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Findings may guide doctors to choose better therapies for patients with myeloma

The "molecular mail" sent by multiple myeloma cells provides clues to how well patients with the disease are likely to respond to treatment, according to a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

7 Dec 2014

Scientists devise powerful algorithm to improve effectiveness of research technology harnessing RNAi

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have devised a powerful algorithm that improves the effectiveness of an important research technology harnessing RNA interference, or RNAi.

7 Dec 2014

Study: Key protein may help prevent tumor growth, promote wound healing

A key protein may represent a new way to use the immune system to speed healing and counter inflammatory, infectious and autoimmune diseases, according to study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the December issue of Cell Reports.

7 Dec 2014

Pediatric concussions increase significantly between 2003 and 2010 in Ontario

The number of children and youth treated for concussions in both emergency departments and physician's offices in Ontario increased significantly between 2003 and 2010, with falls, hockey and skating injuries identified as the leading causes of pediatric concussion, according to a new joint study out of York University and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

7 Dec 2014

Study indicates major added benefit of propranolol in some children with haemangioma

The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG)investigated in a dossier assessment whether propranolol offers an added benefit in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapy in infants with proliferating infantile haemangioma (sometimes called "strawberry mark").

7 Dec 2014

BUSM's Carmela Abraham receives 2014 Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award

Carmela Abraham, PhD, professor of biochemistry and pharmacology at Boston University School of Medicine, was one of six recipients of this year's Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award out of nearly 60 applicants. The grant was awarded to her for her work on multiple sclerosis and the role of the life extension protein Klotho in the limited repair of white matter in the disease.

7 Dec 2014

Researchers reveal that genetic mutations may cause more cases of ALS

Genetic mutations may cause more cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) than scientists previously had realized, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The scientists also showed that the number of mutated genes influences the age when the fatal paralyzing disorder first appears.

7 Dec 2014

Drugs we release into the environment significantly affect plant growth, study reveals

The drugs we release into the environment are likely to have a significant impact on plant growth, a new study has revealed.

6 Dec 2014

Researchers assess efficiency and safety of breast milk stimulant

Most women can make all the milk their baby needs, but some mothers turn to medications to help increase their supply. While some specialists encourage the off-label use of domperidone to stimulate breast milk production, some studies have suggested it may be related to negative side effects, including irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac death.

6 Dec 2014

Scientists suspect role of mini-chromosomes in cancers, diseases caused by gene mutations

Cancers are due to genetic aberrations in certain cells that gain the ability to divide indefinitely. This proliferation of sick cells generates tumors, which gradually invade healthy tissue. Therefore, current therapies essentially seek to destroy cancer cells to stop their proliferation. Through high-throughput genetic sequencing of glioblastoma cells, one of the most deadly brain tumors, a team of geneticists from the University of Geneva's (UNIGE) Faculty of Medicine discovered that some of these mutations are caused by supplemental extrachromosomal DNA fragments, called double minutes, which enable cancer cells to better adapt to their environment and therefore better resist to treatments meant to destroy them.

6 Dec 2014

Comb-shaped polymers efficiently protect proteins in vivo

An enzyme that usually triggers strong allergic reactions now circulates in the veins of a group of mice without alerting the immune system. As INRS Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre Professor Marc A. Gauthier explains in an article published in the journal Nature Communications, a polymer was used to camouflage the enzyme before it was injected into the rodents. This was achieved by coating the enzyme to avoid an immune response in a manner that does not compromise its activity.

6 Dec 2014

Study sheds light on common psychosocial barriers affecting HPV vaccination in Puerto Rico

Young Puerto Rican women and their mothers know little about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health.

6 Dec 2014

Study suggests Golgi as potential drug target for Alzheimer's treatment

Alzheimer's disease (AD) progresses inside the brain in a rising storm of cellular chaos as deposits of the toxic protein, amyloid-beta (Aβ), overwhelm neurons. An apparent side effect of accumulating Aβ in neurons is the fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus, the part of the cell involved in packaging and sorting protein cargo including the precursor of Aβ. But is the destruction the Golgi a kind of collateral damage from the Aβ storm or is the loss of Golgi function itself part of the driving force behind Alzheimer's? This was the question for Yanzhuang Wang, Gunjan Joshi, and colleagues at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as they set out to uncover the mechanism damaging the Golgi, using a transgenic mouse and tissue culture models of AD to look at what was going on.

6 Dec 2014

Genetics may play major role in Lou Gehrig's disease, study reveals

Genetics may play a larger role in causing Lou Gehrig's disease than previously believed, potentially accounting for more than one-third of all cases, according to one of the most comprehensive genetic studies to date of patients who suffer from the condition also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

6 Dec 2014

Study sheds new light on well-known mechanism required for immune response

A new study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America sheds new light on a well-known mechanism required for the immune response. Researchers at the IRCM, led by Tarik Möröy, PhD, identified a protein that controls the activity of the p53 tumour suppressor protein known as the "guardian of the genome".

6 Dec 2014

Study links poor semen quality to higher risk of various health conditions

A study of more than 9,000 men with fertility problems has revealed a correlation between the number of different defects in a man's semen and the likelihood that the man has other health problems.

6 Dec 2014

Researchers suggest new strategy to control cellular identity and fate

A team of scientists that included researchers from UCLA has discovered a novel mechanism of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells. The findings are strong evidence that a specific chemical modification, or "tag," on RNA plays a key role in determining the ability of embryonic stem cells to adopt different cellular identities.

6 Dec 2014

Malnutrition predicts long-term survival in elderly patients undergoing Whipple procedure

Malnutrition is an important factor predicting long-term survival in older patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) (commonly called the Whipple procedure) to treat benign tumors and cysts of the pancreas as well as pancreatitis, according to new study results published in the December issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

6 Dec 2014

Researchers identify important neural mechanism responsible for certain chronic pain disorders

Pain typically has a clear cause-but not always. When a person touches something hot or bumps into a sharp object, it's no surprise that it hurts. But for people with certain chronic pain disorders, including fibromyalgia and phantom limb pain, a gentle caress can result in agony.

6 Dec 2014

University of Utah professor develops MORE intervention program for chronic pain patients

How can people who are dependent on prescription opioids reduce their cravings? Learn to enjoy other aspects of their lives.

6 Dec 2014

Medical Research News

Findings may guide doctors to choose better therapies for patients with myeloma

Scientists devise powerful algorithm to improve effectiveness of research technology harnessing RNAi

Study: Key protein may help prevent tumor growth, promote wound healing

Pediatric concussions increase significantly between 2003 and 2010 in Ontario

Study indicates major added benefit of propranolol in some children with haemangioma

BUSM's Carmela Abraham receives 2014 Massachusetts Neuroscience Consortium Award

Researchers reveal that genetic mutations may cause more cases of ALS

Drugs we release into the environment significantly affect plant growth, study reveals

Researchers assess efficiency and safety of breast milk stimulant

Scientists suspect role of mini-chromosomes in cancers, diseases caused by gene mutations

Comb-shaped polymers efficiently protect proteins in vivo

Study sheds light on common psychosocial barriers affecting HPV vaccination in Puerto Rico

Study suggests Golgi as potential drug target for Alzheimer's treatment

Genetics may play major role in Lou Gehrig's disease, study reveals

Study sheds new light on well-known mechanism required for immune response

Study links poor semen quality to higher risk of various health conditions

Researchers suggest new strategy to control cellular identity and fate

Malnutrition predicts long-term survival in elderly patients undergoing Whipple procedure

Researchers identify important neural mechanism responsible for certain chronic pain disorders

University of Utah professor develops MORE intervention program for chronic pain patients

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

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