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Stress may lead students to stimulants

The performance pressures from end-of-semester exams and papers can take a toll on students, even leading them to turn to potentially harmful substances to keep them awake and alert.

7 Apr 2008

T-cadherin affects blood vessel growth in breast cancer, hormone from fat cells may play a role

Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) may have found a new option for targeted breast cancer therapy by showing the link between a certain protein and the formation and development of blood vessels that feed breast tumors.

7 Apr 2008

Synthetic molecules may be less expensive alternative to therapeutic antibodies

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a simple and inexpensive method to screen small synthetic molecules and pull out a handful that might treat cancer and other diseases less expensively than current methods.

7 Apr 2008

Roswell Park Cancer Institute awarded three-years funding for ovarian cancer vaccine

The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund has awarded a $900,000 research grant to Kunle Odunsi, MD, Department of Gynecologic Oncology, and his colleagues at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) to collaborate on developing a promising vaccine to unleash the power of the immune system against cancer.

7 Apr 2008

New research in monkeys may lead to new strategy for treating cocaine addiction

New research in monkeys suggests the feasibility of treating cocaine addiction with a "replacement" drug that mimics the effects of cocaine but has less potential for abuse - similar to the way nicotine and heroin addictions are treated.

7 Apr 2008

Rare mutations in salt handling genes protect against hypertension

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have found that rare mutations in three genes contribute to blood pressure variation in the general population.

7 Apr 2008

Cholesterol in Parkinson's disease

In 2006, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers published a study that found people with low levels of LDL cholesterol are more likely to have Parkinson's disease than people with high LDL levels.

7 Apr 2008

Cancer treatment from a common avian virus under study

Researchers on the Blacksburg and College Park, Maryland campuses of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine have been awarded a major new grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support innovative work that seeks to develop a treatment for cancer from a common avian virus.

7 Apr 2008

New blood test gives early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases

A new blood test that can give an early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and distinguish between Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease could be launched this summer, reports Marina Murphy in SCI's Chemistry & Industry magazine.

7 Apr 2008

Animal research shows potential of amphetamine-like drug for treating cocaine addiction

7 Apr 2008

Alligator blood may provide a source of powerful new antibiotics

Despite their reputation for deadly attacks on humans and pets, alligators are wiggling their way toward a new role as potential lifesavers in medicine, biochemists in Louisiana reported today at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

7 Apr 2008

Alligator blood extract promises to help fight superbugs

Biochemists from Louisiana in the U.S. say blood from alligators could help fight deadly 'superbugs' and other infections.

7 Apr 2008

Stem cell breakthrough offers diabetes hope

Scientists have discovered a new technique for turning embryonic stem cells into insulin-producing pancreatic tissue in what could prove a significant breakthrough in the quest to find new treatments for diabetes.

From The University of Manchester 4 Apr 2008

Discovery of new genetic links to psoriasis

In the first comprehensive study of the genetic basis of psoriasis, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered seven new sites of common DNA variation that increase the risk of the troublesome skin condition.

4 Apr 2008

Researchers learn how signaling molecule orchestrates breast cancer's spread

A study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has uncovered how breast tumors use a particular type of molecule to promote metastasis -- the spread of cancer cells. Metastasis is the cause of approximately 90 percent of all cancer-related deaths.

4 Apr 2008

Human breast tumors' 'microenvironment' primes them for metastasis

The environment within primary breast tumors can "empower" cells that break free and enter the bloodstream to successfully invade other organs, researchers report in the April 4th Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

4 Apr 2008

Aripiprazole has potential for treating alcohol dependence

Aripiprazole is currently approved to treat bipolar disorder as well as schizophrenia. A new study has found that it significantly and dose-dependently increases the sedative effects of alcohol and, to a lesser degree, decreases the euphoric effects of alcohol. Future research will need to examine the beneficial versus the side effects of aripiprazole for treatment of alcohol dependence.

4 Apr 2008

Random drug testing of high school students in public schools

A substantial proportion of the nation's public school districts have instituted random drug testing among their high school students, some possibly going beyond sanctions set by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a study led by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE).

3 Apr 2008

Proteolix's Carfilzomib granted orphan drug designation

Proteolix, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to carfilzomib, a selective blocker of proteasome activity for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

3 Apr 2008

New nano-engineered gel inhibits for spinal cord injury

A spinal cord injury often leads to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below the site of the injury because the damaged nerve fibers can't regenerate.

3 Apr 2008