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Researchers identify gene that can predict hypersensitivity to epilepsy drug

Research published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. A multinational team of scientists led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the University of Liverpool has identified a gene that could indicate if epilepsy patients starting a common drug treatment are likely to experience side-effects ranging from a mild skin irritation to the potentially fatal Steven-Johnson Syndrome.

25 Mar 2011

Immune system misinterprets threats and attacks body's own cells and tissue

Many chronic diseases are the result of the body's immune system mistakenly perceiving that the body is under attack from foreign bodies. A counterattack is then launched - an inflammatory response meant to vanquish the intruder. In reality, the immune system has misinterpreted the threat and is actually attacking the body's own cells and tissue.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create new computational model to understand animal cell behavior

Biological systems, including cells, tissues and organs, can function properly only when their parts are working in harmony. These systems are often dauntingly complex: Inside a single cell, thousands of proteins interact with each other to determine how the cell will develop and respond to its environment.

24 Mar 2011

Protein α-myosin could be a promising therapeutic target for myocarditis

Myocardits is an inflammation of the heart muscles that is a major cause of heart failure in young patients. In some cases, the disease is caused by viral infection, but in other patients it is linked to an autoimmune attack on the heart muscle. There are few effective treatment options for myocarditis, in part because the molecular mechanisms that underlie the defect are poorly defined.

24 Mar 2011

MicroRNAs may play a key role in future medicine

Since their discovery in the 1990s, microRNAs have proven to play a complex role in normal and abnormal functioning of many organ systems. In the April issue of Translational Research, entitled "MicroRNAs: A Potential New Frontier for Medicine," an international group of medical experts explores several themes related to our current understanding of microRNAs and the role they may play in the future of medicine.

24 Mar 2011

Positive data from Omeros' OMS302 Phase 2b trial in patients undergoing cataract surgery

Omeros Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products focused on inflammation, bleeding and disorders of the central nervous system, today reported positive data from a Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating OMS302 in patients undergoing cataract surgery.

23 Mar 2011

MnSOD oral drug can protect against lung cancer radiation therapy

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer can safely take an experimental oral drug intended to protect healthy tissue from the effects of radiation, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and published in this month's issue of Human Gene Therapy.

23 Mar 2011

Obese teens have inflammation, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine levels despite feeling healthy

Obese teens may feel healthy, but blood tests show they have inflammation, insulin resistance, and high homocysteine levels, researchers report at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions.

23 Mar 2011

Study finds IL-13 stimulates airway fibroblast invasion in asthma patients

Changes that occur in the airways of asthma patients are in part caused by the naturally occurring protein interleukin-13 which stimulates invasion of airway cells called fibroblasts, according to a study conducted by researchers at Duke University.

23 Mar 2011

Genetic errors in women linked to increased risk of preeclampsia

Scientists have identified genetic errors in women with autoimmune diseases that increase the risk of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs in 10 percent of all pregnancies.

23 Mar 2011

Strong 'innate immunity' effective in chikungunya patients

Chikungunya is transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. The disease is spreading in the world and periodically sparks new outbreaks. Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean and even Southern Europe are now affected.

23 Mar 2011

Cardiff study discovers protein that protects pancreatic cells against alcohol effects

A Cardiff University-led study has discovered that a protein provides protection against the effects of alcohol in the pancreas.

23 Mar 2011

WHO concerned about radiation levels in food near damaged Japanese nuclear plant

A WHO spokesperson "said on Monday that the detection of radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was a more serious problem than had first expected," Reuters reports.

22 Mar 2011

Scientists receive £200,000 AICR grant for stomach cancer research

Scientists in Australia have been awarded almost £200,000 from an international charity, based in Scotland, towards their research into a 'forgotten cancer.'

22 Mar 2011

Daily dose of safflower oil can help reduce cardiovascular disease

A daily dose of safflower oil, a common cooking oil, for 16 weeks can improve such health measures as good cholesterol, blood sugar, insulin sensitivity and inflammation in obese postmenopausal women who have Type 2 diabetes, according to new research.

22 Mar 2011

NasVax reports positive results from Phase 2a trial of oral immunotherapy for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

NasVax announces the success of a Phase 2a clinical trial of a new oral immunotherapy for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an inflammatory disease associated with fatty liver disease and the metabolic syndrome.

21 Mar 2011

Experts issue joint statement to help Americans understand radiation-related health risks

The growing concern surrounding the release of radiation from an earthquake and tsunami-stricken nuclear complex in Japan has raised fears of radiation exposure to populations in North America from the potential plume of radioactivity crossing the Pacific Ocean.

19 Mar 2011

Aerocrine acquires FENO technology platform and intellectual property from FILT

Aerocrine AB today announced the acquisition of key assets related to the measurement of FENO from German company FILT Lungen & Thoraxdiagnostik GmbH. FILT and Aerocrine will collaborate to develop new applications for airway inflammation monitoring and FILT will cease further commercialization of the NO VARIO® product.

18 Mar 2011

Stem cell therapy successfully heals a scarred and failing heart

A new study has shown that stem cells could heal scars caused by old heart attacks. In all eight patients who received the experimental treatment in an ongoing clinical trial this therapy worked. All of them had suffered heart attacks an average of 5 1/2 years prior; one of the patients had his heart attack 11 years earlier.

17 Mar 2011

Researchers update 'Hallmarks of Cancer' seminal review

Renowned cancer researchers Robert Weinberg, a Founding Member of Whitehead Institute, and Douglas Hanahan, Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research have updated their seminal review, "Hallmarks of Cancer," which has influenced the study of cancer and the development of therapeutics for more than a decade.

17 Mar 2011