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EU grants 3.3 million to AMP for gene therapy development against AIP

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that the European Union has finalized a EUR 3.3 million grant to the AIPGENE consortium, of which AMT is a member, for the development of a gene therapy product for Acute Intermittent Porphyria.

31 Jan 2011

Genetic study helps investigators solve medical mysteries

The mystery began in 1976. Adolfo Pampena was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that caused a strange combination of symptoms and was associated with the occurrence of multiple tumours in his stomach and colon. His medical team was stumped and was unable to answer the most important questions for him and his family: the cause of his disease and the risk for future generations.

29 Jan 2011

Scientists use full genome sequencing to identify precise steps in molecular evolution of S. pneumoniae

Despite penicillin and the dozens of antibiotics that followed it, streptococcus bacteria have remained a major threat to health throughout the world. The reason: the superb evolutionary skills of this pathogen to rapidly alter its genetic makeup.

29 Jan 2011

Research provides new clues for compulsive behavior, cognitive defects linked with LND

Research from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine provides new clues for the compulsive behavior and cognitive defects associated with a rare childhood neurological disease called Lesch-Nyhan Disease.

29 Jan 2011

Antibiotic may help in development of new anti-cancer agents: Researchers

An antibiotic known for its immunosuppressive functions could also point the way to the development of new anti-cancer agents, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have reported.

28 Jan 2011

Tarceva Phase III EURTAC study in NSCLC patients with EGFR activating mutations meets primary endpoint

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group and OSI Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas U.S. Holding Inc., a holding company owned by Astellas Pharma Inc., today announced that an independent data monitoring committee has recommended that the Phase III EURTAC study be stopped early because the study met its primary endpoint.

28 Jan 2011

Protein Erk necessary for nerve fibers to be wrapped with myelin

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have pinpointed a crucial function for a key player in the development of the nervous system. They found that this player - a protein called Erk - is necessary for nerve fibers to be wrapped with an insulating substance called myelin, which allows messages to be sent from the brain to the peripheral limbs and back again.

28 Jan 2011

McGill, GSK enter collaborative research agreement on cystic fibrosis

McGill University and GlaxoSmithKline plc have signed a collaboration agreement to develop a potential breakthrough approach to treat cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease. The trans-Atlantic effort between researchers from McGill's Faculty of Medicine and their GSK collaborators in the UK, will focus on developing molecules that could treat the disease by correcting the dysfunction caused by the mutated gene.

28 Jan 2011

Plexxikon begins PLX5622 Phase 1 trial in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Plexxikon today announced that dosing began in the first of two Phase 1 clinical trials with PLX5622, a novel, oral and highly selective Fms inhibitor, targeted for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

27 Jan 2011

Mass cholera vaccination early in outbreak could stem spread of disease, studies show

"The cholera bacterium has undergone important mutations in recent years, causing longer outbreaks of the disease with increased fatalities, researchers reported on Wednesday," Reuters reports. "In a package of papers published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, they said mass vaccinations should be considered as a solution even after outbreaks have begun," the news service writes (Lyn, 1/26).

27 Jan 2011

NINDS awards AndroScience $3.8M cooperative translational research grant for Kennedy's Disease

AndroScience Corp., based in San Diego, California, announced receiving a $3.8 Million, 3-year milestone-driven, cooperative translational research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

25 Jan 2011

Scientists to develop enzyme that protects against nerve agents

Protection against nerve gas attack is a significant component of the defense system of many countries around the world. Nerve gases are used by armies and terrorist organizations, and constitute a threat to both the military and civilian populations, but existing drug solutions against them have limited efficiency.

25 Jan 2011

Human model of rare genetic disease reveals new clues to aging process

Scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) in Singapore and the University of Hong Kong's Department of Medicine have produced the world's first human cell model of progeria, a disease resulting in severe premature ageing in one in four to eight million children worldwide. This model has allowed them to make new discoveries concerning the mechanism by which progeria works.

25 Jan 2011

University of California study may shed light on human ability to adapt hypoxia

In an important study that may shed light on human ability to adapt to hypoxia, or inadequate levels of oxygen, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have proven that the genome of flies exposed to long-term hypoxia are changed to permanently affect gene expression.

24 Jan 2011

Contagious cancer repairs own genetic mutations

A curious contagious cancer, found in dogs, wolves and coyotes, can repair its own genetic mutations by adopting genes from its host animal, according to a new study in the journal Science.

24 Jan 2011

Functional tests are necessary to understand human disease despite genetic sequencing

Despite what you might have heard, genetic sequencing alone is not enough to understand human disease. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have shown that functional tests are absolutely necessary to understand the biological relevance of the results of sequencing studies as they relate to disease, using a suite of diseases known as the ciliopathies which can cause patients to have many different traits.

24 Jan 2011

Mutation of microRNA miR-96 causes deafness

New research from the University of Sheffield has revealed that the molecular mechanism underlying deafness is caused by a mutation of a specific microRNA called miR-96. The discovery could provide the basis for treating progressive hearing loss and deafness.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers reveal how genetic mutation contributes to cancer development

Scientists around the world have been hot on the trail of a genetic mutation closely associated with some brain cancers and leukemia since the mutation's discovery in 2008. The hunt is now yielding fruit. In the Jan. 18, 2011 issue of Cancer Cell, researchers reveal how the mutation contributes to cancer development and suggest potential ways to counter its effects.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers discover several key mutations in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Through a grant provided by the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered several key mutations in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers examine brain's role in breathing

Much of our knowledge of the brain's role in regulating breathing comes from research with mice and rats. A chemical receptor within the brain stem communicates with the central nervous system to generate the basic pattern of breathing. The next step is applying that information to human tissue to identify these critical components in the human brain and their medical implications.

21 Jan 2011