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Researchers aim to develop sustained and controllable insulin release system for treatment of diabetes

The prevalence of diabetes has grown around the world over the past three decades. In 2016, the World Health Organization estimated that 422 million people had the disease as the rate of obesity also increased.

27 Feb 2017

Researchers discover promising target for treatment of leishmaniasis

Each year, about 2 million people contract leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of a sand fly. The cutaneous form of the disease results in disfiguring skin ulcers that may take months or years to heal and in rare cases can become metastatic, causing major tissue damage.

24 Feb 2017

Pitt researchers uncover genetic marker that may predict drug response in many cancer types

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have uncovered a novel genetic mechanism of thyroid cancer, as well as a marker that may predict response to a particular class of drugs, not just in patients with thyroid cancer, but in those with many other types of cancer as well.

21 Feb 2017

Gene therapy treats myotubular myopathy in dogs

The rare disorder, called myotubular myopathy, or MTM, affects only males. It causes fatal muscle wasting. Both dogs and boys with the disease typically succumb in early life due to breathing difficulties.

16 Feb 2017

Plant-based drug for hemophilia shows promise in animal models

People with hemophilia require regular infusions of clotting factor to prevent them from experiencing uncontrolled bleeding. But a significant fraction develop antibodies against the clotting factor, essentially experiencing an allergic reaction to the very treatment that can prolong their lives.

13 Feb 2017

Study provides new insights into roles of different subareas in prefrontal cortex

Whether the brain responds to an external stimulus or not depends significantly on the balance between areas of excitation and inhibition in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).

10 Feb 2017

ADA funds Kostic lab to support research on links between gut bacteria and autoimmune attack

The American Diabetes Association has awarded Joslin Diabetes Center assistant investigator Aleksandar Kostic, Ph.D., a $1.625-million grant under its Pathway to Stop Diabetes program, which seeks to bring new investigators and new perspectives to diabetes research.

8 Feb 2017

Researchers create first animal model of rare disease linked to problem of adrenal glands

The name of the gene is Armc5, for Armadillo repeat containing 5. Until now, its function was unknown. After 10 years of research, a team at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centrehas succeeded in deleting this gene in experimental mice and discovered that its loss gives rise to a heretofore unidentified syndrome.

7 Feb 2017

Scientists show how immune receptor activated by bacteria contributes to diabetic bladder dysfunction

Bladder dysfunction is a reality for about half of patients with diabetes and now scientists have evidence that an immune system receptor that's more typically activated by bacteria is a major contributor.

7 Feb 2017

Deep brain stimulation can reduce heroin relapse in rat models of addiction, TSRI study shows

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that deep brain stimulation (DBS) can greatly reduce the compulsion to use heroin in standard rat models of addiction.

2 Feb 2017

Oral dose of phage cocktail prevents infection and cholera-like symptoms in animal model

Oral administration of a cocktail of three viruses, all of which specifically kill cholera bacteria, prevents infection and cholera-like symptoms in animal model experiments, report scientists from Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts in Nature Communications on Feb. 1.

1 Feb 2017

Cancer cells proliferate by stealing energy from neighbouring cells, study finds

Researchers at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital have discovered that cancer cells grow by stealing energy from neighbouring cells.

26 Jan 2017

IU study shows how fruit fly growth shares biochemical similarities with cancer cells

Scientists who study a molecule known to play a role in certain types of cancers and neurodegenerative disorders have a powerful new tool to study this compound due to research conducted at Indiana University.

25 Jan 2017

New project aims to improve efficiency of cytostatic drugs used in cancer treatment

Wilfried Weber, Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Freiburg, has received a grant of roughly €150,000 for his project "Hide and Seek with Cancer Drugs" in which he is working to improve the drugs used in cancer treatment

25 Jan 2017

Switching off brain regions helps better understand link between neural circuits and behaviour

Switching off specific brain regions in a laboratory animal is an important type of experiment used to better understand how the brain works.

24 Jan 2017

Researchers evaluate effects of laser tissue welding on spina bifida repair

In a study to be presented Saturday, Jan. 28, in the oral concurrent session at 8:45 a.m. PST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; IBEX, Logan, Utah; and Laser Tissue Welding Inc., Houston, Texas collaborated on a study titled, Evaluation of the effects of laser tissue welding on the spinal cord and skin in a 30 day study of simulated spina bifida repair in rabbits.

23 Jan 2017

UC biologists use frog models to study how early stressors may play role in onset of adult diseases

UC biologists have turned to amphibian sources -- specifically frogs and tadpoles -- to help shed light on how early stressors in the womb and shortly after birth may play a part in the onset of adult diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

19 Jan 2017

Scientists identify how early responses of immune system can affect development of EBOV disease

A new mouse model of early Ebola virus infection has shown National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and colleagues how early responses of the immune system can affect development of EBOV disease.

18 Jan 2017

Analgesic effects of opioids can be mediated via immune cells

Opioids are the most powerful painkillers. Researchers at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have now found that the analgesic effects of opioids are not exclusively mediated by opioid receptors in the brain, but can also be mediated via the activation of receptors in immune cells.

17 Jan 2017

Synthesized steroid prevents lethal protein buildup in animal model of Parkinson's disease

A synthesized steroid mirroring one naturally made by the dogfish shark prevents the buildup of a lethal protein implicated in some neurodegenerative diseases, reports an international research team studying an animal model of Parkinson's disease.