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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Closing in on neurologic biomarker diagnosis

A panel of five cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers may help doctors to accurately diagnose patients with various forms of dementia and parkinsonian disorders, research published in the Archives of Neurology suggests.

30 Aug 2012

Chronic nerve pain: an interview with Professor Sally Lawson

Chronic nerve pain results from pathological changes within a nerve that appear to be self-sustaining and thus the pain continues for a long time.

30 Aug 2012

Single serve packages may help reduce energy intake at breakfast

Mega-sized portions clearly have contributed to our nation's obesity problem, but it is not just the super-sized menu items that are a concern. Serving sizes at home have also crept up over recent decades, with plates and bowls much larger than the dishes used by our great-grandparents. Packaged foods that are available in portion packs might be an easy aid for reigning in portion sizes, but do they actually help us to eat fewer calories overall?

30 Aug 2012

Stowers investigators define factors that regulate size of cellular fat pools

As the national waistline expands, so do pools of intra-cellular fat known as lipid droplets. Although most of us wish our lipid droplets would vanish, they represent a cellular paradox: on the one hand droplets play beneficial roles by corralling fat into non-toxic organelles. On the other, oversized lipid droplets are associated with obesity and its associated health hazards.

30 Aug 2012

Johns Hopkins team creates synthetic protein that can help locate tumors

Johns Hopkins researchers have created a synthetic protein that, when activated by ultraviolet light, can guide doctors to places within the body where cancer, arthritis and other serious medical disorders can be detected.

30 Aug 2012

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Illumina over Helicos lawsuit

Illumina, Inc. announced today that District Judge Sue L. Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granted Illumina's motion for summary judgment of invalidity of U.S. Patent No. 7,593,109, a patent asserted by Helicos BioSciences Corporation in a lawsuit filed against Illumina in October 2010. Judge Robinson ruled that the '109 patent was invalid for inadequate written description.

From Illumina, Inc. 30 Aug 2012

Protalex announces results from PRTX-100 Phase 1b trial on active rheumatoid arthritis

Protalex, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of a class of drugs designed to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), today announced results from its recently completed Phase 1b randomized, multiple-dose, dose-escalation study.

30 Aug 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that explains link between trichomoniasis and prostate cancer

Researchers have identified a way in which men can develop prostate cancer after contracting trichomoniasis, a curable but often overlooked sexually transmitted disease.

30 Aug 2012

Israel's Ministry of Health approves Medgenics’ INFRADURE Phase I/II clinical trials for hepatitis C

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of Biopump, a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that Israel's Ministry of Health (MOH) has approved two Phase I/II clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of INFRADURE in patients with hepatitis C.

30 Aug 2012

CNIO team generates transgenic mouse model for aplastic anaemia associated with short telomeres

Aplastic anaemia is characterised by a reduction in the number of the bone marrow cells that go on to form the different cell types present in blood (essentially red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets). In most cases, the causes of the disorder are hard to determine, but some patients have been found to have genetic alterations leading to a shortening of their telomeres (the end regions of chromosomes that protect and stabilise DNA).

30 Aug 2012

Novartis receives FDA approval for Afinitor Disperz to treat subependymal giant cell astrocytoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Afinitor Disperz (everolimus tablets for oral suspension), a new pediatric dosage form of the anti-cancer drug Afinitor (everolimus) used to treat a rare brain tumor called subependymal giant cell astrocytoma.

30 Aug 2012

Childhood coagulation marker levels distinct from adulthood

Levels of key coagulation markers significantly vary with age in children, research reveals, potentially affecting the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric thrombotic and hemorrhagic disease.

29 Aug 2012

Elevated CRP is phenotype for familial preserved cognition

The first-degree relatives of very old people with preserved cognition and elevated C-reactive protein have a low risk for developing dementia, research shows.

29 Aug 2012

Vitamin to the rescue in fight with ‘superbugs’

High doses of vitamin B3 may help fight against so called “superbugs” such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, show study results.

29 Aug 2012

New method simplifies pharmaceutical production of proteins

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have developed a method to simplify the pharmaceutical production of proteins used in drugs that treat a variety of diseases and health conditions, including diabetes, cancer, arthritis and macular degeneration.

29 Aug 2012

FISH assay identifies only few lung cancer patients who could benefit from crizotinib

Break apart a couple worm-like chromosomes and they may reconnect with mismatched tips and tails - such is the case of the EML4-ALK fusion gene that creates 2-7 percent of lung cancers. Almost exactly a year ago, the FDA approved the drug crizotinib to treat these ALK+ lung cancer patients, who were likely never smokers. Informed doctors use the test called a FISH assay to check for the EML4-ALK fusion gene, and then if the test is positive, ALK+ patients benefit greatly from crizotinib.

29 Aug 2012

NYU-Poly creates ultra-sensitive biosensor to identify small single virus particles

Researchers at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) have created an ultra-sensitive biosensor capable of identifying the smallest single virus particles in solution, an advance that may revolutionize early disease detection in a point-of-care setting and shrink test result wait times from weeks to minutes.

29 Aug 2012

Acorda’s GGF2 can improve erectile function after cavernous nerve damage

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. announced data from a preclinical study showed that treatment with Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2) improved erectile function in an animal model following a cavernous nerve (CN) injury, a common complication of prostate surgery.

29 Aug 2012

March of Dimes emergency preparedness tips for pregnant women and new parents

Pregnant women evacuating their homes in advance of Hurricane Isaac should be sure to bring their medication, including their prenatal vitamins, as well as their medical records and their health care providers' emergency contact number.

29 Aug 2012

Top-line results from Rexahn’s Archexin Phase II study on metastatic pancreatic cancer

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing multi-indication therapeutics in oncology and CNS, today announced top-line results from a Phase II clinical study of Archexin, its clinical-stage oncology drug candidate.

29 Aug 2012

Protein News and Research

Further Reading

Closing in on neurologic biomarker diagnosis

Chronic nerve pain: an interview with Professor Sally Lawson

Single serve packages may help reduce energy intake at breakfast

Stowers investigators define factors that regulate size of cellular fat pools

Johns Hopkins team creates synthetic protein that can help locate tumors

U.S. District Court rules in favor of Illumina over Helicos lawsuit

Protalex announces results from PRTX-100 Phase 1b trial on active rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers identify mechanism that explains link between trichomoniasis and prostate cancer

Israel's Ministry of Health approves Medgenics’ INFRADURE Phase I/II clinical trials for hepatitis C

CNIO team generates transgenic mouse model for aplastic anaemia associated with short telomeres

Novartis receives FDA approval for Afinitor Disperz to treat subependymal giant cell astrocytoma

Childhood coagulation marker levels distinct from adulthood

Elevated CRP is phenotype for familial preserved cognition

Vitamin to the rescue in fight with ‘superbugs’

New method simplifies pharmaceutical production of proteins

FISH assay identifies only few lung cancer patients who could benefit from crizotinib

NYU-Poly creates ultra-sensitive biosensor to identify small single virus particles

Acorda’s GGF2 can improve erectile function after cavernous nerve damage

March of Dimes emergency preparedness tips for pregnant women and new parents

Top-line results from Rexahn’s Archexin Phase II study on metastatic pancreatic cancer

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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