Capillaries News and Research

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Motor protein Myo1c uses actin cytoskeleton as 'track' for Neph1 transport

The motor protein Myo1c binds to Neph1, a protein crucial for ensuring effective filtration by the kidney, and serves as one mode of its cellular transport, according to findings by investigators at the Medical University of South Carolina and their collaborators reported in the May 16, 2016 issue of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

17 May 2016

Potential new intraocular treatment based on RAS manipulation can prevent or reverse diabetic retinopathy

Pathologic changes of the retina caused by diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working adults. Diabetic retinopathy has no known cure, treatment options are inadequate, and prevention strategies offer limited protection. In the first of its kind, a report in The American Journal of Pathology describes a potential new intraocular treatment based on manipulating the renin angiotensin system (RAS) that both prevents and reverses some characteristics of diabetic retinopathy in a mouse model.

10 May 2016

Complete genetic map of scleroderma opens door for diagnosis and targeted treatment

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease that affects one out of every 10,000 people in Europe and North America, mostly middle-aged women, and causes death in a high percentage of cases.

11 Apr 2016

Study finds evidence of lung function abnormalities in light-use hookah smokers

A study of light-use hookah or waterpipe smokers found evidence of lung function abnormalities, including marked changes in cells lining the airways. The study, "Pulmonary Abnormalities in Young, Light-use Waterpipe (Hookah) Smokers," was published recently in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

6 Apr 2016

Researchers devise synthetic patch filled with insulin-producing beta cells to control blood sugar levels

For decades, researchers have tried to duplicate the function of beta cells, the tiny insulin-producing entities that don't work properly in patients with diabetes. Insulin injections provide painful and often imperfect substitutes. Transplants of normal beta cells carry the risk of rejection or side effects from immunosuppressive therapies.

16 Mar 2016

Simple physics may play key role in helping the body to fight infection

Simple physics may play a larger role than previously thought in helping control key bodily processes - such as how the body fights infection.

11 Feb 2016

Researchers identify genetic mutations that lower complications associated with diabetes

The most significant complications of diabetes include diabetic retinal disease, or retinopathy, and diabetic kidney disease, or nephropathy. Both involve damaged capillaries.

11 Feb 2016

Vanderbilt researchers use cotton candy machines to produce artificial capillary system

For several years, Leon Bellan, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University, has been tinkering with cotton candy machines, getting them to spin out networks of tiny threads comparable in size, density and complexity to the patterns formed by capillaries - the tiny, thin-walled vessels that deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells and carry away waste.

9 Feb 2016

Intelligent Labs launches Ultra Pure Omega 3 fish oil in the UK

Intelligent Labs a premium supplement company today announced the launch in the UK of their Ultra Pure Omega 3, after launching in the US this summer to great success. They believe their Ultra Pure Omega 3 will be the strongest and most effective Omega 3 fish oil available in the UK.

11 Jan 2016

Collaborative team to determine mechanisms that cause traumatic brain injuries due to shockwaves

Nearly 300,000 soldiers have returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with symptoms of traumatic brain injuries due to blast shockwaves. Such injuries often go untreated because they are undetected by brain scans despite the symptoms' presence.

24 Dec 2015

New model of arterial thrombus formation is similar to popular video game

A group of biophysicists, including representatives from MIPT, has developed a mathematical model of arterial thrombus formation, which is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes.

1 Dec 2015

Rice scientists solve long-standing mystery about hemophilia protein

Rice University scientists have solved a long-standing mystery about where the body stores and deploys blood-clotting factor VIII, a protein that about 80 percent of hemophiliacs cannot produce due to genetic defects.

3 Nov 2015

New TSRI study highlights urgent need for new treatments to fight growing cancer metastases

A new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute helps explain why cancer metastasis is so hard to stop.

29 Oct 2015

Novel portable device counts white blood cells in real time

A novel way to count white blood cells without a blood test, simply by applying a small device on the fingertip, is being developed by a team of young bioengineers. The technology, that combines an optical sensor with algorithms, has already three prototypes on the go and is specially designed to be used on chemotherapy patients, who could know their immune system levels in real time. It could also serve to detect serious infections.

30 Sep 2015

Arteries may be best source for detecting circulating tumor cells

As the field of liquid biopsies for tracking disease progression and therapeutic response heats up, many doctors are looking for ways to apply this approach to their patients.

26 Sep 2015

Synthetic tissue environment enables spatial definition of cancer cells and macrophages

Tumors are notoriously difficult to study in their natural habitat - body tissues - but a new synthetic tissue environment may give cancer researchers the next-best look at tumor growth and behavior.

29 Aug 2015

Computational fluid dynamics modeling confirms better blood flow with new stent graft design

Vascular surgeon Pat Kelly of Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, knew his patients were doing better with the stent graft he designed, but he wanted a better understanding of the mechanics before testing the device more widely in a clinical trial. For that, he reached out to South Dakota State University.

27 Aug 2015

3D-printed models of children's brain anatomy help reduce operative risk of complex procedures

Boston Children's Hospital physicians report the first cases of children benefiting from 3D printing of their anatomy before undergoing high-risk brain procedures.

3 Aug 2015

Special protein in the brain's smallest blood vessels may affect stroke risk

Studies on mice reveal that a special protein in the brain's tiniest blood vessels may affect the risk of stroke. Peter Carlsson, professor in genetics at the University of Gothenburg, and his research team are publishing new research findings in the journal Developmental Cell about how the blood-brain barrier develops and what makes the capillaries in the brain different from small blood vessels in other organs.

26 Jun 2015

New 'smart insulin patch' could help patients suffering from diabetes

Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created the first "smart insulin patch" that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.

23 Jun 2015