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Researchers to conduct gene analysis for ankylosing spondylitis

A new study designed to test suspected links between genes and two immune disorders could open the door to better ways to diagnose and treat the conditions that affect a combined total of approximately 2.5 million people in the United States, report scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

16 Sep 2010

Researchers identify mechanism to reduce pathogenic effect of bacillus bacteria

A European-Asian collaboration of scientists, notably including CNRS, the Institut Pasteur in Paris, the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seoul (IP Korea/Equipe Avenir Inserm and the Université de Toulouse have identified ten virulence genes of the tubercle bacillus. The inactivation of these genes lessens the pathogenic effects of the bacillus.

16 Sep 2010

Wistar Institute scientists publish detailed report on structure, function of Cdc13 domain in protein

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have published the first detailed report on the structure and function of a crucial domain in the protein known as Cdc13, which sustains telomeres by clamping to DNA and recruiting replicating enzymes to the area.

16 Sep 2010

Scientists discover 13 genes linked to human body mass

Johns Hopkins scientists who specialize in unconventional hunts for genetic information outside nuclear DNA sequences have bagged a weighty quarry 13 genes linked to human body mass. The experiments screened the so called epigenome for key information that cells remember other than the DNA code itself and may have serious implications for preventing and treating obesity, the investigators say.

16 Sep 2010

bluebird bio publishes LentiGlobin gene therapy clinical trial data results

bluebird bio an emerging leader in the development of innovative gene therapies for severe genetic disorders, today announced publication in the journal Nature of its promising Phase 1/2 data highlighting positive results of LentiGlobin gene therapy treatment in a young adult with severe beta-thalassemia, a blood disorder that is one of the most frequent inherited diseases.

16 Sep 2010

New approach to evaluate risk of cardiovascular disease

A new approach to evaluating a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, or heart failure is reported this month in the International Journal of Data Mining, Modelling and Management. The technique uses fuzzy logic to teach a neural network computer program to analyze patient data and spot correlations that can be translated into a risk factor for an individual.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers find clue behind ASD affecting males than females

New research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), both in Toronto, Canada provides further clues as to why Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects four times more males than females. The scientists discovered that males who carry specific alterations of DNA on the sole X-chromosome they carry are at high risk of developing ASD. The research is published in the September 15 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

16 Sep 2010

Aetna supports landmark study on BRCA testing

Testing is available to help identify if a woman is likely to face one of her gender's worst fears: inherited breast and ovarian cancer. But significant questions have been raised among doctors and public health agencies about whether these tests are being offered to the women who can most benefit - consistent with the evidence-based guidelines for this testing - and whether the information learned from testing is being put to best use.

16 Sep 2010

BCBC Consortium aims to develop cell-based therapy for insulin delivery

Oregon Health & Science University's Markus Grompe, M.D., will lead a multi-center team of scientists selected to participate in the prestigious Beta Cell Biology Consortium (BCBC). Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the consortium's long-term goal is to develop a cell-based therapy for insulin delivery in type 1 diabetes patients.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers to examine effects of environmental influences on health, development of children in the U.S.

Residents of Durham County, N.C., are encouraged to take part in the largest ever long-term study of children's health and development undertaken in the United States.

16 Sep 2010

K.U.Leuven enters license agreement with Pfizer to commercialize anti-HIV drugs

K.U.Leuven announced today that on July 29th, 2010 they entered into a license agreement with Pfizer. The license agreement grants Pfizer exclusive and sublicenseable worldwide rights to further develop and commercialise K.U.Leuven's compounds with a new mechanism of action for the potential treatment of individuals infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

16 Sep 2010

Gene network behind hardening of arteries, coronary heart disease identified

A gene network behind hardening of the arteries and coronary heart disease has been identified by a team of scientists from Australia, Europe and the United Kingdom. Their findings expose potential targets for the treatment of heart disease.

16 Sep 2010

NIH awards grants to map human brain's connections in high resolution

The National Institutes of Health today awarded grants totaling $40 million to map the human brain's connections in high resolution. Better understanding of such connectivity promises improved diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers develop ChIP Enrichment Analysis to identify drug targets, biomarkers

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have developed a new computational method that will help streamline the analysis of gene expression experiments and provide scientists with a better mechanistic understanding of the differences between diseased and normal cells. The new database and software, called ChIP Enrichment Analysis (ChEA), will revolutionize how researchers identify drug targets and biomarkers.

16 Sep 2010

ABCB4 gene causes bad cholesterol to accumulate in blood: Research

Scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio have found a gene that causes high levels of bad cholesterol to accumulate in the blood as a result of a high-cholesterol diet.

16 Sep 2010

Molecule in cells predicts success of radiotherapy in individual bladder cancer patients

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have identified a molecule in cells which could predict the success of radiotherapy to treat individual bladder cancer patients, reveals research published in Cancer Research1 today (Wednesday).

15 Sep 2010

Study raises questions about effectiveness of campaigns projected to improve health literacy

A joint study by Indiana University and Columbia University researchers found no change in prejudice and discrimination toward people with serious mental illness or substance abuse problems despite a greater embrace by the public of neurobiological explanations for these illnesses.

15 Sep 2010

Organizations issue five-point plan to accelerate research, discovery of effective prostate cancer treatments

With $3 billion spent on the over-treatment of prostate cancer each year, new discoveries are prompting the prostate cancer community to Advance on Washington the week of September 13 - 18. This initiative calls for renewed commitments to finding answers that will enable physicians to cure more and over-treat less. The nation's leading prostate cancer organizations today issued a five point plan, targeted to policymakers, to accelerate research and discovery of effective prostate cancer treatments.

15 Sep 2010

Researchers recommend mechanism to identify hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

An abrupt, fatal heart attack in a young athlete on the playing field is a tragedy destined to repeat itself over and over until more is understood about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic disorder that is the most common cause of sudden death in young people but which affects people of all ages. So says a task force of cardiologists and cardiac biologists, headed by Thomas L. Force, M.D., James C. Wilson Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, in the September 14th online edition of the journal Circulation.

15 Sep 2010

Actress joins UTHealth to establish 'John Ritter Research Program in Aortic and Vascular Diseases'

Actress, writer and aortic health advocate Amy Yasbeck has joined with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) to establish the John Ritter Research Program in Aortic and Vascular Diseases (JRRP) to combat the devastating disease that took the life of her husband, legendary comic actor John Ritter.

15 Sep 2010