Chemical Messenger News and Research

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Having asthma, hay fever or another allergic condition may reduce the risk of developing Glioblastoma multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) affects three out of 100,000 people, a rate that quadruples to 13 out 100,000 among people who are 65 and older. The average five-year survival rate from the time of diagnosis for GBM is only 3.3 percent, and is lower for people 65 and older.

15 Jul 2005

Research explains one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis

Scientists have pinpointed a chemical messenger that frees some white blood cells from the body's normal constraints, allowing the cells to act like renegades that could damage nerves in the central nervous system. The work, to be published in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology and just published on-line, helps explain one of the fundamental mysteries of multiple sclerosis (MS).

11 Jul 2005

Experimental treatment shown to reverse the loss of nerve fibres in Parkinson's Disease

Analysis of the brain of a patient suffering from Parkinson's Disease has shown that the experimental treatment he received caused regrowth of the nerve fibres that are lost in this disease. The findings are reported in the July issue of Nature Medicine.

6 Jul 2005

Experimental treatment regrows nerve fibres in patient suffering Parkinson's disease

Analysis of the brain of a patient suffering from Parkinson’s Disease has shown that the experimental treatment he received caused regrowth of the nerve fibres that are lost in this disease. The findings are reported in the July issue of Nature Medicine.

30 Jun 2005

Chemicals found in everyday products and food have subtle but potentially damaging effects on sperm fertility

Professor Lynn Fraser told the 21st annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday), that her previous research had shown that certain chemicals known to mimic the female sex hormone, oestrogen, could individually affect the correct functioning of mouse sperm, but now her new research showed that when the chemicals were combined they had an even stronger effect.

21 Jun 2005

Research moves us closer to understanding how complicated network connections are wired up during embryonic development

A newborn baby moves, breathes and cries in part because a network of nerves called motor neurons carry signals from the infant's brain and spinal cord to muscles throughout its body.

3 Jun 2005

Dextromethorphan temporarily reduces the intensity of fibromyalgia

Dextromethorphan, an over-the-counter medication that silences coughs, may help fibromyalgia patients quiet over-reacting nerves that amplify ordinary touches into agony.

20 May 2005

Embryonic body wash controls left-right development

Humans and other animals may appear to be symmetrical on the outside, but symmetry is only skin deep. Many body organs, such as the stomach, the heart and the liver, are tipped to the right or left side. So how does the developing embryo distinguish left from right?

20 May 2005

Suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression

People with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit. How well the circuit was connected accounted for nearly 30 percent of their anxious temperament

8 May 2005

Breakdown in brain cell communication may contribute to the most common biochemical cause of mental retardation

The process is akin to a baseball game gone bad. Imagine if a pitcher were joined by six players simultaneously winding up on the mound. Crouched behind home plate, the single catcher would soon be overwhelmed. Even if the coach sent in teammates to catch the extra balls, confusion would reign on the field.

12 Apr 2005

SSRI antidepressants "hijack" dopamine signaling as well launching serotonin signals

Researchers have discovered that antidepressant drugs such as Prozac not only affect levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, but also "hijack" dopamine signaling as well--causing it to launch serotonin signals. Their findings offer new insight into how Prozac and other "selective serotonin uptake inhibitors" (SSRIs) work and how they might cause problems in patients taking them.

6 Apr 2005

Mutated BRCA1 genes cause ovarian cancer indirectly

Mutated BRCA1 genes cause ovarian cancer indirectly, by interfering with the biochemical signals one ovarian cell sends to another, according to a team of researchers led by scientists at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

28 Mar 2005

New weapon for asthmatics to combat winter asthma attacks

A British team from the University of Southampton, led by the world-acknowledged asthma experts, Professor Stephen Holgate and Professor Donna Davies, has identified a therapy used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) as a potential novel treatment to reduce asthma attacks caused by the common cold virus.

23 Mar 2005

Link between C-reactive protein, heart disease and stroke

The cells that line the arteries are able to produce C-reactive protein, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the April issue of American Journal of Pathology.

16 Mar 2005

Method for mass-producing embryonic stem cells

That's important because traditional laboratory methods used to grow these cells are costly and don't produce cells fast enough to respond to increasing demands for human embryonic stem cells, said Shang-Tian Yang, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University.

16 Mar 2005

Possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome

The first evidence for a possible treatment for Fragile X syndrome, one of the leading inherited causes of mental retardation, has emerged from experiments with a mutant fruit fly that exhibits characteristics of the disorder.

2 Mar 2005

Key insight into the process of normal synapse development may lead to improved treatment of conditions such as drug addiction and epilepsy

Communication in the brain travels from one nerve cell to another through critical connections called synapses. These neuron-to-neuron junctions form early in brain development, and their construction was thought to be guided by the nerve cells themselves.

13 Feb 2005

Mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients

A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

21 Dec 2004

Instead of chemotherapy, drugs that influence the X protein's behavior might become an alternative cancer therapy

Identifying the link between chronic hepatitis B infection and liver cancer may one day help cancer patients sidestep the poison of chemotherapy, a Purdue University study suggests.

13 Dec 2004

Newly discovered genetic defect might represent an important risk factor for major depression

A newly discovered genetic defect might represent an important risk factor for major depression, a condition which effects 20 million people in the U.S., according to Duke University Medical Center researchers.