Apoptosis News and Research

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Apoptosis is programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

Variation in gene caspase-8 may help protect against breast cancer

A large-scale analysis of data on breast cancer risk has concluded that a common variation in the gene caspase-8 (CASP8) is associated with a somewhat lower risk of the disease. Variants are small changes that occur in a gene sequence.

13 Feb 2007

Ceramide plays big role in embryonic development

A little-known lipid plays a big role in helping us grow from a hollow sphere of stem cells into human beings, researchers have found.

5 Feb 2007

New testing approach to predict outcome in patients with bladder cancer

A new testing approach has been shown to be effective in identifying patients at the highest risk of cancer relapse after surgery for bladder cancer, say researchers in the February issue of The Lancet Oncology.

29 Jan 2007

Dendrimer-based targeted delivery of an apoptotic sensor in cancer cells

Taking a critical step toward the development of a multifunctional nanoscale anticancer agent that can detect cancer, treat it, and then report on the success or failure of that treatment, investigators at the University of Michigan have developed a nanoscale sensor of cell death.

22 Jan 2007

Nanoparticles yield delivery tools for therapeutic nucleic acids

Cancer researchers hold great hope that nucleic acid-based therapeutics, such as anticancer genes, antisense oligonucleotides, and small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules, will prove to be powerful antitumor agents.

16 Jan 2007

Fat-hormone leptin may enhance the growth of colonic cancers

Tests on three human colon cancer cell lines showed that the fat-hormone 'leptin' may enhance the growth of colonic cancers. This finding could show why obese people are at increased risk of colon cancer.

10 Jan 2007

Optical and magnetic resonance imaging of cell death and platelet activation using annexin A5-functionalized quantum dots

By combining a quantum dot with a novel carrier of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agent gadolinium, a team of investigators at the University of Maastricht, in The Netherlands, has developed a nanoparticle that can spot apoptosis, or programmed cell death, using both MRI and fluorescence imaging.

8 Jan 2007

Experimental drug provides powerful therapy against acute myeloid leukemia

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found, in laboratory studies, that the experimental drug ABT-737 which has shown promise in some cancers, can destroy acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blast, progenitor and even stem cells that are often resistant to standard chemotherapy treatment.

19 Nov 2006

Evolution is driving therapeutic resistance to cancer therapies

The dynamics of evolution are fully in play within the environment of a tumor, just as they are in forests and meadows, oceans and streams.

19 Nov 2006

Lifestyle decisions that may stave off onset of cancer

Personal choices, such as smoking and consumption of fatty foods, have long been linked to increased cancer risk. During recent years, scientists have been seeking to isolate a variety of lifestyle decisions that may stave off the onset of cancer or even reduce tumor formation in their early stages.

14 Nov 2006

Researchers show brain injury may occur within one millisecond after head hits windshield

Research by a Sandia National Laboratories engineer and a University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center neurologist shows that brain injury may occur within one millisecond after a human head is thrust into a windshield as a result of a car accident.

7 Nov 2006

Cancer Research Technology to present discovery updates at BioEurope 2006

Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT), the oncology-focused development and commercialisation company, today announce that Phil L'Huillier, the Director of Business Management, will present at the BioEurope 2006 Annual International Partnering Conference.

6 Nov 2006

Why organs fail following massive trauma

Massive trauma, say from a sabertooth tiger attack, meant immediate death for the primitive human.

17 Oct 2006

Co-delivery of drugs and DNA from cationic core-shell nanoparticles self-assembled from a biodegradable copolymer

Efforts to treat cancer using genes and other oligonucleotides, such as short interfering RNA (siRNA), that turn off the biochemical processes that trigger malignancies have been hindered by difficulties in delivering nucleic acids to tumors.

16 Oct 2006

Membrane targeted chemotherapy with hybrid liposomes for colon tumor cells leading to apoptosis

One of the unusual properties of tumor cells is that their cell membranes are more fluid and less rigid than those of normal cells.

16 Oct 2006

Carbon monoxide shown to reverse symptoms of pulmonary hypertension

In a medical case of Jekyll and Hyde, carbon monoxide - the highly toxic gas emitted from auto exhausts and faulty heating systems - has proven effective in treating the symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), an extremely debilitating condition that typically leads to right heart failure and eventual death.

20 Sep 2006

Drug infliximab may help ease ulcerative colitis

In good news for patients with stubborn cases of ulcerative colitis, a serious intestinal disorder, a new research review suggests that the drug infliximab can be a useful alternative if other treatments don't work.

12 Sep 2006

Quantum dot nanodevice that can detect and image apoptosis

Aiming to help researchers get a better handle on how - and if - anticancer agents are triggering cell death, investigators at the University of Twente in The Netherlands have developed a quantum dot nanodevice that can detect and image apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death.

5 Sep 2006

Immunotherapy for heart failure

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Heart failure (HF) is a complex, progressive clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder, such as coronary artery disease or hypertension (high blood pressure), which impairs the ability of the heart to function properly as a pump.

5 Sep 2006

New hope for patients with lung and joint disease

People who suffer from inflammatory conditions such as chronic diseases of the lung, joints and other organs could benefit from a new discovery by scientists at the University of Edinburgh.

4 Sep 2006