Programmed Cell Death News and Research

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Vegetables such as broccoli and spices like red chili pepper, may provide a cancer-fighting benefit

Two new studies suggest that vegetables such as broccoli and spices like red chili pepper, may provide a cancer-fighting benefit by slowing or preventing the growth of cancerous tumor cells. The findings, being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research held April 16 to 20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., looked at the effect of these dietary agents on cancers that have extremely poor prognoses despite advances in surgery and other therapies.

19 Apr 2005

Compound derived from cottonseed oil could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer

The findings, which will be presented Tuesday, April 19, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, could lead to a treatment that provides an effective option to surgically removing the cancer, helping patients preserve vital organs involved in speech and swallowing.

19 Apr 2005

Advance in genetics of cleft lip and palate

Cleft lip and/or palate remains one of the most common birth defects in the world. It occurs when the sides of the face fuse abnormally in a developing baby, resulting in a malformed lip and/or roof of the mouth.

12 Apr 2005

Chronic inflammation caused by too little stomach acid leads to gastric cancer

When it comes to gastric cancer, too little stomach acid can be just as dangerous as too much, according to scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School. Both extremes create inflammatory changes in the stomach lining and a condition called chronic atrophic gastritis, which over time often leads to cancer.

4 Apr 2005

Strawberries destroy cancer cells

Researchers specializing in the health benefits of plant compounds have shown that quercetin, a phytonutrient found in abundance in strawberries and other fruits, can induce programmed self-destruction of human cancer cells.

23 Mar 2005

Process for disposal of dying neutrophils actively linked to neutrophil production

New research identifies a critical inhibitory step that is a key component of the feedback circuit regulating the balance between neutrophil production and destruction.

23 Mar 2005

Neuronal death and processing of Tau protein in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

In a research report recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS Press, a research group from the International School for Advanced Studies (ISAS\SISSA) in Trieste (Luisa Fasulo, Gabriele Ugolini e Antonino Cattaneo) showed that a processed form of tau protein induces neuronal death by apoptosis (programmed cell death) when expressed in cultured rat hippocampal neurons.

15 Mar 2005

Commonly used anesthetic regimen appears to have no negative effects on the developing brain of the fetus

An anesthetic regimen commonly used during surgery on pregnant mothers appears to have no negative effects on the developing brain of the fetus, according to a new study on sheep conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

9 Mar 2005

Common anesthetics appear safe for developing fetal brain

A group of Dartmouth researchers has learned that the brain's auditory cortex, the part that handles information from your ears, holds on to musical memories.

9 Mar 2005

Programmed cell death may provide clues to cancer and autoimmune diseases therapies

Dartmouth Medical School geneticists have found links in the cell death machinery of worms and mammals, opening new avenues for studying and targeting a process vital to development and implicated in cancer and autoimmune diseases.

16 Feb 2005

Plant protein mimics hormone that mitigates diabetes and obesity

A common protein that protects plants from fungal infection mimics the activity of a hormone in mammals that is linked to weight loss and is believed to play a role in mitigating heart disease, obesity and diabetes, according to a team of researchers at Purdue University and several collaborating institutions.

25 Jan 2005

Fundamental question of cell death answered

Chunying Du, Ph.D., Assistant Investigator at the Stowers Institute, has published findings that reveal a previously unknown pathway of Bruce, the gene encoding a protein that inhibits apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

10 Jan 2005

Scientists identify genes that promote the growth and recurrence of skin cancer

Andrzej Dlugosz, M.D., a professor of dermatology in the U-M Medical School, and colleagues at the University of Michigan and the National Cancer Institute examined the functions of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in basal cell carcinoma – the most common form of cancer – and uncovered a subset of tumor cells that were resistant to inhibition of the Hedgehog pathway.

10 Jan 2005

Scientists have identified genes that promote the growth and recurrence of skin cancer

Dr. Andrzej Dlugosz and colleagues at the University of Michigan and the National Cancer Institute have examined the functions of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway in basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of cancer, and have uncovered a subset of tumor cells that are resistant to inhibition of the Hh pathway.

28 Dec 2004

Wiping out a protein in skin cancer cells could significantly stall melanoma tumor development

The protein, Akt3, appears to be responsible for promoting tumor cell survival and development in 43 percent to 60 percent of non-inherited melanomas.

13 Dec 2004

Importance of the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) pathway to breast cancer development

Because up to 75 percent of breast cancer patients have an abnormality in a specific cell signaling pathway, drugs that target different molecules along that pathway may be especially effective for treating the disease, says a researcher from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

13 Dec 2004

Genasense shown to enhance the anti-lymphoma activity of Velcade and Rituxan

Genta Incorporated announced that two new studies have shown that Genasense (oblimersen sodium) Injection, the Company's lead anticancer drug, showed synergistic activity with both bortezomib (Velcade; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) and rituximab (Rituxan; Genentech, Idec) in experimental models of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

5 Dec 2004

Phase 3 results of Genasense plus Dexamethasone in patients with advanced multiple myeloma

Genta Incorporated announced that results from the Company's randomized Phase 3 clinical trial of Genasense(R) (oblimersen sodium) Injection in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma were presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Diego, CA.

4 Dec 2004

Fossil record of the human immune system reveals antibodies that block cancer metastasis

A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute has reconstructed the "fossil record" of the immune systems of a group of human cancer patients to investigate if they had ever produced antibodies against their disease.