage in children

Starting statin therapy as young as age 8 safely and effectively delays the early artery damage caused by familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), according to a Dutch study reported in the Aug.7th print issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

7 Aug 2007

New drugs to combat bioterrorism

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop new drugs to combat agents of bioterrorism.

7 Aug 2007

Scientists discover the dynamics of transcription in living mammalian cells

Transcription the transfer of DNA's genetic information through the synthesis of complementary molecules of messenger RNA forms the basis of all cellular activities.

7 Aug 2007