T Cell News and Research

Latest T Cell News and Research

Researchers get a grip on marijuana

Now researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine are a step closer to understanding how the drug's active ingredients - tetrahydrocannabinol and related compounds, called cannabinoids - may exert their effects.

16 Sep 2004

Early use of combination-drug treatments could improve HIV survival rates

Survival rates of HIV-positive patients could be improved if combination-drug treatment were begun earlier than current clinical guidelines now recommend, according to a new study by researchers from The New York Academy of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

14 Sep 2004

Important discovery that will increase the understanding of multiple sclerosis

Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have made an important discovery that will increase the understanding of multiple sclerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin sheath, an insulating membrane surrounding the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, start to unravel for reasons as yet unknown.

14 Sep 2004

Campaign to reduce high salt consumption in the UK

Every day at least 26 million people eat more than the recommended daily limit of 6g of salt. Men are eating the most with a daily average of 11.0g of salt while women consume an average of 8.1g a day

14 Sep 2004

Liver cancer genes cluster into two subsets that correlate to survival

An analysis of the gene expression patterns of 91 unrelated liver tumors revealed two distinctive subclasses highly associated with patient survival, according to a new study published in the September 2004 issue of Hepatology.

14 Sep 2004

California Chamber of Commerce lends support to stem cell research

The California Chamber of Commerce has joined with a broad and growing coalition of business groups, patient advocates and medical organizations in endorsing a "YES" vote on Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, on the November 2004 statewide ballot.

14 Sep 2004

First molecular-scale images of DNA binding to an adenovirus enzyme

The images, which appear on the cover of the October 2004 issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, show how binding to DNA may stimulate the enzyme and are already being used to design new antiviral drugs to block this interaction.

14 Sep 2004

Molecule that may be a primary cause of high blood pressure and link to diabetes

A study published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identified the molecule that binds to a receptor (a molecule on the cell surface that triggers a reaction within the cell) in the brain that is known to regulate blood pressure and release of insulin.

14 Sep 2004

New biological principle and therapeutic goal for cancer treatment

Pioneering research on leukaemia cells can have identified their vulnerable spot. This new knowledge can now be used to produce more effective medicines.

14 Sep 2004

Potential new drug for the treatment of sickle cell disease

The results were published in the June 2004 issue of The British Journal of Haematology (BJH). MX-1520 is a prodrug of vanillin, a very popular food additive generally regarded as safe (GRAS) by the FDA.

13 Sep 2004

Researchers have discovered a possible way to distinguish lethal from localized prostate cancers

If future studies show their test -- measuring the level of activity of a signaling pathway called Hedgehog -- can predict which prostate cancers will spread, the results could revolutionize decision making processes for prostate cancer patients, the researchers say.

13 Sep 2004

Consuming lots of red meat and alcohol may triple relapse rate in ulcerative colitis

A diet high in red meat and alcohol may triple the risk of relapse in patients with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis, suggests research in Gut.

12 Sep 2004

Cancer drug may reduce kidney disease in lupus

A drug that is already being tested as an anticancer agent, especially in lymphoma, may also reduce the kidney disease that is a result of systemic lupus, according to a researcher at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

10 Sep 2004

New view of chromatin and gene activity

A genome - the DNA instructions for an organism - does not act alone. DNA is packaged with proteins into 'chromatin', which may be more or less tightly condensed. A popular proposal is that active genes are in 'open' chromatin (to allow access to them) and inactive genes are in tightly packed 'compact' chromatin.

10 Sep 2004

Disruption of protein folding causes neurodegeneration, mental retardation

Excess accumulation in brain cells of a fat molecule called GM1-ganglioside (GM1) disrupts the folding of newly assembled proteins into their proper shapes, triggering nerve degeneration and mental retardation in children.

10 Sep 2004

Transthyretin discovery may halt progression of Alzheimer's

In a finding that may cause a dramatic shift in the way scientists and researchers search for a therapy for Alzheimer's disease, a team of researchers led by Jeff Johnson, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, has discovered that increased expression of a protein called transthyretin in the brain appears to halt the progression of the disease.

10 Sep 2004

Painful and damaging chemotherapy may one day be a thing of the past

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University have developed nano-sized particles that can target and trick cancer cells into absorbing them.

10 Sep 2004

New research into stimulus-related ear differences from birth may provide improved methods for newborn hearing tests

Researchers have known since the 1950s that humans process speech and tone sounds in different sides of the brain.

10 Sep 2004

Gene mutations cause 85 percent of colon cancers

Mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor gene have been found to cause 85 percent of colon cancers.

9 Sep 2004

Childhood leukaemia significantly lower in Asia than in Western countries

The incidence of childhood leukaemia in Britain increased dramatically during the twentieth century. The increase has mainly affected the under-five age group, in whom the risk increased by more than 50 per cent during the second half of the century alone.

9 Sep 2004