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Infusions of regulatory T cells turn off autoimmune attack on joints

Farber Cancer Institute scientists have demonstrated a new strategy for treating autoimmune disease that successfully blocked the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model. They say it holds promise for improved treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune disorders in people.

10 Feb 2013

Sunitinib shows promise against metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Findings from clinical trial patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, a common kidney cancer, show they did not have accelerated tumor growth after treatment with sunitinib, in contrast to some study results in animals. Sunitinib is one of several drugs, either on the market or undergoing testing, that target blood vessel growth.

10 Feb 2013

Scientists discover recurring pattern of more than 13,000 epigenetic alterations in young tumours

Tumourigenesis is driven by genetic alterations and by changes in the epigenome, for instance by the addition of methyl groups to cytosine bases in the DNA. A deeper understanding of the interaction between the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms is critical for the selection of tumour biomarkers and for the future development of therapies. Human tumour specimens and cell lines however contain a plethora of genetic and epigenetic changes, which complicate data analysis.

10 Feb 2013

Combination of two antibodies prevents growth and spread of triple-negative breast tumors

Cancer drugs of the new, molecular generation destroy malignant breast tumors in a targeted manner: They block characteristic molecules on tumor cells - receptors for the hormones estrogen or progesterone, or a co-receptor, called HER2, that binds to many growth factors. But about one in every six breast tumors has none of these receptors. Such cancers, called triple-negative, are particularly aggressive and notoriously difficult to treat.

10 Feb 2013

Virginia Tech researchers reveal how 'bad' gut bacteria may help control diabetes

A stomach bacterium believed to cause health problems such as gastritis, ulcers, and gastric cancer may play a dual role by balancing the stomach's ecosystem and controlling body weight and glucose tolerance, according to immunologists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute of Virginia Tech.

10 Feb 2013

Inhibiting JNK enzyme protects against ischemic/reperfusion injury

Using two different compounds they developed, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have been able to show in animal models that inhibiting a specific enzyme protects heart cells and surrounding tissue against serious damage from heart attacks.

10 Feb 2013

Research sheds light on how E. coli thrive in the intestine of people with IBD

Scientists have long puzzled over why "bad" bacteria such as E. coli can thrive in the guts of those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing serious diarrhea. Now UC Davis researchers have discovered the answer-one that may be the first step toward finding new and better treatments for IBD.

10 Feb 2013

Single gene therapy session can cure diabetes

Researchers from the Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona (UAB), led by F-tima Bosch, have shown for the first time that it is possible to cure diabetes in large animals with a single session of gene therapy. As published this week in Diabetes, the principal journal for research on the disease, after a single gene therapy session, the dogs recover their health and no longer show symptoms of the disease.

10 Feb 2013

Highlights for Feb. 2013 issue of Genetics journal

Listed below are the selected highlights for the February 2013 issue of the Genetics Society of America's journal, Genetics.

10 Feb 2013

New data on attention and visual perception

The journal PLOS ONE has recently published a study which provides new data around attention and visual perception. The article "A role of eye vergence in covert attention" is signed by led by Hans Supèr, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour (IR3C) of the University of Barcelona; Maria Solé Puig, J. Antonio Aznar Casanova and Laura Pérez Zapato, all of them researchers at the IR3C, have also participated in the study.

10 Feb 2013

Broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice

When motors break down, getting where you want to go becomes a struggle. Problems arise in much the same way for critical brain receptors when the molecular motors they depend on fail to operate. Now, researchers reporting in Cell Reports, a Cell Press publication, on February 7, have shown these broken motors induce stress and anxiety in mice. The discovery may point the way to new kinds of drugs to treat anxiety and other disorders.

10 Feb 2013

Researchers develop special version of iDichotic for patients with schizophrenia

Two years ago, researcher Josef Bless was listening to music on his phone when he suddenly had an idea. "I noticed that the sounds of the different instruments were distributed differently between the ears, and it struck me that this was very similar to the tests we routinely use in our laboratory to measure brain function. In dichotic listening, each ear is presented with a different syllable at the same time and the listener has to say which syllable seems clearest. The test indicates which side of the brain is most active during language processing," Bless explains.

10 Feb 2013

TGFβ inhibition enhances chemotherapy action against triple negative breast cancer

Due to chemotherapy resistance and a high rate of relapse, triple negative cancers are among the most difficult breast cancers to treat. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Carlos Arteaga at Vanderbilt University identified a protein, TGF-β, that is highly expressed in triple negative breast cancer cells after chemotherapy.

10 Feb 2013

LPA genetic variant increases risk of heart valve calcification

Researchers have found a genetic variant that doubles the likelihood that people will have calcium deposits on their aortic valve. Such calcification, if it becomes severe, can cause narrowing or a blockage of the aortic valve, a condition called aortic stenosis.

9 Feb 2013

Study finds reason why patients with chronic pain often suffer from impaired short -term memory

A group of Portuguese researchers from IBMC and FMUP at the University of Porto has found the reason why patients with chronic pain often suffer from impaired short -term memory.

9 Feb 2013

Drugs that target retromer pathway could help prevent or treat Parkinson's

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a protein trafficking defect within brain cells that may underlie common non-familial forms of Parkinson's disease.

9 Feb 2013

CtBP may play a key role in aggressive forms of breast cancer

A protein associated with conditions of metabolic imbalance, such as diabetes and obesity, may play a role in the development of aggressive forms of breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their colleagues.

9 Feb 2013

Scientists create nanoscale vehicle to battle cancer without harming healthy cells

A tiny capsule invented at a UCLA lab could go a long way toward improving cancer treatment. Devising a method for more precise and less invasive treatment of cancer tumors, a team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells.

9 Feb 2013

TIC10 may improve usefulness of TRAIL protein in cancer therapy

A compound that stimulates the production of a tumor-fighting protein may improve the usefulness of the protein in cancer therapy, according to a team of researchers.

9 Feb 2013

Rekom Biotech designs new biomarkers that can identify West Nile virus, dengue

Researchers at the University of Granada have designed a set of biomarkers that can be used in diagnostic tests for the detection of dengue and the West Nile virus, two infectious diseases transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. These biomarkers can be used to identify these viral diseases, which affect millions of people worldwide.

9 Feb 2013