Biomarker News and Research

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A biomarker is a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease. A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. Also called molecular marker and signature molecule.

Framingham Heart Study 100K result published

BioMed Central has announced that 17 research articles carried out using genetic data from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), are being published as a supplement to BMC Medical Genetics.

23 Sep 2007

Process of necrosis redefined in landmark study

A new study led by investigators from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine demonstrates that the process of necrosis, long thought to be a chaotic, irreversible pathway to cell death, may actually be triggered as part of a regulated response to stress by a powerful protein, SRP-6, that can potentially halt necrosis in its path.

21 Sep 2007

Genes for osteoporosis

Researchers at Hebrew SeniorLife's Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) have examined close to 100,000 genetic markers for low bone mass and aging to help determine which genes are responsible for the development of osteoporosis and longevity.

21 Sep 2007

Researchers provide genetic associations from a genome-wide scan for cardiovascular disease traits

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), have completed analyses of a genome-wide scan on a group of two generations of participants from the landmark Framingham Heart Study (FHS).

20 Sep 2007

Test for lung cancer looks for discomforting quiet among protective genes

When it is quiet – "almost too quiet" – in movies, it is a sign that something is about to go wrong for the good guys.

18 Sep 2007

Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and BG Medicine collaborate

The Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation and BG Medicine have announced a collaboration to discover plasma biomarkers of drug efficacy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of mortality in infants and toddlers.

18 Sep 2007

Liver cancer marker could yield blood test for early detection

In the face of an emerging liver cancer crisis in Asia, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong have developed a test that could help millions.

18 Sep 2007

Blood protein detects lung cancer, even at earliest stage

Biopharmaceutical researchers have found a protein in blood they say is linked to all stages of lung cancer but which rarely shows up in the blood of people without the disease.

18 Sep 2007

New technology for cancer screening listens for the signs of cancer

Cancer-sensing devices built as cheaply and efficiently as wristwatches - using many of the same operating principles - could change the way clinicians detect, treat and monitor cancer in patients.

18 Sep 2007

New guidelines to diagnose Alzheimer's disease

Physicians may be able to detect and treat Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in its earliest stages, when patients are experiencing only mild degrees of cognitive impairment, thanks to new diagnostic criteria proposed by an international group of researchers.

18 Sep 2007

Life on Mars experiment launched

Key components of a new approach to discover life on Mars were successfully launched into space Friday as part of a twelve-day, low-Earth orbit experiment to assess their survivability in the space radiation environment - a prelude future journeys to Mars.

18 Sep 2007

New understanding of immune infertility

Most of us have never heard of immune infertility, yet it prevents many prospective parents from conceiving. Immune infertility is one of 80 autoimmune disorders, a group that includes better-known diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes.

13 Sep 2007

Genetic link to loneliness

It's already known that a person's social environment can affect their health, with those who are socially isolated - that is, lonely suffering from higher mortality than people who are not.

13 Sep 2007

Customized virus kills brain tumor stem cells that drive lethal cancer

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team led by scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Sep 2007

Maximizing opportunities for personalized treatment

Scientists and clinicians from around the world will gather in Atlanta, Georgia next week at the American Association for Cancer Research's second International Conference on Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development.

11 Sep 2007

First-degree relatives of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis more likely to have biomarkers of the disease

Armed with this new information, physicians could screen and assess first-degree relatives of PBC patients with a simple blood test, enabling them to diagnose and treat more patients before the disease causes irreversible liver damage. These findings were published in this month's issue of Hepatology.

11 Sep 2007