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Gene-based test for distinguishing harmless from precancerous pancreatic cysts

Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a gene-based test to distinguish harmless from precancerous pancreatic cysts. The test may eventually help some patients avoid needless surgery to remove the harmless variety.

21 Jul 2011

Thalidomide analog shows promise against sickle cell disease

A thalidomide analog is shaping up as a safe, worthy opponent of sickle cell disease, Georgia Health Sciences University researchers report.

19 Jul 2011

Anti-malaria drug provides key insight into potential treatments for autoimmune diseases

In a study published recently in the journal Science Signaling Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists demonstrate on the molecular level how the anti-malaria drug chloroquine represses inflammation, which may provide a blueprint for new strategies for treating inflammation and a multitude of autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and certain cancers.

19 Jul 2011

Neutrons show how massive enzyme complexes inside cells control rate of sugar metabolism

Neutrons have shown how massive enzyme complexes inside cells might determine whether sugar is burnt for energy or stored as fat. These findings will improve understanding of diabetes and a range of metabolic diseases.

18 Jul 2011

Sofinnova Ventures leads $44 million Series B private equity financing for SARcode Bioscience

SARcode Bioscience, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today the completion of a $44 million Series B private equity financing. The financing round was led by Sofinnova Ventures and was augmented by the additional backing of Rho Ventures and existing investors Alta Partners and Clarus Venture Partners.

18 Jul 2011

Berks County's Department of Health advises public about possible measles exposure

The state Department of Health is advising the public of a possible case of measles exposure in Morgantown, Berks County.

15 Jul 2011

Two promising projects focus on new treatments for cystic fibrosis

Two promising projects have been selected to undergo preclinical testing as part of the Cystic Fibrosis Technology Initiative.

14 Jul 2011

Self-care, serum biomarkers improve heart failure outcomes

Doctors have been dispensing advice to heart failure patients and for the first time researchers have found that it works. While self-care is believed to improve heart failure outcomes, a highlight of the recent American Heart Association scientific statement on promoting heart failure self-care was the need to establish the mechanisms by which self-care may influence neurohormonal, inflammatory, and hemodynamic function.

14 Jul 2011

Treatment with estrogen dramatically lowers rates of stomach cancer in male mice

Several types of cancer, including stomach, liver and colon, are far more common in men than in women. Some scientists have theorized that differences in lifestyle, such as diet and smoking, may account for the discrepancy, but growing evidence suggests that the differences are rooted in basic biological differences between men and women.

14 Jul 2011

Fish oil consumption helps reduce inflammation, anxiety in healthy young people

A new study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people.

14 Jul 2011

Researchers discover mechanism that can protect from aging processes

Humans are getting older and older, and the number of people with dementia is increasing. The factors controlling degeneration of the brain are still mostly unknown. However, researchers assume that factors such as stress, accumulation of toxic waste products as well as inflammation accelerate aging. But, vice versa, there are also mechanisms that can - like a bodyguard - protect the brain from degenerating, or repair defective structures.

13 Jul 2011

Sexually transmitted diseases more common in women age 40

A Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert is calling for all sexually active American women age 40 and older to get tested for the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis after new study evidence found that the sexually transmitted disease (STD) is more than twice as common in this age group than previously thought.

12 Jul 2011

Two papers highlight therapeutic potential of human Sertoli cells

Two papers published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, now freely available on-line at http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/, highlight the therapeutic potential of human Sertoli cells that are present in the testes and are also called "nurse" or "mother" cells because they nurture the developing sperm cells.

12 Jul 2011

Big news for ankylosing spondylitis sufferers

In a medical breakthrough, researchers from the University of Queensland have found that there is a possible genetic link in a specific painful form of arthritis, which fuses bones in the spine and pelvis.

12 Jul 2011

Fibrin key to protection during gram-negative sepsis

New research from the Trudeau Institute may help to explain why anticoagulant therapies have largely failed to extend the lives of patients with sepsis. The study was led by Deyan Luo, a postdoctoral fellow in Stephen Smiley's laboratory. It shows that fibrin, a key product of the blood clotting process, is critical for host defense against Yersinia enterocolitica, a gram-negative bacterium that causes sepsis in humans and experimental mice.

11 Jul 2011

New corticosteroid with cream-like base

Upsher-Smith Laboratories, Inc. announced the launch of Trianex 0.05% (Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment), a prescription topical corticosteroid offering the feel of a cream with the strength of an ointment.

11 Jul 2011

Study describes how obesity could protect against mortality in patients with RI/ARDS

Researchers have discovered that obese adults undergoing surgery are less frequently developing respiratory insufficiency (RI) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and that when they do, they are less likely to have fatal outcomes.

11 Jul 2011

MicroOCT technology can reveal cellular features of coronary artery disease

Researchers at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed a one-micrometer-resolution version of the intravascular imaging technology optical coherence tomography (OCT) that can reveal cellular and subcellular features of coronary artery disease.

11 Jul 2011

New genetic clues about ankylosing spondylitis

A study involving over 5,000 people living with the joint disorder ankylosing spondylitis has identified a series of genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to the condition as well as providing new clues to how the condition may be treated in the future.

11 Jul 2011

InVivo files biopolymer scaffold IDE with FDA to initiate spinal cord injury clinical trial

InVivo Therapeutics today announced that the Company has submitted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a proprietary biopolymer scaffolding device to protect and support spinal tissue and prevent secondary injury, including inflammation and glial scarring, following traumatic spinal cord injury.

8 Jul 2011