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Study outlines evolution of malaria, leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis

One of the most comprehensive analyses yet done of the ancient history of insect-borne disease concludes for the first time that malaria is not only native to the New World, but it has been present long before humans existed and has evolved through birds and monkeys.

3 Nov 2011

Increasing TR2/TR4 expression can lead to higher fetal hemoglobin levels in sickle cell patients

A University of Michigan Health System laboratory study reveals a key trigger for producing normal red blood cells that could lead to a new treatment for those with sickle cell disease.

3 Nov 2011

Exendin-4 drug could prevent later development of diabetes in children

Pediatric researchers who tested newborn animals with an existing human drug used in adults with diabetes report that this drug, when given very early in life, prevents diabetes from developing in adult animals. If this finding can be repeated in humans, it may become a way to prevent at-risk infants from developing type 2 diabetes.

3 Nov 2011

BUSM researcher receives two NIH grants to study scleroderma

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researcher Robert Lafyatis, MD, recently was awarded two grants from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

3 Nov 2011

Scientists discover how to starve prostate cancer cells

Each year about 3300 Australian men die of prostate cancer. It's Australia's second worst cancer killer for men, matching the impact of breast cancer on women. Current therapies for prostate cancer include surgical removal of the prostate, radiation, freezing the tumour or cutting off the supply of the hormone testosterone-but there are often side-effects including incontinence and impotence.

3 Nov 2011

Researchers use diabetes drug to permanently reprogram insulin-producing cells

3 Nov 2011

Eliminating senescent cells could prevent or delay onset of age-related disorders

Researchers at Mayo Clinic have shown that eliminating cells that accumulate with age could prevent or delay the onset of age-related disorders and disabilities. The study, performed in mouse models, provides the first evidence that these "deadbeat" cells could contribute to aging and suggests a way to help people stay healthier as they age.

3 Nov 2011

Pupil can constrict without any input from brain

You've seen it on television: A doctor shines a bright light into an unconscious patient's eye to check for brain death. If the pupil constricts, the brain is OK, because in mammals, the brain controls the pupil. Or does it? Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that in most mammals, in fact in most vertebrates, the pupil can constrict without any input from the brain.

3 Nov 2011

Clinical-grade viral vector can cure choroideremia

Researchers at Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a viral vector designed to deliver a gene into the eyes of people born with an inherited, progressive form of blindness that affects mainly males.

3 Nov 2011

MSCs can be reprogrammed to have enhanced survival and therapeutic efficacy

Chinese stem cell scientists have published new research that improves the survival and effectiveness of transplanted stem cells. The research led by Dr Hsiao Chang Chan, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is published in Stem Cells.

3 Nov 2011

New laser technique could create tissue scaffolds, microneedles

In the emerging field of tissue engineering, scientists encourage cells to grow on carefully designed support scaffolds. The ultimate goal is to create living structures that might one day be used to replace lost or damaged tissue, but the manufacture of appropriately detailed scaffolds presents a significant challenge that has kept most tissue engineering applications confined to the research lab.

3 Nov 2011

Promedior's Pentraxin-2 effectively suppresses liver fibrosis

Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies to treat fibrotic, inflammatory and neovascular diseases, today announced that data from preclinical studies of Serum Amyloid P (Pentraxin-2) will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD 2011), being held November 4-8, 2011, in San Francisco, CA.

3 Nov 2011

Study reveals new role for the 'hormone of love'

Much of the body's chemistry is controlled by the brain - from blood pressure to appetite to food metabolism. In a study published recently in Developmental Cell, a team of scientists led by Dr. Gil Levkowitz of the Weizmann Institute has revealed the exact structure of one crucial brain area in which biochemical commands are passed from the brain cells to the bloodstream and from there to the body. In the process, they discovered a surprising new role for the 'hormone of love,' showing that it helps to direct the development of this brain structure.

3 Nov 2011

UC Merced professor designs powerful chemical inhibitor against HIV

In a significant step toward reducing the threat of HIV, UC Merced Professor Patricia LiWang has designed what may be the most effective chemical inhibitor against infection of the virus.

3 Nov 2011

Nicotine might prime the brain to enhance behavioral effects of cocaine

A landmark study in mice identifies a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, increasing a person's future likelihood of abusing cocaine and perhaps other drugs as well, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study is the first to show that nicotine might prime the brain to enhance the behavioral effects of cocaine.

3 Nov 2011

IP-K and Sanofi form new HBV research collaboration

One of the most common and serious infectious diseases, Hepatitis B, is to be targeted in a new collaborative venture between the internationally-renowned translational research institute, Institut Pasteur Korea (IP-K), and the Korean arm of the leading global healthcare company, Sanofi-Aventis Korea. The goal is to develop and validate a high throughput assay to screen IP-K's chemical libraries for novel compounds that can be developed as new drugs.

3 Nov 2011

Cypin protein may prevent long-term brain damage after stroke

One of two proteins that regulate nerve cells and assist in overall brain function may be the key to preventing long-term damage as a result of a stroke, the leading cause of disability and third leading cause of death in the United States.

3 Nov 2011

Nmnat1 protein may help prevent brain damage in babies with cerebral palsy

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that a protein may help prevent the kind of brain damage that occurs in babies with cerebral palsy.

3 Nov 2011

Broader screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Around one in 500 Swedes carry a genetic mutation which can cause sudden cardiac death. The diagnosis can lead to major lifestyle changes, but quality of life can be maintained with the right advice and support, reveals a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

2 Nov 2011

Radiation therapy prior to HCT improves outcomes in older patients with hematologic malignancies

Older patients with advanced hematologic malignancies, such as leukemia and lymphoma, who received a conditioning regimen that included minimal-intensity radiation therapy prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation had survival and progression-free survival outcomes suggesting that this treatment approach may be a viable option for older patients with these malignancies, according to a study in the November 2 issue of JAMA.

2 Nov 2011