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Sequencing mouse cancer genome reveals mutations driving cancer in humans

Scientists who pioneered sequencing the genomes of cancer patients to find novel genetic changes at the root of the disease now have turned their attention to a laboratory workhorse — a mouse.

24 Mar 2011

Rush scientific team selects BioFortis Labmatrix database to manage biomarker research activities

Dr. Victor Levenson, a radiation oncologist at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, and his scientific team have recently selected Labmatrix to manage their biobanking and biomarker research activities at this top-ranking U.S. medical research institution. Labmatrix is a web-accessible collaborative scientific database software developed by BioFortis, Inc.

24 Mar 2011

Research examines BNP’s role in predicting cardiac events after CABG surgery

More than 250,000 patients undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery each year in the United States. New research in the April issue of Anesthesiology examines whether the hormone plasma B-type natriuretic peptide helps indicate which patients are at risk of adverse cardiac events after CABG surgery.

24 Mar 2011

Brain's pleasure and reward circuitry gets a big boost after a sleepless night

A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

24 Mar 2011

Low ghrelin levels in obese women may affect reproduction in female progeny

Levels of the hormone ghrelin are low in obese women and a recent study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society, reports that mice whose mothers had low ghrelin levels were less fertile due to a defect in implantation.

24 Mar 2011

Study reveals genetic marker for surviving sepsis

New research in the April issue of Anesthesiology shows for the first time a genetic marker in patients who have a greater likelihood of surviving sepsis.

24 Mar 2011

ACT to be awarded broad patent protection in China for hESC-derived RPE cells

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., a leader in the field of regenerative medicine, announced today that China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has allowed the Company's patent application to provide broad intellectual property protection in China for the manufacturing and pharmaceutical preparations of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs).

24 Mar 2011

Tenascin-C protein can help promote wound healing

We all know the adage: A little bit of a good thing can go a long way. Now researchers in London are reporting that might also be true for a large protein associated with wound healing.

24 Mar 2011

Dopamine agonists used in treatment of Parkinson's disease may lead to impulse control disorders

Mayo Clinic researchers found that dopamine agonists used in treating Parkinson's disease result in impulse control disorders in as many as 22 percent of patients.

24 Mar 2011

New study: Prostate and breast cancer usually recur in bone

Like bad neighbors who decide to go wreck another community, prostate and breast cancer usually recur in the bone, according to a new University of Michigan study.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create hiPS-RPE cells to treat age-related macular degeneration

The notion of transplanting adult stem cells to treat or even cure age-related macular degeneration has taken a significant step toward becoming a reality. In a study published today in Stem Cells, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to create retinal cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells that mimic the eye cells that die and cause loss of sight.

24 Mar 2011

Protein α-myosin could be a promising therapeutic target for myocarditis

Myocardits is an inflammation of the heart muscles that is a major cause of heart failure in young patients. In some cases, the disease is caused by viral infection, but in other patients it is linked to an autoimmune attack on the heart muscle. There are few effective treatment options for myocarditis, in part because the molecular mechanisms that underlie the defect are poorly defined.

24 Mar 2011

Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene

Looking at the dark stripes on the tiny zebrafish you might not expect that they hold a potentially important clue for discovering a treatment for the deadly skin disease melanoma. Yet melanocytes, the same cells that are are responsible for the pigmentation of zebrafish stripes and for human skin color, are also where melanoma originates.

24 Mar 2011

Early diagnosis of colorectal cancer can minimize treatment side effects in survivors

Renato Lenzi, M.D., medical oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and colon cancer survivor, knows only too well how important preventive methods are to beating colorectal cancer. After all, a routine colonoscopy saved his life.

24 Mar 2011

Gut bacteria and state of immune system influence personality

Researchers at McMaster University discovered that the "cross-talk" between bacteria in our gut and our brain plays an important role in the development of psychiatric illness, intestinal diseases and probably other health problems as well including obesity.

24 Mar 2011

Scientists reveal protein target that can trigger myocarditis

People with type 1 diabetes, whose insulin-producing cells have been destroyed by the body's own immune system, are particularly vulnerable to a form of inflammatory heart disease caused by a different autoimmune reaction.

24 Mar 2011

High sugar, high fat diets during pregnancy may cause infants to become junk food junkies

A new research report published online in The FASEB Journal suggests that pregnant mothers who eat high sugar and high fat diets have babies who are likely to become junk food junkies themselves. According to the report, which used rats, this happens because the high fat and high sugar diet leads to changes in the fetal brain's reward pathway, altering food preferences.

24 Mar 2011

Tick-borne disease identified as emerging threat

Five years ago, large numbers of farmers in central China began falling victim to an mysterious disease marked by high fever, gastrointestinal disorder and an appalling mortality rate - as high as 30 percent in initial reports. Investigators from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention hurried to the scene of the outbreak. On the basis of DNA evidence, they quickly concluded that it had been caused by human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a bacteria transmitted by tick bites.

24 Mar 2011

Oramed reports successful completion of ORMD-0801 oral insulin toxicity study

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc., a developer of oral delivery systems, announced today that it has successfully completed a comprehensive toxicity study for its flagship oral insulin capsule, ORMD-0801.

24 Mar 2011

New research: Methadone can affect brain and impair intellectual functions

Methadone has been used to treat heroin addicts for nearly 50 years. Yet we have surprisingly incomplete knowledge about possible harmful effects from prolonged use. New research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows that methadone affects the brain and impairs the attention of experimental animals.

24 Mar 2011