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Research on OGF-OGFr complex helps to understand pathobiology of diseases

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered that the Opioid Growth Factor (OGF, [Met5]-enkephalin) and its receptor, OGFr, a clinically important system with potent antitumor properties, has controlled entry from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. The nucleocytoplasmic passage of OGF-OGFr is critical to cell proliferation and suggests that there are hierarchical levels of nuclear import.

24 Aug 2010

Berries help aging brain stay healthy

Scientists today reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Their study, presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), concluded that berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

24 Aug 2010

Epilepsy Therapy Project, EF announce recipients of New Therapy Grants Program

The Epilepsy Therapy Project (ETP) and the Epilepsy Foundation (EF) today announced the latest grant recipients of its New Therapy Grants Program, a unique joint venture of the non-profit epilepsy organizations, to advance promising epilepsy research in clinical development. The grant awards, totaling approximately $200,000 in funding, will support an experimental gene therapy that directly targets epileptogenic brain tissue, as well as an electrode system that has the potential to improve the efficacy of surgical therapies for certain epilepsy syndromes.

24 Aug 2010

Study enhances use of stem cells for organ regeneration

Cindy Morrissey, President and CEO of Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc., called the results of a recent study on Friday an 'encouraging step' towards the use of stem cells to regenerate human organs.

24 Aug 2010

ArtVentive Medical Group signs development agreement with Medical Murray

ArtVentive Medical Group, Inc. announced the Company has signed a manufacturing, research and development agreement with Medical Murray Inc.. Medical Murray is a leader in medical device and product development including specialty manufacturing services.

24 Aug 2010

Physiotherapy after surgery reduces pain by 50% within 3-6 months

Most patients who receive physiotherapy after surgery experience that pain is reduced by a half within a few months. Most of them are free of pain after one to two years. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

24 Aug 2010

Specific drugs can prevent lethal effects of Parkinson's disease: Research

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that using specific drugs can protect nerve cells in mice from the lethal effects of Parkinson's disease. The researchers' findings are published in the August 22 issue of Nature Medicine.

24 Aug 2010

Researchers find new drug to treat circadian rhythm disorders

Researchers funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) have successfully used a drug to reset and restart the natural 24 hour body clock of mice in the lab. The ability to do this in a mammal opens up the possibility of dealing with a range of human difficulties including some psychiatric disorders, jet lag and the health impacts of shift work.

24 Aug 2010

Research finds variation in sex chromosome may cause lupus in men

Genes reside along long chains of DNA called chromosomes. UCLA researchers have found that a variation in a gene on the sex chromosome X may enhance an immune response that leads to lupus in men.

24 Aug 2010

Alpha-synuclein gene silencing effective for treating neurodegenerative disorders: Research

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and collaborators at The Parkinson's Institute and the Mayo Clinic have published new research findings in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS). The new data show effective silencing of the alpha-synuclein gene with an RNAi therapeutic administered directly to the substantia nigra in the CNS of non-human primates.

24 Aug 2010

Study finds high glucose level blocks infectious bacteria detection, affects immunity

Research led by the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that unhealthy glucose levels in patients with diabetes can cause significantly more problems for the body than just the well-known symptoms of the disease such as kidney damage and circulation problems.

24 Aug 2010

Research on fruit fly provides inroads into understanding cancer development

Changes to proteins in a cell underlay many cancers. Rui Martinho at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC), in Portugal, in collaboration with researchers in Ghent (Belgium) and Bergen (Norway) will use the fruit fly to understand exactly how changes to proteins, identified in the test-tube, impact on the way cells divide in a living organism

24 Aug 2010

SEB opens new state-of-the-art laboratory operation, R&D facility

Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the largest and most established leaders in stem cell innovation today announced that S-Evans Biosciences, the Company's exclusive Célle menstrual stem cell technology license partner in China has opened a new state-of-the-art laboratory operation and research & development facility located in a Hi-Tech park designated to become an epicenter for stem cell and genomics R&D; cellular therapies and stem cell cryopreservation services.

23 Aug 2010

APC dysfunction prevents synapse function required for learning, memory: Study

A clue to the causes of autism and mental retardation lies in the synapse, the tiny intercellular junction that rapidly transfers information from one neuron to the next. According to neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine, with students from the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, a protein called APC plays a key role in synapse maturation, and APC dysfunction prevents the synapse function required for typical learning and memory.

23 Aug 2010

Early palliative care treatment for lung cancer can help patients live longer: Research

Introducing palliative care at an early stage of treatment for advanced lung cancer could help patients to live for longer, as well as improving their mood and quality of life.

23 Aug 2010

Brain can act as a hiding place for HIV virus: Study

Studies of the spinal fluid of patients given anti-HIV drugs have resulted in new findings suggesting that the brain can act as a hiding place for the HIV virus. Around 10% of patients showed traces of the virus in their spinal fluid but not in their blood.

23 Aug 2010

Study finds occurrence of low BMD in inflammatory bowel disease patients

A thesis from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) is the first in Scandinavia to study the occurrence of low bone mineral density in children and teenagers with inflammatory bowel disease. Half of the patients in the study showed signs of low bone mineral density.

23 Aug 2010

Sledding-related injuries may result in traumatic brain injury: Study

A new study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that from 1997-2007, an estimated 229,023 children and adolescents younger than 19 years were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments for sledding-related injuries, an average of more than 20,000 cases each year.

23 Aug 2010

Study finds rectal cancer rates are increasing among young individuals

A new analysis has found that while colon cancer rates have remained steady over the past several decades among people under the age of 40, rectal cancer rates are increasing in this population across races and in both sexes.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists discover new ways to boost antioxidant levels in potatoes

Scientists today reported discovery of two simple, inexpensive ways of boosting the amounts of healthful antioxidant substances in potatoes. One involves giving spuds an electric shock. The other involves zapping them with ultrasound, high frequency sound waves.

23 Aug 2010