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Research finds more than 100 gene variations linked with response to leukemia treatment

Scientists from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Children's Oncology Group (COG) have discovered in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) scores of inherited genetic variations that clinicians might be able to use as guideposts for designing more effective chemotherapy for this cancer.

29 Jan 2009

SAFC Pharma augments assay development capabilities

SAFC Pharma, a business segment of SAFC, a member of the Sigma-Aldrich group, today announced that it has commenced operations at its 7,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art laboratory complex in Carlsbad, CA.

29 Jan 2009

Researchers learn some of nicotine's secrets

Duke University Medical System researchers have discovered there are differing taste pathways for nicotine, which could provide a new approach for future smoking-cessation products.

23 Jan 2009

Gene provides hope for restoring injured nerves

University of Utah scientists identified a worm gene that is essential for damaged nerve cells to regenerate, and showed they could speed nerve regeneration by over-activating the gene - a step toward new treatments for nerves injured by trauma or disease

23 Jan 2009

Slices of living human brain tissue are helping scientists identify new stroke therapies

Slices of living human brain tissue are helping scientists learn which drugs can block the waves of death that engulf and engorge brain cells following a stroke.

21 Jan 2009

The retina reveals deadly secrets of malaria

Looking at the retina in the eyes of patients with cerebral malaria has provided scientists with a vital insight into why malaria infection in the brain is so deadly.

15 Jan 2009

New model system may better explain regulation of body weight

A new mathematical model of the physiological regulation of body weight suggests a potential mechanism underlying the difficulty of losing weight, one that includes aspects of two competing hypotheses of weight regulation.

15 Jan 2009

Midlife caffeine intake lowers risk of late-life dementia

Midlife coffee drinking can decrease the risk of dementia/Alzheimer's disease (AD) later in life.

15 Jan 2009

Pediatric vaccine propels sharp drop in meningitis cases

A pediatric vaccine with University of Rochester roots has proven to be highly successful at reducing cases of bacterial meningitis across all age groups.That is the conclusion of a seven-year study, the results of which appeared today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Jan 2009

Discovery of first gender-linked susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's disease

In the Jan. 11 online edition of Nature Genetics, they report the results of their two-stage genome-wide association study of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The research showed that women who inherited two copies of a variant in the PCDH11X gene, found on the X chromosome, are at considerably greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

12 Jan 2009

Missing DNA the culprit in epilepsy?

An international team of scientists have identified a genetic risk factor for epilepsy which may lead to a better understanding of what causes the seizures and the development of new treatments for the condition.

12 Jan 2009

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy damages offspring's white matter - brain's connective network

One part of the prenatal brain that may be particularly sensitive to alcohol's effects is white matter, nerve fibers through which information is exchanged between different areas of the central nervous system.

22 Dec 2008

Carbon nanotubes show promise in emerging field of neuro-engineering and neuroprosthetics

Research done by scientists in Italy and Switzerland has shown that carbon nanotubes may be the ideal "smart" brain material.

22 Dec 2008

New understanding of ion channels in the body

A discovery by Canada-U.S. biophysicists will improve the understanding of ion channels, akin to little 'nano-machines' or 'nano-valves' in our body, which when they malfunction can cause genetic illnesses that attack muscles, the central nervous system and the heart.

18 Dec 2008

Neuralstem files IND for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stem cell trial

Neuralstem, Inc. announced this morning that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a clinical trial to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

18 Dec 2008

Multiple sclerosis drug natalizumab may reduce immunity

A drug used to treat multiple sclerosis might make some patients vulnerable to brain infection by reducing the number of immune cells there, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

16 Dec 2008

Transplanted fat cells restore function after spinal cord injury

A study published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol.17, No. 8) suggests that mature adipocytes - fat cells - could become a source for cell replacement therapy to treat central nervous system disorders.

10 Dec 2008

New research points to possible treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease

There are many ways to die, but amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease must be one of the worst.

10 Dec 2008

Merck Serono's Kuvan receives European marketing authorization

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Kuvan(R) for the treatment of hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) in phenylketonuria (PKU) or BH4 deficient patients.

10 Dec 2008

Cambridge Labs announces Spanish approval of Tetrabenazine

Cambridge Laboratories Limited has announced that its flagship product Tetrabenazine, (known as NITOMAN in Germany and other key European territories and XENAZINE in the UK, U.S. and other markets) has received marketing approval in Spain from the Agencia Espanola de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios.

8 Dec 2008