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.

Researchers use PET/CT for molecular imaging of the heart

For the first time, researchers used positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for imaging the subcellar function of the heart - from its subcellular function to its morphologic appearance. The results of the study were reported at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.

20 Jun 2005

Cyr61 gene transfer appears potent in stimulation of myocardial angiogenesis

French scientists, examining the possibility of using nuclear medicine with gene therapy to fight heart diseases, reported their findings at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 52nd Annual Meeting June 18–22 in Toronto.

20 Jun 2005

Most common form of lung cancer may begin in a group of newly isolated lung stem cells

Working in a mouse model, the researchers isolated a novel type of lung cell that can divide into fresh copies of itself and into the two more specialized kinds of cells deep in the lung.

16 Jun 2005

Research accelerates the search for an effective cancer vaccine

By devising a novel way to package the genome of a common human tumor virus - the virus that causes common warts, genital warts and that is implicated in prevalent cancers - scientists have paved the way for making the pathogen far more accessible to biomedical science.

13 Jun 2005

Gene therapy for arthritis is both feasible and safe

Gene therapy for arthritis and other non-terminal, debilitating conditions and diseases is both feasible and safe, report researchers who conducted the world's first such test on the approach in patients with advanced rheumatoid arthritis.

6 Jun 2005

Researchers successfully image delivery and gene expression of DNA nanoparticles into lungs of CF mice

Researchers at the American Society of Gene Therapy Meeting in St. Louis announced that by using imaging technologies, they are able to successfully trace the delivery of DNA nanoparticles and the extent of gene transfer in the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) animals.

6 Jun 2005

Discovery will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension

A University of Alberta research team has discovered important new information they hope will lead to more effective treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)--a deadly form of high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries caused by uncontrolled cell growth.

5 Jun 2005

New approach to inhibiting blood vessel growth or angiogenesis

A manmade protein with a tail of amino acids delivered to target cells can dramatically reduce blood vessel growth that obstructs vision or feeds a tumor, researchers have found.

31 May 2005

Targeted Genetics issued patent related to adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology platform

Targeted Genetics Corporation has announced the issuance of another patent related to the Company's leading adeno-associated virus (AAV) technology platform. U.S. patent #6,897,045, titled "Adeno-Associated Virus Vectors," was issued to the University of Iowa Research Foundation and is exclusively licensed to Targeted Genetics.

30 May 2005

Study holds implications for gene therapy and stem cell biology

The study, conducted by scientists from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and Hannover Medical School and Hamburg University in Germany, reveals important evidence that tells us more about how blood forming stem cells regenerate. On the other hand, scientists offer caution in regards to the side effects associated with genetic engineering of stem cells.

20 May 2005

Premature use of stem cell therapy could put patients at risk

The premature use of stem cell therapy could put many patients at risk of viral or prion diseases unless appropriate safety systems are in place, warn experts in this week’s BMJ.

19 May 2005

Targeted Genetics announces new patent for Hyperlipidemia

Targeted Genetics Corporation announced today issuance of U.S. patent #6,887,463, entitled, "Methods and Compositions for Gene Therapy for the Treatment of Defects in Lipoprotein Metabolism."

11 May 2005

Discovery of a fundamental new route into cells may lead to new methods of drug delivery

Researchers from The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), and the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis used electron microscopy to uncover new structures, 100,000th of a mm in size, which are involved in the very first step of particle and nutrient uptake into cells.

10 May 2005

Laboratory model of immune system overcomes ethical constraints on studies of hematopoietic stem cells in humans

Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have joined with colleagues at several other institutions to develop a laboratory model of the human immune system. This model will allow scientists to study ways for improving the results of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation without putting patients at risk.

10 May 2005

Clues about how alcoholic behavior is “switched” on

As part of an ongoing effort to understand the biochemical basis of alcohol abuse, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have published two studies on how modulating receptors for dopamine - a chemical “signaler” in the brain’s reward circuits - affects drinking behavior in mice and rats.

9 May 2005

Pulsating ultrasound enhances gene therapy for tumors

High-intensity focused ultrasound emitted in short pulses is a promising, non-invasive procedure for enhancing gene delivery to cancerous cells without destroying healthy tissue, according to a study in the May issue of the journal Radiology.

26 Apr 2005

Use of positron emission tomography may eliminate more strenuous drug development trials with animals

A number of articles explore the use of positron emission tomography (PET) and small animal imaging—nonsurgical techniques that open the door to understanding and treating human diseases—in the April issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

26 Apr 2005

Gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease shows promise

In the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease researchers have produced preliminary evidence that gene therapy may slow the decline in mental functioning associated with Alzheimer's disease.

25 Apr 2005

Substantially more effective therapy than current treatments for Alzheimer's disease

PET scans and cognitive tests have suggested that Alzheimer's disease patients with genetically modified tissue inserted directly into their brains show a reduction in the rate of cognitive decline and increased metabolic activity in the brain, according to a study published in the April 24, 2005 online issue of the journal Nature Medicine by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.