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Fast Forward, Lineagen to fund clinical development and validation of blood-based assay for MS

Lineagen, Inc., an innovative molecular diagnostics company focused on complex, genetically linked disorders, and Fast Forward, LLC, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, today announced an alliance to fund the clinical development and validation of a blood-based assay for multiple sclerosis.

15 Dec 2011

Liver transplantations for NASH-Cirrhosis increase dramatically

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurs when fat builds up in the liver. This accumulation of fat damages the liver and leads to cirrhosis. NASH is rapidly increasing in the U.S. mainly related to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

15 Dec 2011

DCC gene protects mice from onset of colon cancer

The research team at Lyon has developed an animal model carrying a mutation of the DCC gene. Mice carrying the mutation develop tumours, because this gene can no longer induce the death of the cancer cells. This discovery could lead to the development of a new targeted cancer treatment that aims to reactivate the dying of cancer cells.

15 Dec 2011

Researchers develop mouse model to investigate fenugreek allergy

A mouse model to investigate allergy to fenugreek has been developed by Norwegian researchers. The model can also be used to study cross-reactivity to peanut, soy and lupin, major food allergens with public health relevance.

15 Dec 2011

Antioxidant can delay onset of all indicators of Alzheimer's

When you cut an apple and leave it out, it turns brown. Squeeze the apple with lemon juice, an antioxidant, and the process slows down. Simply put, that same "browning" process-known as oxidative stress-happens in the brain as Alzheimer's disease sets in. The underlying cause is believed to be improper processing of a protein associated with the creation of free radicals that cause oxidative stress.

15 Dec 2011

Novel prognostic model for patients with treatment-related MDS

A large-scale analysis of patients whose myelodysplastic syndrome is related to earlier cancer treatment overturns the notion that all of them have a poor prognosis, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

15 Dec 2011

Molecular signature indicative of hypoxia predicts progression to AD

A study led by Research Professor Matej Ore-ič from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland suggests that Alzheimer's disease is preceded by a molecular signature indicative of hypoxia and up-regulated pentose phosphate pathway.

15 Dec 2011

Dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa

Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A study by investigators at Mayo Clinic, Wayne State University and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers target the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

14 Dec 2011

H2S plays critical role in signaling pathway linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's

Something rotten never smelled so sweet. This is what members of a team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) are telling one another as they discuss a new finding they did not expect to make. They have discovered that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) - the flammable, highly toxic gas that we usually associate with the smell of rotten eggs in landfills and sewers - plays an important role in the regulation of a signaling pathway implicated in biological malfunctions linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, among others.

14 Dec 2011

Fresh cells can pep talk immune cells exhausted by HIV or hepatitis C

Chronic infections by viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C eventually take hold because they wear the immune system out, a phenomenon immunologists describe as exhaustion.

14 Dec 2011

Chemical disruption to key interaction shown to limit metastasis in test mice

Finding ways to counteract or disrupt the invasive nature of cancer cells, called "metastasis," has been a long-term goal of cancer researchers. Now, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have identified an interactive pathway that regulates metastases in some cancers that may be vulnerable to chemical targeting in order to prevent cancer cell proliferation and tumor growth.

14 Dec 2011

Hydrogel regenerates healthy, scar-free tissue on skin damaged by severe burns

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a jelly-like material and wound treatment method that, in early experiments on skin damaged by severe burns, appeared to regenerate healthy, scar-free tissue.

14 Dec 2011

Potential nanoparticle treatment for macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa

Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A collaborative research study among investigators at Wayne State University, the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers targeted the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

14 Dec 2011

Acetylcholine can weaken synaptic connections between neurons in brain

Researchers from the University of Bristol have discovered that a chemical compound in the brain can weaken the synaptic connections between neurons in a region of the brain important for the formation of long-term memories.

14 Dec 2011

Researchers discover how statins promote breakdown of plaque in arteries

In a new study, NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have discovered how cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins promote the breakdown of plaque in the arteries. The study was published online by the journal PLoS One on December 6, 2011.

14 Dec 2011

Link between high tau levels and worse outcome after head trauma

High levels of tau protein in fluid bathing the brain are linked to poor recovery after head trauma, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Fondazione IRCCS Ca Granda-Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan, Italy.

14 Dec 2011

Researchers uncover important source of inflammation for CKD

UC Irvine researchers have uncovered an important source of inflammation seen in people with chronic kidney disease, which is increasingly common due to the epidemic of obesity-related diabetes and hypertension.

14 Dec 2011

Macrophages play a role in brown fat metabolism

Throughout the interior spaces of humans and other warm-blooded creatures is a special type of tissue known as brown fat, which may hold the secret to diets and weight-loss programs of the future.

14 Dec 2011

Scientists shed light on 3-D structure of olfactory receptor binding site

Banana, mango or apricot - telling these smells apart is no problem for the human nose. How the olfactory organ distinguishes such similar smells has been uncovered by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the RUB. The scientists were the first to shed light on the dynamics of the three-dimensional structure of the binding site of an olfactory receptor. In so doing, they also found a characteristic pattern of hydrogen bonds between odorant and receptor, which accounts for the specificity of the olfactory sensors.

14 Dec 2011

New study: Insulin signaling is altered in human pancreas

Insulin signaling is altered in the pancreas, a new study shows for the first time in humans. The errant signals disrupt both the number and quality of beta cells - the cells that produce insulin.

14 Dec 2011