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Neuroglobin making gene tied to Alzheimer's

Of dozens of candidates potentially involved in increasing a person's risk for the most common type of Alzheimer's disease that affects more than 5 million Americans over the age of 65, one gene that keeps grabbing Johns Hopkins researchers' attention makes a protein called neuroglobin.

6 May 2009

New tag could enable more detailed structural studies of mammalian proteins

To say our genes are resourceful is a gross understatement. Through ingenious combinations of a paltry 20 amino acids, the basic building blocks of life, genes engineer all of the tissues and organs that are the marvel of our working bodies.

6 May 2009

Elevated level of certain protein in urine linked to increased risk for blood clots

Preliminary research suggests that higher than normal levels of the protein albumin in urine is associated with an increased risk for blood clots in the deep veins of the legs or lungs (venous thromboembolism; VTE), according to a study in the May 6 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

5 May 2009

Research shows why certain atherosclerotic lesions can turn deadly

A common misconception about arterial plaque is that it inevitably leads to a heart attack or a stroke. New research at Columbia University Medical Center, however, sheds light on why so few plaques in any given individual actually cause a problem. Furthermore, the research has identified a key protein that may promote the conversion from benign to dangerous plaques.

5 May 2009

Drugs designed to tackle endoplasmic reticulum stress might be useful in treating heart disease

Researchers say they have evidence to explain what separates your average blood vessel plaque from those that are at high risk for triggering the development of dangerous - even fatal - blood clots.

5 May 2009

Small molecules might block mutant protein production in Huntington's disease

Molecules that selectively interfere with protein production can stop human cells from making the abnormal molecules that cause Huntington's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

5 May 2009

Protein kinase JNK1 identified as treatment target for retinopathy in premature babies

Results of a study in mice by researchers at the University of California, San Diego strongly suggest that the protein kinase JNK1 plays a key role in the development of retinopathy in premature infants.

4 May 2009

New gene called DEAR1 may be a breast cancer diagnostic marker

In a research article published in this week's PLoS Medicine, Ann Killary (from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center) and colleagues describe a new gene called DEAR1 that is genetically altered by mutation and deletion in breast tumors, and that may provide a new breast cancer prognostic marker.

4 May 2009

oct3 protein key to Parkinson's, drug addiction

Scientists have identified a protein that appears not only to be central to the process that causes Parkinson's disease but could also play a role in muting the high from methamphetamine and other addictive drugs.

4 May 2009

New early detection studies of lung cancer in non-smokers launched

Government and private sector cancer scientists today launched a research partnership to find biomarkers for lung cancer that develops in people who have never smoked. The research studies are designed to create a better understanding of the biology of lung cancer and to develop a test to detect early-stage lung cancer in lifetime nonsmokers.

4 May 2009

New light shed on salt-sensitive hypertension

A high salt intake has been implicated in cardiovascular disease risk for 5000 years. But salt-sensitive hypertension still remains an enigma.

4 May 2009

Discovery of process that controls T cell growth

Identifying one of the processes that plays a role in naïve and memory T-cells' growth and production could one day lead to better vaccines and possibly more effective cancer immunotherapy, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital in a report that appears in the current edition of Nature Immunology.

3 May 2009

Discovery of gene associated with narcolepsy

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have identified a gene associated with narcolepsy, a disorder that causes disabling daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks, irresistible bouts of sleep that can strike at any time, and disturbed sleep at night. The gene has a known role in the immune system, which strongly suggests that autoimmunity, in which the immune system turns against the body's own tissues, plays an important role in the disorder.

3 May 2009

Small molecules might block mutant protein production in Huntington's disease

3 May 2009

Personalizing therapy the key strategy for survival in lung cancer

Cancer vaccines and targeted therapies are beginning to offer new treatment options following surgery for patients with early stages of lung cancer, experts said at the first European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology (EMCTO) in Lugano, Switzerland (1-3 May 2009).

3 May 2009