B Cell News and Research

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Researchers demonstrate safety of synthetic siRNAs

Researchers from MIT, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and other institutions have demonstrated the safety of a promising type of genetic therapy that could lead to treatments for a wide range of diseases such as cancer.

27 Sep 2007

Study of bone marrow stem cells in multiple sclerosis

A new pilot clinical trial to test bone marrow stem cell therapy with a small group of patients with multiple sclerosis has started at Frenchay Hospital.

27 Sep 2007

Defining biomarkers for better colon cancer treatment

Barcelona, Spain: New research has yielded a clearer picture of which biomarkers could help doctors more precisely target the treatment of colon cancer, bringing closer the day when patients who will not benefit from chemotherapy are spared it, while those that will, get the more aggressive treatment they need.

27 Sep 2007

Scientists produce equivalent of test-tube inner ear hair cells

Birds, fish and amphibians can do something that humans and other mammals generally cannot: re-grow damaged or lost inner ear hair cells.

27 Sep 2007

Discovery of new pathway causing cell death related to frontotemporal dementia and ALS

Scientists have discovered a link between a mutated gene and a protein found in dead brain cells of people who suffer from a form of dementia and other neurological disorders.

27 Sep 2007

Variation in drug responses can be analyzed by studying simpler organisms like plants

While prescription medications work successfully to cure an ailment in some people, in others the same dose of the same drug can cause an adverse reaction or no response at all.

27 Sep 2007

Transposons could make for safer gene delivery system

To move a gene from point A to point B, scientists and gene therapists have two proven options: a virus, which can effectively ferry genes of interest into cells, and a plasmid, an engineered loop of DNA that can do the same thing, albeit usually only on a short-term basis.

27 Sep 2007

Axitinib shows promise for patients with advanced kidney cancer

Barcelona, Spain: A new drug has shown promise in patients with advanced kidney cancer whose options run out after their tumour fails to respond to the cutting edge therapy.

27 Sep 2007

Enzyme's second messenger contributes to cell overgrowth

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have uncovered a novel pathway by which hormones elevated in inflammation, cancer and cell injury act on cells to stimulate their growth.

27 Sep 2007

Discovery supports theory of Alzheimer's disease as form of diabetes

Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body.

27 Sep 2007

Biologists link Huntington's disease to health benefits in young

For years researchers in neurology have believed that people with Huntington's disease have more children than the general population because of behavioral changes associated with the disease that lead to sexual promiscuity.

26 Sep 2007

Survival data presented from phase II study of hormone-resistant prostate cancer patients

The results from the randomized, double -blind, placebo -controlled, Phase II EPOC (Endothelin A Proof Of Concept) Study of ZD4054 - a specific endothelin A (ETA) receptor antagonist – were delivered at the 14th European Congress of Clinical Oncology (ECCO, 23-27 September, Barcelona).

26 Sep 2007

Stem-cell therapy opens new avenue of research against Huntington's disease

Paying close attention to how a canary learns a new song has helped scientists open a new avenue of research against Huntington's disease – a fatal disorder for which there is currently no cure or even a treatment to slow the disease.

26 Sep 2007

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer technology shows how cancer may take hold

A team, led by researchers at the Carnegie Institution,* has found a key biochemical cycle that suppresses the immune response, thereby allowing cancer cells to multiply unabated.

26 Sep 2007

A blood test for concussions - aim of new research

The University of Rochester Medical Center received $1.5 million to develop a blood test for concussions by isolating proteins that can predict memory loss, chronic headaches or other neurological problems.

26 Sep 2007

HPV is related to bladder cancer

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is considered the cause of one of the most important sexually transmitted diseases nowadays, and affects both men and women.

26 Sep 2007

New AstraZeneca compound shows promoise for hormone resistant prostate cancer patients with bone metastases

New Phase II data suggests that ZD4054, a novel compound in development for the treatment of men with Hormone Resistant Prostate Cancer (HRPC), could offer a promising improvement in overall survival in men with metastatic HRPC who were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic for pain.

26 Sep 2007

Stem cells may aid national security

For more than a decade, Steve Stice has dedicated his research using embryonic stem cells to improving the lives of people with degenerative diseases and debilitating injuries.

26 Sep 2007

Mutation of the COX2 gene can double or treble a woman's risk of ovarian cancer

Researchers in Portugal have discovered that a specific mutation of the COX2 gene seems to play a role in the onset of ovarian cancer, increasing women's susceptibility to developing the disease.

26 Sep 2007

Molecular profiling can accurately predict survival in colon cancer patients

Barcelona, Spain: Researchers in The Netherlands have developed a method of accurately predicting which patients with colon cancer are most likely to have their disease recur after surgery and who would, therefore, be likely to benefit from additional chemotherapy.

26 Sep 2007