Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Moderna Therapeutics closes $40M in financing

Moderna Therapeutics announced today that it has closed more than $40 million in financing to date, led by Flagship Ventures and private investors, which will be used to advance multiple programs toward clinical stage development.

6 Dec 2012

First U.S. patient treated with deep brain stimulation for Alzheimer's at Johns Hopkins

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in November surgically implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of a patient in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, the first such operation in the United States. The device, which provides deep brain stimulation and has been used in thousands of people with Parkinson's disease, is seen as a possible means of boosting memory and reversing cognitive decline.

6 Dec 2012

Rice bran offers promising cancer prevention properties

A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center review in the journal Advances in Nutrition shows that rice bran offers promising cancer prevention properties. Meanwhile, an ongoing clinical trial is testing the effectiveness of rice bran in preventing the recurrence of colon cancer.

6 Dec 2012

Tyk2 enzyme helps regulate obesity through differentiation of brown adipose tissue

Approximately 68 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the National Cancer Institute, which puts them at greater risk for developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other chronic illnesses. But an international team of scientists led by Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researcher Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D., has successfully reversed obesity in mice by manipulating the production of an enzyme known as tyrosine-protein kinase-2 (Tyk2).

6 Dec 2012

Tenofovir DF safe and effective in treating adolescents with HBV

A recent clinical trial found that the adult antiviral drug, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (tenofovir DF), is safe and effective in treating adolescents with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Trial results published in the December issue of Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), show that tenofovir DF suppressed HBV in 89% of pediatric participants.

6 Dec 2012

University of Chicago professor wins Manpei Suzuki International Prize for diabetes work

Graeme Ian Bell, PhD, the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and an investigator in the Kovler Diabetes Center at the University of Chicago, has been awarded the Manpei Suzuki International Prize for 2012 for his pioneering work in understanding the role of genetics in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.

5 Dec 2012

New metabolic biomarkers can detect risk of illnesses in advance

One of the big challenges of biomedicine is understanding the origin of illnesses in order to improve early detection and significantly increase recovery rates, as well as being able to do what CNIO researchers call preventive molecular medicine, which consists of identifying those individuals who have a greater molecular risk of suffering certain pathologies in order to prevent them.

5 Dec 2012

METACARDIS project to develop and implement personalized treatments for patients with CMDs

Thanks to the support of the European Commission, fourteen partners in six European countries will work together over a five-year period to translate the results obtained with novel CMD diagnosis and treatment methods and pave the way for personalised medicine in CMDs. Researchers and clinicians from the Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition (ICAN) will also be involved in the METACARDIS project.

5 Dec 2012

Combination of ketogenic diet and radiation therapy effectively treats malignant gliomas

A team of brain cancer researchers at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has effectively treated brain tumor cells using a unique combination of diet and radiation therapy.

5 Dec 2012

Regular, moderate coffee consumption may help prevent type 2 diabetes

Drinking three to four cups of coffee per day may help to prevent type 2 diabetes according to research highlighted in a session report published by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), a not-for-profit organisation devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to coffee and health.

5 Dec 2012

Simple breath analysis could be used for colorectal cancer screening

A new study published in BJS has demonstrated for the first time that a simple breath analysis could be used for colorectal cancer screening. The study is part of the "Improving Outcomes in Gastrointestinal Cancer" supplement.

5 Dec 2012

NOXXON commences NOX-H94 Phase IIa trial to treat anemia of chronic disease

NOXXON Pharma today announced the treatment of the first patients in a Phase IIa clinical trial of its anti-hepcidin Spiegelmer NOX-H94 to treat anemia associated with chronic disease.

5 Dec 2012

Adiponectin level may underpin atherogenic haptoglobin phenotype

Researchers have suggested an active role for adiponectin in the pathophysiology of vascular disease in patients with diabetes, that depends on their haptoglobin phenotype.

4 Dec 2012

New research finds bisphenol A in fetal liver tissues

New research from the University of Michigan School of Public Health found BPA, or bisphenol A, in fetal liver tissue, demonstrating that there is considerable exposure to the chemical during pregnancy.

4 Dec 2012

Researchers identify 4 new genetic regions that influence birth weight

Researchers have identified four new genetic regions that influence birth weight, providing further evidence that genes as well as maternal nutrition are important for growth in the womb. Three of the regions are also linked to adult metabolism, helping to explain why smaller babies have higher rates of chronic diseases later in life.

4 Dec 2012

Researchers discover 15 new genetic regions linked with coronary artery disease

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) participated in the largest genetic study of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) to date. Researchers from the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D Consortium report the identification of 15 genetic regions newly associated with the disease, bringing to 46 the number of regions associated with CAD risk.

3 Dec 2012

Diabetes tests: an interview with Dr. Danielle Stowasser

Diabetes is a serious condition that causes high levels of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which are lifelong conditions, and gestational diabetes, which only occurs in women during pregnancy.

3 Dec 2012

Researchers identify new genetic regions associated with heart attacks

In the largest genetic study of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) to date, researchers from the CARDIoGRAMplusC4D Consortium report the identification of 15 genetic regions newly associated with the disease, bringing to 46 the number of regions associated with CAD risk.

3 Dec 2012

Researchers discover four new gene regions that contribute to low birth weight

An international team of genetics researchers has discovered four new gene regions that contribute to low birth weight. Three of those regions influence adult metabolism, and appear to affect longer-term outcomes such as adult height, risk of type 2 diabetes and adult blood pressure.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists demonstrate how glowing fish can help screen drugs that control metabolic disorders

A tiny, translucent zebrafish that glows green when its liver makes glucose has helped an international team of researchers identify a compound that regulates whole-body metabolism and appears to protect obese mice from signs of metabolic disorders.

2 Dec 2012