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Regulatory T cell diversity provides cumulative protective effect against RA

Untangling the root cause of rheumatoid arthritis has been a difficult task for immunologists, as decades of research has pointed to multiple culprits in our immune system, with contradictory lines of evidence. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute announce that it takes a diverse array of regulatory T cells (a specialized subset of white blood cells) to prevent the immune system from generating the tissue-specific inflammation that is a hallmark of the disease. Regulatory T cell diversity, the researchers say, provides a cumulative protective effect against rheumatoid arthritis. When that diversity is not present, it allows the immune system to attack joints.

9 May 2012

Study shows how adolescent cannabis use can cause schizophrenia

New research from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) published in Nature's Neuropsychopharmacology has shown physical changes to exist in specific brain areas implicated in schizophrenia following the use of cannabis during adolescence. The research has shown how cannabis use during adolescence can interact with a gene, called the COMT gene, to cause physical changes in the brain.

9 May 2012

Obese women more likely to have children with lower cognitive function

Women who are obese before they become pregnant are at higher risk of having children with lower cognitive function - as measured by math and reading tests taken between ages 5 to 7 years - than are mothers with a healthy prepregnancy weight, new research suggests.

9 May 2012

Molecule that starts DNA repairs also halts them

Repairing DNA breaks can save a cell's life - but shutting off the repair machinery can be just as critical. How cells accomplish this feat was unknown. However, new research by Johns Hopkins scientists, published in the Feb. 22 issue of Nature, suggests that shutting down the repair machinery relies heavily on the same molecule used to start repair in the first place.

8 May 2012

Chemically altered proteins may be key to understanding memories

Having a fat head may not be a bad thing, according to new findings at The Johns Hopkins University. As reported in the February 9 issue of Neuron, researchers have made a significant discovery as to how adding fat molecules to proteins can influence the brain circuitry controlling cognitive function, including learning and memory.

8 May 2012

Bacterin International announces third national GPO contract with Novation

Bacterin International Holdings, Inc., a leader in the development of revolutionary bone graft material and antimicrobial coatings for medical applications, announces its third national GPO contract, a three-year agreement with Novation, a leading health care supply chain expert and contracting company.

8 May 2012

Research grants on facioscapulohumeral dystrophy prove useful as genetic basis is found

Businessman Bill Moss’s determination to fight his untreatable muscle-wasting disease may have paid off. Four years ago, Mr Moss, a former Macquarie Bank Executive Director, established a charitable research foundation, FSHD Global, which partly funded the Italian researchers who made the breakthrough.

8 May 2012

Rexahn submits Phase II protocol for Archexin clinical study for ovarian cancer

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that it has submitted a Phase II protocol for the clinical study of Archexin as a treatment of ovarian cancer to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

8 May 2012

Advaxis commences enrollment in ADXS-HPV Phase 1/2 study for head and neck cancer

Advaxis, Inc.,, a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announced that two patients have been enrolled into REALISTIC, a Phase 1/2 study being sponsored by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) to investigate the use of ADXS-HPV for the treatment of HPV positive head and neck cancer. HPV is associated with 40-70% of head and neck cancers.

8 May 2012

DFG to establish seven new research units

The establishment of six new Research Units and one Clinical Research Unit has been decided by the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). These networks will offer researchers the opportunity to address current and pressing issues in their fields and to pioneer innovative approaches. As all DFG Research Units, the new groups will work across locations and disciplines. Clinical Research Units combine clinical, applied and basic research.

8 May 2012

Researchers discover potential way to develop universal flu vaccines

University of British Columbia researchers have found a potential way to develop universal flu vaccines and eliminate the need for seasonal flu vaccinations.

8 May 2012

Metformin blocks uveitis in laboratory rats

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have discovered that a drug already prescribed to millions of people with diabetes could also have another important use: treating one of the world's leading causes of blindness.

8 May 2012

Scientists make important discovery about internal programming of B cells

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have made an important discovery about the internal programming of B cells, the immune cells that make antibodies against infections. The finding opens the way for the development of vaccines that can work more efficiently and hints at therapies for conditions in which B cells cause harm—such as the autoimmune disease lupus erythymatosus, severe allergies, and B-cell lymphomas.

8 May 2012

FDA approves Clinigen’s Foscavir sNDA to treat HIV/AIDS-related CMV infections and herpes

Clinigen Healthcare, the pharmaceutical products division of Clinigen Group, announced today that its supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for Foscavir (foscarnet sodium), a treatment for HIV/AIDS-related cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections and herpes, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

From Clinigen Group 8 May 2012

Genesis Biopharma terminates previously announced proposed public offering

Genesis Biopharma, Inc., a biotechnology company developing targeted cancer immunotherapies, announced today that it is terminating its previously announced proposed public offering pursuant to a preliminary prospectus supplement and an effective shelf registration statement on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission due to market conditions.

8 May 2012

Research reveals possible strategy to reverse fibrosis in liver and other organs

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, report that significant numbers of myofibroblasts - cells that produce the fibrous scarring in chronic liver injury - revert to an inactive phenotype as the liver heals. The discovery in mouse models could ultimately help lead to new human therapies for reversing fibrosis in the liver, and in other organs like the lungs and kidneys.

8 May 2012

Soon a single therapy for range of brain diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

In a study, published in Nature, researchers prevented brain cells dying in mice with prion disease. It is hoped the same method for preventing brain cell death could apply in other diseases. The findings are at an early stage, but have been heralded as “fascinating”.

8 May 2012

Mini-Lecture Series from ARUP Laboratories

ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory, is pleased to announce its Mini-Lecture Series during the annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society in Honolulu.

8 May 2012

Campaign announces search for Arizona teens to participate in Addicteen

Arizona's anti-smoking youth campaign, Venomocity Brought to You by Addiction announces a search for Arizona teens to participate in Addicteen, a documentary about addiction. The film will examine activities which teenagers have defined as being addictive including, texting, social media and the use of tobacco. Filmmakers seek to draw out the similarities, differences and impacts of these behaviors on the lives of today's youth.

8 May 2012

T2M cells play a crucial role in treatment-resistant asthma

For most people with asthma, a couple of puffs from an inhaler filled with steroids makes breathing easy. But if their lungs become resistant to the calming effect of that medicine, they live in fear of severe asthma attacks that could send them to the hospital - or worse. Now, new research from the University of Michigan Health System may help explain what's going on in the lungs of these steroid-resistant individuals. The findings could aid the development of new treatment options, and of better ways to identify people at risk of becoming steroid-resistant.

8 May 2012