Toxins News and Research

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Small numbers of ANA- and RP-negative patients with systemic sclerosis

There exists a very small subgroup of patients with systemic sclerosis who lack circulating antinuclear antibodies and who do not have Raynaud's phenomenon, research shows.

31 Dec 2012

Common cholesterol-lowering drug may help protect against cerebral malaria

Researchers have discovered that adding lovastatin, a widely used cholesterol-lowering drug, to traditional antimalarial treatment decreases neuroinflammation and protects against cognitive impairment in a mouse model of cerebral malaria.

29 Dec 2012

Genome sequencing may help identify new targets to treat Pneumocystis pneumonia

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, an advancement that could help identify new targets for drugs to treat and prevent Pneumocystis pneumonia, a common and often deadly infection in immunocompromised patients.

26 Dec 2012

Novel testing reaction based on magnetic resonance data

In their quest for new agents, pharmaceutical researchers test millions of substances all over the world. They like using color-forming reactions to identify new molecules. However, in intensively colored solutions or in the case of mixtures with multiple substances these tests fail.

21 Dec 2012

US FDA approves raxibacumab for treating inhalational anthrax

The US Food and Drug Administration have approved the monoclonal antibody raxibacumab for treatment of inhalational anthrax, caused by breathing in spores of Bacillus anthracis.

19 Dec 2012

Paternal exposure to cocaine can impair gene expression and behavior in their offspring

Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals that sons of male rats exposed to cocaine are resistant to the rewarding effects of the drug, suggesting that cocaine-induced changes in physiology are passed down from father to son.

17 Dec 2012

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers suggests that an existing HIV drug called maraviroc could be a potential therapy for Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious and deadly pathogen linked to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year.

15 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved raxibacumab injection to treat inhalational anthrax, a form of the infectious disease caused by breathing in the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Raxibacumab also is approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms.

14 Dec 2012

Study reveals dual role for Norrin/Frizzled-4 protein pair

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have shed light on the activity of a protein pair found in cells that form the walls of blood vessels in the brain and retina, experiments that could lead to therapeutic control of the blood-brain barrier and of blood vessel growth in the eye.

7 Dec 2012

Kinexus releases new antibody microarray kit

Kinexus Bioinformatics Corporation, a world leader in functional proteomics research, announced today the release of its first Kinex antibody microarray kit with its latest generation KAM-850 chip.

27 Nov 2012

Liver disease therapies: an interview with Eric Halioua, CEO of Promethera Biosciences

Liver disease is a very broad family of diseases. There are two main categories of liver disease:

27 Nov 2012

Electrophysiology: an interview with Dr Kaylene Young

Bioelectricity is an essential part of our make-up. All cells in our body communicate by electrical activity. If an electrical charge is applied to one of our muscles it will interpret that electrical activity as a signal telling it to contract.

21 Nov 2012

IL-13 receptor system could play a major role in Parkinson's

Deciphering what causes the brain cell degeneration of Parkinson's disease has remained a perplexing challenge for scientists. But a team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has pinpointed a key factor controlling damage to brain cells in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

20 Nov 2012

KLF4 genetic factor prevents blood vessels from blockages

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified a genetic factor that prevents blockages from forming in blood vessels, a discovery that could lead to new therapies for cardiovascular diseases.

20 Nov 2012

Preschool children particularly vulnerable to food-borne toxins

In a sobering study published in the journal Environmental Health, researchers at UC Davis and UCLA measured food-borne toxin exposure in children and adults by pinpointing foods with high levels of toxic compounds and determining how much of these foods were consumed.

14 Nov 2012

Texas Biomed develops rapid, less expensive route to screen suitable tests for bioterror threats

Texas Biomedical Research Institute scientists in San Antonio have developed a faster, less expensive route to screen suitable tests for bioterror threats and accelerate the application of countermeasures.

7 Nov 2012

University of Cambridge forms new spin-out company to supply hIPSC-derived cells

The potential therapeutic applications of stem cells - such as regenerating damaged tissues or organs - have generated a great deal of interest over the past decade. While these types of applications are exciting, it is a long journey from lab to clinic. The most immediate impact of stem cells on human health will most likely come from their use in the development of new drugs.

3 Nov 2012

Concordia researchers propose new building guidelines to clean up city air

As urban populations expand, downtown buildings are going nowhere but up. The huge energy needs of these skyscrapers mean that these towers are not only office buildings, they're polluters with smokestacks billowing out toxins from the rooftop. Our cities are dirtier than we think. New research from Concordia University just might clean them up.

2 Nov 2012

Nitisinone treatment effectively prevents tyrosinemia in children

A consortium of Quebec researchers coordinated by the Medical Genetics Service of the Sainte-Justine UHC has just published the findings of a 25-year study on the treatment of tyrosinemia, a life-threatening liver disease of genetic origin, which is screened at birth in the province of Quebec, where it is much more frequent than anywhere else in the world.

1 Nov 2012