Retinoic Acid News and Research

RSS

Retinoic Acid is a nutrient that that body needs in small amounts to function and stay healthy. All-trans retinoic acid is made in the body from vitamin A and helps cells to grow and develop, especially in the embryo. A form of all-trans retinoic acid made in the laboratory is put on the skin to treat conditions such as acne and is taken by mouth to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (a fast-growing cancer in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells in the blood and bone marrow). All-trans retinoic acid is being studied in the prevention and treatment of other types of cancer. Also called ATRA, retinoic acid, tretinoin, and vitamin A acid.

Study reveals mechanism that could combat congenital limb defects like Holt-Oram syndrome

Gregg Duester, Ph.D., professor of developmental biology at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), along with Xianling Zhao, Ph.D., and colleagues, have clarified the role that retinoic acid plays in limb development.

9 Jun 2009

New therapy improves chances of living disease-free with neuroblastoma

A phase III study has shown that adding an antibody-based therapy that harnesses the body's immune system resulted in a 20 percent increase in the number of children living disease-free for at least two years with neuroblastoma.

15 May 2009

Frogs reveal clues about the effects of alcohol during development

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) cause malformations in babies, including facial defects, short stature, and mental and behavioral abnormalities.

6 Apr 2009

Biomarker associated with poor outcome in aggressive childhood cancer

Results from a new study identify a biomarker that may be useful for predicting the outcome of treatment for neuroblastoma, the most common cancer in young children.

6 Apr 2009

SOX9 protein may be a potential target for melanoma treatment

In a new study released today, researchers have shown that a specific protein plays an important role in inhibiting the development and spread of melanoma tumors in mouse and in human skin models.

11 Mar 2009

SRS microscopy helps track molecules and drugs in live cells

A new type of highly sensitive microscopy developed by researchers at Harvard University could greatly expand the limits of modern biomedical imaging, allowing scientists to track the location of minuscule metabolites and drugs in living cells and tissues without the use of any kind of fluorescent labeling.

18 Dec 2008

New stem cell tools to aid drug development

Scientists have designed, developed and tested new molecular tools for stem cell research to direct the formation of certain tissue types for use in drug development programmes.

2 Sep 2008

Why some treatments rescue aging skin

Fine wrinkles, deeper creases, saggy areas around the mouth and neck - the sights in the mirror that make baby boomers wince - are not inevitable. They result from a structural breakdown inside the skin that some existing treatments effectively counteract by stimulating the growth of new, youthful collagen, University of Michigan scientists say.

28 May 2008

Medical research is essential to improving the economy and bettering lives

Health care in the United States is expensive, but its funding is crucial because it also is a major contributor to the economy and can better lives, according to an essay appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because of the cost of health care, this is not time to shrink the budget at the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research that leads to potentially curative therapy.

7 May 2008

Molecule delivery method improves stem cell differentiation

Embryonic stem cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease.

10 Apr 2008

Method to deliver molecules within embryonic stem cells improves differentiation

Embryonic stem cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease.

10 Apr 2008

Isotretinoin and acne

The most potent drug available for the treatment of acne is 13-cis retinoic acid (13-cis RA; also known as isotretinoin); however, little is known about the mechanism by which it acts.

4 Mar 2008

Research may improve prognosis and treatment of lung cancer

A group of scientists led by Professor Xavier Pares of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, has published a research on AKR1B10, an enzyme that is detected in large quantities only in lung cancers, particularly those caused by smoking.

8 Jan 2008

Research shows how embryonic cells may regulate levels of retinoic acid

Human embryos that get too much or too little retinoic acid, a derivative of Vitamin A, can develop into babies with birth defects.

21 Nov 2007

Regulation of the retinoic acid gradient in zebrafish embryos

Human embryos that get too much or too little retinoic acid, a derivative of Vitamin A, can develop into babies with birth defects.

21 Nov 2007

Low doses of arsenic disrupt activity of development hormone

A team of Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) researchers has determined that low doses of arsenic disrupt the activity of a hormone critical in development. The finding is further evidence that arsenic at low doses (at levels found in U.S. drinking water in some areas) can be harmful.

15 Nov 2007

Vitamin A derivative associated with reduced growth in some lung cells

Treatment with a derivative of vitamin A called retinoic acid was associated with reduced lung cell growth in a group of former heavy smokers, according to a study published online October 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

31 Oct 2007

Researchers reveal repressor protein blocks neural stem cell development

A protein known to repress gene transcription at the molecular level in a variety of processes also blocks embryonic neural stem cells from differentiating into neurons, according to a study by University of California, San Diego and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers published online October 10 in Nature.

10 Oct 2007

New insights into acute promyelocytic leukemia

Results from two new studies provide key mechanistic insights into the complex molecular events that cause a deadly type of leukemia.

10 Jul 2007

Researchers identify potential role for retinoic acid in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases

An important finding, which could eventually lead to a new therapeutic approach for treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, psoriasis and others, was announced by researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI).

17 Jun 2007