Medical Research News

RSS

New approach to treating breast cancer uses existing chemo drug

British scientists say women who develop breast cancer because of two common genetic mutations could have their treatment transformed by a chemotherapy drug which already exists.

1 May 2006

Transplanted stem cells hoped to be able to regenerate damaged heart muscle in first heart attack victims

Rush cardiologists are hoping that transplanted stem cells can regenerate damaged heart muscle in those who experience a first heart attack. The study involves an intravenous infusion of adult mesenchymal stem cells from healthy donor bone marrow that might possibly reverse damage to heart tissue.

28 Apr 2006

Study indicates how drug efficacy can be increased by manipulating the signalling mechanism

Researchers believe they have found a way to change the action of 60 percent of currently available medications, in some cases making them many times more effective, according to an article published in the April 21 edition of the journal Science. The discovery has the potential to improve treatments for diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and arthritis. The study describes a new way to manipulate perhaps the most important signaling mechanism in human cells: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

28 Apr 2006

Researchers figure out how nuclear pores duplicate before cells divide

Researchers have long wondered how nuclear pores - the all-important channels that control the flow of information in and out of a cell's nucleus - double in number to prepare for the split to come when a cell divides. Now, for the first time, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies watched as new funnel-like pore structures formed from scratch, and inserted themselves into the nuclear membrane.

28 Apr 2006

European flu pandemic plans show gaps and inconsistencies

A report reveals marked discrepancies in pandemic preparedness across Europe. The authors conclude that further planning and implementation is needed so that governments can effectively respond in the event of a pandemic, recommending action by the European Union to ensure governments work together towards a coordinated approach.

26 Apr 2006

Four subtypes of blood cancer identified

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborators have identified four distinct genetic subtypes of multiple myeloma, a deadly blood cancer, that have different prognoses and might be treated most effectively with drugs specifically targeted to those subtypes.

26 Apr 2006

Parents need to be helped to know how to talk about cancer with their children

Cancer is relatively common among women of childbearing age. Although the importance of communication with patients and their families has been recognised, relatively little has been published about communication with children when their parent is newly diagnosed as having cancer.

26 Apr 2006

Anthrax killed by protein that explodes cell walls

Not all biological weapons are created equal. They are separated into categories A through C, category A biological agents being the scariest: They are easy to spread, kill effectively and call for special actions by the pubic health system. One of these worrisome organisms is anthrax, which has already received its fair share of media attention. But work in Vince Fischetti's laboratory at Rockefeller University suggests that a newly discovered protein could be used to fight anthrax infections and even decontaminate areas in which anthrax spores have been released.

26 Apr 2006

Medical adhesive may be produced from the strongest glue found in nature

A bacterium that lives in rivers, streams and human aqueducts uses nature's strongest glue to stay in one place. The bacterium could be mass produced and used to coat surfaces for medical and engineering purposes.

26 Apr 2006

Human brain simultaneously communicates in both analog and digital modes

A new study shows that brain cells use a mix of analog and digital coding at the same time to communicate efficiently.

26 Apr 2006

Prefrontal cortex in the brain damaged by both alcoholism and chronic smoking

Alcoholism is commonly associated with chronic smoking, and both alcohol and nicotine are believed to act on the same brain region. Research builds upon previous research that identified four potential alcohol-sensitive genes in the prefrontal cortex, finding that smoking also influences the expression of these genes.

26 Apr 2006

Blood pressure readings lower if patients are allowed to relax and be comfortable

According to a new study from a team of nurses headed by Melly Turner, R.N., systolic blood pressure can be an average of 14 points higher when taken immediately after arriving in the exam room and sitting on an examination table rather than sitting in a chair with your back supported and feet flat on the floor. In fact, all study participants had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements when seated in a chair versus the exam table.

26 Apr 2006

Cause and treatment for aggressive head and neck cancer may have been found

Researchers report that they have found a potential molecular cause for the aggressive growth and spread of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, a highly malignant form of cancer with a very high death rate.

26 Apr 2006

Vegan diets more enivronmentally friendly than meat based diets

The food that people eat is just as important as what kind of cars they drive when it comes to creating the greenhouse-gas emissions that many scientists have linked to global warming, according to a report accepted for publication in the journal Earth Interactions.

26 Apr 2006

Cholesterol takes major role in the development of fingers and toes

Although cholesterol has a bad rap as the sticky, fatty substance responsible for clogging arteries, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers recently found that the attachment of cholesterol to an important developmental protein controls the development of fingers and toes in mice. Without cholesterol, mice developed extra digits, as well as digits in the wrong places.

26 Apr 2006

Blood cancers may be caused by inactivation of a "tumor suppressor" gene

The discovery of a gene, called PRDM1, as a tumor suppressor sheds new light on the cause - and possible treatment - of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs), a cancer of the blood's B-lymphocytes. DLBCLs comprise about 30 percent of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

25 Apr 2006

Protein mutated in cancer found to be linked to diabetes

A study published by Nature has defined the function of p110 alpha, the flag-ship molecule of the eight member PI3K family, which is one of the most frequently activated pathways in cancer. The function of p110 alpha in the body has eluded researchers for over a decade but a new approach to generating mouse models, has allowed investigators to solve the mystery and yield important information for planned clinical trials with PI3K inhibitors.

25 Apr 2006

'Resonance' may be the reason for virologic failure in STI drug therapy

Researchers have been puzzled over why HIV-positive patients who have periodic, built in interruptions in their drug therapy reach a point where the therapy no longer reduces their viral loads, even in the absence of any evidence of acquired drug resistance.

25 Apr 2006

Beams of light used to move, select and trap protein molecules

A paper that outlines a new method to use a beam of light to trap protein molecules and make them dance in space has earned a place in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

25 Apr 2006