Gene Therapy News and Research

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Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a patient’s cells instead of using drugs or surgery.

Fraunhofer pharmaceutical agent speeds drug development

It takes a great deal of time and money to develop a new drug. At Biotechnica in Hanover from October 9 to 11, the Fraunhofer Life Sciences Alliance will demonstrate how a pharmaceutical agent can make its way more quickly from the research laboratory to the pharmacy.

8 Oct 2007

Oncolytics Biotech reports positive interim results of UK phase Ia/Ib trials

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. has announced that an oral presentation covering interim results from a U.K. Phase Ia/Ib combination REOLYSIN and radiation clinical trial for patients with advanced or metastatic cancers is scheduled to be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference on October 2, 2007 in Birmingham, U.K.

29 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

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

Discovery of two new proteins associated with colorectal cancer

Researchers at the Zhejiang University, Hangzhou have discovered that mimecan and Thioredoxin Domain-Containing Protein 5 (TXNDC5) were differentially expressed in colorectal adenoma.

25 Sep 2007

Mechanism for the in-vivo transport of siRNA

It all started with flowers: in the nineties of the last century Norwegian researchers discovered that additional copies of a particular gene in petunias inhibited its activity instead of reinforcing it as had been assumed.

18 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007

A neurostimulator device that detects, stops seizures under study at Medical College of Georgia

A small device implanted in the skull that detects oncoming seizures, then delivers a brief electrical stimulus to the brain to stop them is under study at the Medical College of Georgia.

11 Sep 2007

Safer gene therapy - biodegradable polymers to deliver genes

In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes.

10 Sep 2007

Gamma globulin effective treatment for pinkeye

Gamma globulin, a type of antibody isolated from blood samples that used to be routinely given to health care workers and international travelers to protect them from infectious diseases, is a highly effective treatment for pinkeye with little apparent toxicity, according to a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

29 Aug 2007

Caution urged on use of drugs to raise "good" cholesterol

With 40 percent of all heart attacks and related cardiovascular problems occurring in people who have low levels of so-called "good" cholesterol, researchers have long sought medications to increase the amount of this type of cholesterol in the body's circulation.

16 Aug 2007

Alarm over death in clinical trial for arthritis therapy

The death of a woman taking part in a clinical trial for an arthritis therapy has set alarm bells ringing in the United States.

12 Aug 2007

Researchers turn mouse into factory for human liver cells

Oregon Health & Science University researchers have figured out how to turn a mouse into a factory for human liver cells that can be used to test how pharmaceuticals are metabolized.

11 Aug 2007

Scientists tackle gene doping in athletes

Gene doping has the potential to spawn athletes capable of out-running, out-jumping and out-cycling the strongest of champions.

7 Aug 2007

New research may lead to future gene therapies for patients with sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers studying hemoglobin genes, mutations of which play a role in genetic blood disorders like sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia, have identified two proteins that are responsible for regulating overlapping groups of genes during the development of red blood cells.

7 Aug 2007

New understanding of Leber congenital amaurosis

People suffering from a severe retinal disease will sooner or later lose their eyesight considerably or even become completely blind.

7 Aug 2007

Innovative gene therapy research for muscular dystrophy

A major grant of approximately $10 million from the National Institutes of Health will help investigators at Columbus Children's Research Institute (CCRI) at Columbus Children's Hospital learn more about strategies to treat muscular dystrophy, potentially leading to two new gene therapy approaches.

3 Aug 2007

Directed nanoparticles deliver gene therapy

After binding DNA segments to tiny iron-containing spheres called nanoparticles, researchers have used magnetic fields to direct the nanoparticles into arterial muscle cells, where the DNA could have a therapeutic effect.

31 Jul 2007

FDA statement on gene therapy trial

On July 24, 2007 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was informed by Targeted Genetics Corporation of Seattle about the death of a patient who received an investigational gene therapy product in a clinical trial for the treatment of active inflammatory arthritis.

27 Jul 2007

Scientits devise dimmer swith to regulate gene expression in mammal cells

Three Boston University biomedical engineers have created a genetic dimmer switch that can be used to turn on, shut off, or partially activate a gene's function. Professor James Collins, Professor Charles Cantor and doctoral candidate Tara Deans invented the switch, which can be tuned to produce large or small quantities of protein, or none at all.

27 Jul 2007