T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

FDA gives greenlight for new treatment of head and neck cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved colon cancer drug Erbitux to treat head and neck cancer after results of a large clinical trial showed the drug prolonged survival by 20 months.

5 Mar 2006

C-reactive protein helps identify progressive precancerous lesions in the lung

C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker for inflammation in the blood, can help to identify individuals whose abnormal precancerous lesions will advance closer to invasive lung cancer.

1 Mar 2006

Fibulins inhibit both tumor growth and blood-vessel formation

Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center report in the March issue of Cancer Research that a pair of promising proteins, known as fibulins 3 and 5, slow the growth of cancer tumors in mice by preventing blood vessels from sprouting. The proteins are promising candidates for use in cancer therapy.

1 Mar 2006

Bone marrow stem cells do not improve cardiac function in heart attack patients

There has been increasing evidence that stem cells contribute to regeneration of cardiac tissue and the development of new blood vessels following a heart attack, thus opening up new prospects for stem-cell based therapies.

1 Mar 2006

Reaction to DTaP vaccine finds no help from ibuprofen, acetaminophen

A red splotch forms where most preschoolers get their fifth, and last, shot of the acellular diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, and it can last a few days.

1 Mar 2006

Human papillomavirus the main risk factor for cervical adenocarcinoma

Human papillomavirus (HPV) was found to be the main risk factor associated with increased incidence of an unusual type of cervical cancer called cervical adenocarcinoma, according to a study in the March 1 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

1 Mar 2006

Ancient DNA helps unearth potential hemophilia therapy

A cut can be life-threatening for people with hemophilia, whose bodies don't produce enough of a protein that prevents prolonged bleeding.

1 Mar 2006

Defective apoptosis of dendritic cells can be a critical component of autoimmune diseases

The failure of programming that sparks the death of dendritic cells - those that activate the immune system - can initiate autoimmune disease, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Science.

1 Mar 2006

Scientists reprogramme malignant melanoma cells to become normal pigment cells

Scientists at Northwestern University and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have reprogrammed malignant melanoma cells to become normal melanocytes, or pigment cells, a development that may hold promise in treating of one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

1 Mar 2006

HAART is very cost-effective

New research shows that highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is very cost-effective, despite the high price tag. However, the study also shows that reimbursement to physicians treating patients with HIV is critically low, threatening patients' access to care.

1 Mar 2006

Cell-death mechanism linked to developmental and degenerative brain disorders

Conclusive evidence that neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and ataxias can be caused, at least in part, by specific gene defects that interfere with the electrical impulses of rapid-firing brain nerve cells called bursting neurons.

1 Mar 2006

Research shows promise for the advancement of cancer and stem-cell research

The paper explains how proteins, known as epigenetic activators (such as Ash1 from the fruit fly Drosophila), bind to their target DNA and activate genes that determine what function a cell will have in the body.

1 Mar 2006

Hepatic arterial infusion versus systemic therapy for hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer

A new study shows that patients whose colorectal cancer has spread to the liver who received an approach called hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) - the administration of chemotherapy directly to the liver through a pump in the abdomen - fare better than those who received traditional, intravenous chemotherapy.

1 Mar 2006

Compound found in marijuana may defend against diabetic retinopathy

A compound found in marijuana won't make you high but it may help keep your eyes healthy if you're a diabetic, researchers say.

1 Mar 2006

Can stem cell research lead the way to affordability?

The proliferation of patents in the emerging stem cell field may impede scientists from developing new treatments, says Merrill Goozner of the Center for Science in the Public Interest in the open access journal PLoS Medicine.

1 Mar 2006

The legal and ethical issues associated with human embryonic stem cell research

"As my university gears up for human embryonic stem cell research," says Stanford law professor Henry Greely in an Essay for PLoS Medicine, "it finds that a host of ethical and legal questions still need to be answered."

1 Mar 2006

Is persistent bacterial infection good for your health?

Bacteria are bad. Mothers and doctors, not to mention the cleaning product industry, repeatedly warn of their dangers. But a Stanford University School of Medicine microbiologist is raising the intriguing idea that persistent bacterial and viral infections have benefits.

27 Feb 2006

Analysis of protein interactions dispels old notions of what's important about them

Discoveries made during the first large-scale analysis of interactions between proteins in our cells hold promise for identifying new genes involved in genetic diseases, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) in Bangalore.

27 Feb 2006

Spinocerebellar ataxia and other neurodegenerative diseases might be treatable with drugs that alter the activity of potassium channels

For the first time, researchers have linked mutations in a gene that regulates how potassium enters cells to a neurodegenerative disease and to another disorder that causes mental retardation and coordination problems.

27 Feb 2006

Researchers transplant insulin-producing neonatal porcine islet cells into monkeys

A team of researchers from the University of Alberta, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University and the Emory Transplant Center has successfully transplanted insulin-producing neonatal porcine islet cells into monkeys, a procedure the researchers say represents a promising intermediate solution to the critical supply problem in clinical islet cell transplantation.

27 Feb 2006