Membrane News and Research

RSS

American Heart reports on acute ischemic stroke and increased risk of bleeding in the brain

High blood levels of a cell-regulating protein in patients with acute ischemic stroke can identify those with an increased risk of bleeding in the brain, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

27 May 2004

Link between oral bacterium and premature babies

For years, scientists have noticed a particular oral bacterium can be found in the amniotic fluid of about 20 percent of women with premature babies.

27 May 2004

Toxoplasma gondii discovery may help fight against malaria

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have discovered a protein in the cell wall of parasites that’s crucial to the molecular mechanism allowing them to move between cells, survive and cause disease.

25 May 2004

X-ray beams could kick start genes into fighting cancer

X-ray beams could kick start genes into fighting cancer as an exciting new way of targeting therapy against the disease, according to new research in the Journal of Gene Medicine.

25 May 2004

Researchers have isolated a protein receptor in chickens responsible for transferring antibodies from mother to offspring

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have isolated a protein receptor in chickens that is responsible for transferring antibodies from mother to offspring - a function critical to bestowing a temporary immunity that protects the young against infection until their own immune systems begin functioning.

24 May 2004

Compound Cilantro found in salsa kills harmful Salmonella bacteria

Researchers have identified a compound in cilantro, a key flavor component of salsa and a variety of other dishes, that kills harmful Salmonella bacteria and shows promise as a safe, natural food additive that could help prevent foodborne illness, according to a joint study by U.S. and Mexican researchers.

24 May 2004

Revolutionary self healing bandage that uses the patient's own cells

A revolutionary type of 'self healing' bandage that uses the patient's own cells is being developed. The technique has already been tried successfully on patients with diabetic ulcers and in the long-term could offer a more effective, quicker and cost efficient way of treating many types of slow-healing wounds such as pressure ulcers.

24 May 2004

New study of tumor genetics may help to treat patients with head and neck cancer

Head and neck tumors account for more than 40,000 new cancers annually in the United States. The most common of these is squamous cell carcinoma. Prognosis is based largely on location and size of the tumor, and if the cancer has spread, or metastasized, to lymph nodes and distant sites in the body.

19 May 2004

Inactivating a protective molecule may help chemotherapy for leukemia but harm bone marrow

Inactivating a protective molecule in leukemic cells to make them more vulnerable to chemotherapy might also make healthy blood-forming cells more sensitive to the toxic effects of those same drugs.

19 May 2004

Study comparing the efficacy of REMICADE® to Azathioprine alone and in combination With REMICADE®

Centocor, Inc., and Schering-Plough Corporation announced today the initiation of the SONIC (Study of Immunomodulator Naive patients in Crohn's Disease) trial that will evaluate the efficacy of REMICADE® (infliximab) versus azathioprine, a conventional immunosuppressive agent, alone and versus the combination of both drugs for the treatment of patients with Crohn's disease.

18 May 2004

Nanobodies herald a new era in cancer therapy

Cancer, along with heart and vascular disease, is the major cause of death in the Western world. The first generation of anti-cancer drugs has already saved many lives, but because these medicines are non-specific they also often have severe side effects.

12 May 2004

Researchers awarded $5 million to develop a pediatric heart assist device

Penn State researchers recently were awarded a $5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to develop a pediatric heart assist device.

11 May 2004

New chink in the cellular armor of tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy

The family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy are notoriously sturdy. And although the diseases they cause have been held in check for the past 50 years by antibiotics, some strains are becoming increasingly resistant to existing therapy.

10 May 2004

New way by which cells can become cancerous may solve mystery with lung cancer

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are describing an entirely new way by which cells can become cancerous. And they say their finding provides an answer to a mystery in lung and other cancers.

8 May 2004

Researchers find an entirely new way by which cells can become cancerous

Finding provides an answer to a mystery in lung and other cancers: why a potent tumor suppressor gene called FUS1 functions as it should, yet none of the protein it produces can be found anywhere in a cancer cell.

6 May 2004

People with uncontrolled epilepsy have low levels of a certain fatty acid

Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial to the proper development and function of cell membranes in the brain. But one particular fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is found at abnormally low levels in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy, according to researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, GA.

28 Apr 2004

$4.5 million contract to develop heart assist devices for infants

The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been awarded a five-year $4.5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a heart assist device for infants.

28 Apr 2004

How clean are your lungs?

The airways that conduct air into and out of the lung contain secretions - mucus - that trap inhaled particles. These are removed from the lung by a process called mucociliary clearance that moves the mucus, dead cells and inhaled particles and microorganisms towards the throat from where they are swallowed.

27 Apr 2004

Scientists studying the adhesive properties of the neural cell adhesion molecule have found that two opposing models of cell adhesion are both correct

Scientists studying the adhesive properties of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) -- a protein that helps bind the nervous system together -- have found that two opposing models of cell adhesion are both correct.

26 Apr 2004

Discovery shows how single genetic mutation can cause complex disorders

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), characterized by obesity, learning disabilities and eye and kidney problems, is caused by genetic mutations in the BBS family of genes. Now, researchers who've long studied the condition have discovered that genetic mutations in one of those genes, called BBS4, lead to cell death by disrupting the cells' internal "highway" system.

25 Apr 2004