Growth Factor News and Research

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Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organise themselves in tubes and not in layers? A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of "instructor" molecule is needed to accomplish this. These findings, published in the scientific journal Blood, might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

31 Aug 2008

Gleevec receives FDA priority review for gastrointestinal stromal tumors after surgery

Novartis has announced that Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) tablets, (known as Glivec (imatinib) outside the US, Canada and Israel), has been granted priority review status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first therapy to be reviewed for use after surgery in kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

27 Aug 2008

Normalizing tumor vessels to improve chemotherapy drug delivery

Chemotherapy drugs often never reach the tumors they're intended to treat, and radiation therapy is not always effective, because the blood vessels feeding the tumors are abnormal-"leaky and twisty" in the words of the late Judah Folkman, MD, founder of the Vascular Biology program at Children's Hospital Boston.

25 Aug 2008

UT Southwestern scientists discover leptin can also aid type 1 diabetics

Terminally ill rodents with type 1 diabetes have been restored to full health with a single injection of a substance other than insulin by scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

25 Aug 2008

Hyaluronic hydrogels provide scaffolding for growth of bone cells

Hyaluronic hydrogels developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers may provide a suitable scaffolding to enable bone regeneration.

17 Aug 2008

Universal gene signaling mechanism identified by UB molecular researchers

A novel gene signaling mechanism that controls whether a stem cell develops into its destined tissue or fails to differentiate and becomes cancer has been identified by researchers in the multi-laboratory Molecular and Structural Neurobiology and Gene Therapy Program based at the University at Buffalo.

14 Aug 2008

Scientists identify microRNA that controls blood vessel development - therapeutic target for a number of diseases

Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and UCSF have identified a key regulatory factor that controls development of the human vascular system, the extensive network of arteries, veins, and capillaries that allow blood to reach all tissues and organs.

11 Aug 2008

Newly discovered molecular switch creates new path to study birth defects and cancer

Researchers have discovered a central molecular switch in fruit fly embryos that opens new avenues for studying the causes of birth defects and cancer in humans.

11 Aug 2008

Findings may aid in bone marrow transplants, blood diseases

New research sheds light on the biological events by which stem cells in the bone marrow develop into the broad variety of cells that circulate in the blood. The findings may help improve the success of bone marrow transplants and develop better treatments for life-threatening blood diseases.

5 Aug 2008

Growth hormone reduces abdominal fat, cardiovascular risk in HIV patients on antiviral therapy

Low-dose growth hormone treatment reduced abdominal fat deposits and improved blood pressure and triglyceride levels in a group of patients with HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

3 Aug 2008

Laboratory and mouse studies show targeted drug blocks the growth of breast cancer cells that spread to the brain

Using laboratory and mouse models of human breast cancer, researchers have found that a small molecule capable of targeting specific proteins on the surface of breast cancer cells can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells that migrate to the brain.

29 Jul 2008

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found a new protein produced excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates climb dramatically among young women.

17 Jul 2008

Researchers discover that learning suffers if brain transcript isn't transported far out to end of neurons

Neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have solved a mystery that lies at the heart of human learning, and they say the solution may help explain some forms of mental retardation as well as provide clues to overall brain functioning.

10 Jul 2008

Nanomaterials key to new strategies for blocking metastasis

A new treatment strategy using targeted nanoparticles to block metastasis with anti-cancer drugs leads to good results using significantly lower doses of toxic chemotherapy, with less collateral damage to surrounding tissue, according to a collaborative team of researchers at the Center of Nanotechnology for Treatment, Understanding, and Monitoring of Cancer at the University of California, San Diego. In designing this system, the investigators, led by David Cheresh, Ph.D., have identified what may become a generic method for using nanotechnology to target metastasis.

9 Jul 2008

Circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic signature of dangerous lung cancers

Using a miniature laboratory-on-a-chip device, a team of investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital, led by Daniel Haber, M.D., Ph.D., and Mehmet Toner, Ph.D., both members of the MIT-Harvard Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE), has developed a method that detects and analyzes the genetic signature of rare tumor cells in the bloodstream.

9 Jul 2008

Growth Factor News and Research

Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

Gleevec receives FDA priority review for gastrointestinal stromal tumors after surgery

Normalizing tumor vessels to improve chemotherapy drug delivery

UT Southwestern scientists discover leptin can also aid type 1 diabetics

Hyaluronic hydrogels provide scaffolding for growth of bone cells

Universal gene signaling mechanism identified by UB molecular researchers

Scientists identify microRNA that controls blood vessel development - therapeutic target for a number of diseases

Newly discovered molecular switch creates new path to study birth defects and cancer

Findings may aid in bone marrow transplants, blood diseases

Growth hormone reduces abdominal fat, cardiovascular risk in HIV patients on antiviral therapy

Laboratory and mouse studies show targeted drug blocks the growth of breast cancer cells that spread to the brain

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

Researchers discover that learning suffers if brain transcript isn't transported far out to end of neurons

Nanomaterials key to new strategies for blocking metastasis

Circulating tumor cells can reveal genetic signature of dangerous lung cancers

Novel ways to boost vaccination or natural defenses

Growth hormone FGF21's link to starvation may be clue to increasing life span, researchers find

Growth-stimulating molecule called p110beta a promising cancer drug target in prostate tumors

Seven elevated biomarkers predict prostate cancer risk with 86.6 percent reliability

Apollo acquisition boosts NZ biotech Symansis

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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