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Antidepressant drug mianserin extends the lifespan of adult roundworms

A team of scientists led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Linda B. Buck has found that a drug used to treat depression can extend the lifespan of adult roundworms.

21 Nov 2007

Blood clotting protein fibrin plays a role in rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's have issued the first study showing that a protein normally involved in blood clotting (fibrin), also plays an important role in the inflammatory response and development of rheumatoid arthritis.

19 Nov 2007

University of Illinois at Chicago receives $2.2 million grant to develop drugs to suppress cocaine cravings

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received a $2.2 million federal grant to develop therapeutics to suppress the cravings of cocaine addicts.

19 Nov 2007

Melatonin could actually be hurting you at night!

What do you do when a naturally occurring hormone in your body turns against you? What do you do when that same hormone - melatonin - is a popular supplement you take to help you sleep?

16 Nov 2007

Pre-malignant mammary lesions in dogs and humans display many of the same characteristics

...a discovery that could lead to better understanding of breast cancer progression and prevention for people and pets, said a Purdue University scientist from the School of Veterinary Medicine.

16 Nov 2007

Kisspeptin and GPR54 may be the future of ovarian cancer treatment

Kisspeptin and its receptor GPR54 predict a favourable clinical outcome in women with ovarian carcinoma, and are specific for the clear cell carcinoma subtype, research published this week in the online open access journal, BMC Medicine, reveals.

16 Nov 2007

How inhibitor-of-apoptosis chemicals kill tumors

Chemical compounds specially designed to neutralize proteins that would otherwise allow tumor cells to cheat death have been recognized for some time by scientists as a promising new avenue for cancer therapy.

16 Nov 2007

New clinical standards on the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis

New clinical standards on the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have been released following an exhaustive review of all available literature.

16 Nov 2007

CD200 stifles anti-tumor immunity

The prognosis for individuals with metastatic melanoma (MM) is not good. Therapeutic strategies to enhance the immune response have some clinical benefit; however, most patients eventually succumb to progressive disease, in part because their immune cells known as dendritic cells (DCs) fail to sustain an effective antitumor T cell immune response.

16 Nov 2007

Low doses of arsenic disrupt activity of development hormone

A team of Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) researchers has determined that low doses of arsenic disrupt the activity of a hormone critical in development. The finding is further evidence that arsenic at low doses (at levels found in U.S. drinking water in some areas) can be harmful.

15 Nov 2007

New drug may restore memory with Alzheimer's disease

A 2006 study by MetLife found that adults over age 55 fear Alzheimer's disease more than cancer, and with good reason. Alzheimer's creeps up on patients and their families, robbing more than half of all Americans over age 85 of their memory and ability to care for themselves.

14 Nov 2007

Two proteins may be survival markers in some breast cancers

New research suggests that the presence or absence of two proteins may be important markers for long-term survival in some breast-cancer patients.

13 Nov 2007

Brain may have important influences on glucose metabolism and insulin action

An appetite-suppressing chemical also improves glucose tolerance and lowers insulin levels in obese and diabetic mice, researchers report in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.

13 Nov 2007

Discovery of key pathway, potential drug targets in autoinflammatory disease

Molecular biologists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have detailed the cascade of cellular events behind some potentially dangerous autoinflammatory diseases.

13 Nov 2007

Abnormal immune cells may cause unprovoked idiopathic anaphylaxis

Two new clinical reports shed light on why some people suffer from recurrent episodes of idiopathic anaphylaxis--a potentially life-threatening condition of unknown cause characterized by a drop in blood pressure, fainting episodes, difficulty in breathing, and wheezing.

13 Nov 2007

Interaction between nicotine and alcohol impacts learning

The interaction between nicotine and alcohol, two of the most abused and co-abused drugs, can impact a person's ability to learn and could have implications for treating addiction, according to researchers at Temple University.

6 Nov 2007

Tezosentan does not appear to improve symptoms for patients with acute heart failure

The medication tezosentan, which was thought could be beneficial for the treatment of acute heart failure, did not improve breathlessness or reduce the risk of fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular events, according to a study in the November 7 issue of JAMA.

6 Nov 2007