Medical Research News

RSS

Discovery of IKBKE gene linked to breast cancer

Using a novel three-part screening process, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a gene that is made inappropriately in about a third of all breast cancers.

17 Jun 2007

New understanding of how Staphylococcus aureus hides

A major cause of human and animal infections, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria may evade the immune system" defences and dodge antibiotics by climbing into our cells and then lying low to avoid detection.

17 Jun 2007

How accurate are recovered memories?

A decade or so ago, a spate of high profile legal cases arose in which people were accused, and often convicted, on the basis of recovered memories.

17 Jun 2007

Researchers culture blood-forming stem cells from human fat tissue

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have successfully isolated and cultured human hematopoietic stem cells from fat, or adipose, tissue, suggesting that they have found another important source of cells for reconstituting the bone marrow of patients undergoing intensive radiation therapy for blood cancers.

17 Jun 2007

RAS signaling of circadian output

In the June 15th issue of G&D, Drs. Jay Dunlap and Jennifer Loros, with colleagues at Dartmouth Medical School, have finally cloned the band gene, and have found that it is an allele of ras-1.

17 Jun 2007

New research in animals uncovers another mechanism of cholesterol lowering drug ezetimibe

It had previously been thought that the drug works by preventing cells in the intestine from absorbing cholesterol. The new research suggests that Zetia also works in the liver.

17 Jun 2007

New rheumatoid arthritis genes identified

Researchers at the University of Manchester have identified evidence of several new genes behind the chronic inflammatory disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects 387,000 people in the UK.

16 Jun 2007

Gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs

A gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs, report researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2007

New cellular pathway that operates to restrict inflammation and immunity

Jonsson Cancer Center have discovered a novel anti-inflammatory cell signaling pathway that may serve as a vital Yin-Yang mechanism to maintain the delicate balance of immune response.

16 Jun 2007

Breakdown of myelin may be the cause of Huntington's disease

Last month, Dr. George Bartzokis, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, suggested in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia that the breakdown of a type of myelin that develops late in life promotes the buildup of toxic amyloid plaques long associated with Alzheimer's disease.

16 Jun 2007

The unexpected connection of two gene regulation mechanisms points to new ways for the fight against leukemia

When the activity of individual genes it is longer required, there are two main mechanisms responsible for the “switching off”, mainly DNA methylation and the Polycomb protein complex. Sometimes, these mechanisms lose their efficiency and some of the genes that should be "switched off" remain active.

16 Jun 2007

Swift system for heart attack care improves treatment

Heart attack patients received lifesaving care up to an hour sooner after an Indiana hospital implemented a novel protocol to rapidly activate the cardiac catheterization lab, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

16 Jun 2007

Early life sun exposure linked to melanomas with BRAF gene mutations

Skin cancers often contain different gene mutations, but just how these mutations contribute to the cause of melanomas has been a mystery.

16 Jun 2007

Sonographically-guided alcohol injections for Morton's neuroma highly successful

Sonographically-guided alcohol injections has a high success rate and is well tolerated by patients with Morton?s neuroma, a common cause of foot pain, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Kingston Hospital NHS Trust in Middlesex, United Kingdom.

16 Jun 2007

Snake venom medication

A chemist at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) is looking for unusual structures in snake venom and plans to prove their medical effectiveness.

16 Jun 2007

Simple test predicts a person's risk for developing dementia within six years with 87 percent accuracy

The test, developed in the study by the researchers, is a 14-point index combining medical history, cognitive testing, and physical examination. It requires no special equipment and can be given in a clinical setting such as a doctor's office or at a patient's bedside.

16 Jun 2007

Sensitivity to diverse range of chemotherapeutic drugs linked to common pathway

Using a functional genomic screen, scientists have defined elements that impact the responsiveness of cancer cells to drugs commonly used as anticancer therapeutics.

15 Jun 2007

Researchers shed light on shrinking of chromosomes

A human cell contains an enormous 1.8 metres of DNA partitioned into 46 chromosomes.

15 Jun 2007

Researchers find new mechanism of action of the anti-cancer drug sorafenib

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a new mechanism of action of the anti-cancer drug sorafenib, which could stimulate the development of novel regimens in which it is combined with other molecularly targeted agents for patients with blood cancers and solid tumors.

15 Jun 2007

Structure of protein altered in autism revealed

As a result of mapping the structure of the protein complex implicated in autism spectrum disorders, a research team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has discovered how particular genetic mutations affect this complex and contribute to the developmental abnormalities found in children with autism.

15 Jun 2007