Medical Science News

RSS

Common soluble proteins become insoluble and form aggregates while aging: Study

In neurodegenerative diseases, clumps of insoluble proteins appear in patients' brains. These aggregates contain proteins that are unique to each disease, such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer's disease, but they are intertwined with small amounts of many other insoluble proteins that are normally present in a soluble form in healthy young individuals. For years, these other proteins were thought to be accidental inclusions in the aggregates, much as a sea turtle might be caught in a net of fish.Now, in a surprising new finding, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, report that many of the proteins present as minor components of disease aggregates actually clump together as a normal part of aging in healthy individuals.

11 Aug 2010

Researchers identify perforant path brain passage associated with Alzheimer's disease

With the help of volunteers aged 18 to 89, UC Irvine researchers have identified for the first time in humans a long-hidden part of the brain called the perforant path. Scientists have struggled for decades to locate the tiny passage, which is believed to deteriorate gradually as part of normal aging and far more quickly due to Alzheimer's disease.

11 Aug 2010

Georgia Institute receives EUREKA grant to design brain tumor treatment

The Georgia Institute of Technology has received a EUREKA grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to design a new way to treat invasive brain tumors by capturing the migrating cells that spread the disease. The EUREKA -- Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration -- program helps scientists test new, unconventional ideas or tackle major methodological or technical challenges.

11 Aug 2010

Enriched breakfast re-energizes children's morning rituals and boosts learning potential

As the lazy days of summer vacation begin to come to a close, it's time to start thinking about re-formulating and re-energizing morning rituals that can help boost your child's learning potential.

11 Aug 2010

Brain morphological changes associated with cyclic menstrual pain

Primary dysmenorrhea, or menstrual cramps, is the most common gynecological disorder in women of childbearing age. Lower abdominal pain starts with the onset of menstrual flow and this ongoing pain stimulus can cause alterations throughout the nervous system. In a study scheduled for publication in the September issue of PAIN, researchers report abnormal changes in the structure of the brain in PDM patients, whether or not they are in fact experiencing pain.

11 Aug 2010

Spinal muscular atrophy may lead to cardiac dysfunction: Study

Along with skeletal muscles, it may be important to monitor heart function in patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). These are the findings from a study conducted by Nationwide Children's Hospital and published online ahead of print in Human Molecular Genetics. This is the first study to report cardiac dysfunction in mouse models of SMA.

11 Aug 2010

Scientists identify chemical system effective in cocaine-addiction cure

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a chemical system in the brain that reacts differently in cocaine addicts, findings that could result in new treatment options for individuals addicted to the drug."We found that the amount of blood flow in areas of the brain known to be involved in the rewarding effects of cocaine and craving was different in cocaine addicts, compared with healthy subjects," said Dr. Bryon Adinoff, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and lead author of a study that appeared in Neuropsychopharmacology. "Now we have a new target for pharmacologic intervention."

11 Aug 2010

Progestins have tumor-stage specific effects that determine promotion, suppression: Study

Progestins are used in hormone replacement therapies to counteract the negative effects of estrogen on the uterus and reduce the risk of uterine cancer. However, evidence in recent studies and clinical trials has demonstrated that progestins increase the risk of breast cancer. Now, University of Missouri researchers have compared four types of progestins used in hormone replacement therapies and found significantly different outcomes on the progression of breast cancer in an animal model depending on the type of progestins used.

11 Aug 2010

Scientists develop new method to enable drug release inside cancer cells

Scientists from UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute and Korea's Yonsei University have developed an innovative method that enables nanomachines to release drugs inside living cancer cells when activated remotely by an oscillating magnetic field.The new system - the first to utilize a class of porous nanomaterials driven by a magnetic core - has the potential to improve both targeted drug-delivery and magnetic resonance imaging in the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

11 Aug 2010

Study suggests zinc supplementation may reduce pneumonia risk

A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.

11 Aug 2010

ACT signs agreement to select novel clinical candidates for two cancer metabolic programs

Advanced Cancer Therapeutics (ACT), a privately held company dedicated to bringing new anti-cancer therapies to market, today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement to leverage the translational research expertise of Dr. Jason Chesney, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine at the University of Louisville's James Graham Brown Cancer Center (Brown Cancer Center), to identify new clinical candidates for the prevention and treatment of cancers against two key cancer metabolic targets.

11 Aug 2010

Study results provide rationale for use of PI3K inhibitors in therapeutic settings

Research at the Babraham Institute, investigating how white blood cells known as B cells develop, has revealed that genes from the Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase family of enzymes are critical in enabling the B cells to produce antibodies in the spleen and lymph nodes.

10 Aug 2010

Analysis finds no evidence that inclusion of retinyl palmitate in sunscreens can cause cancer

Despite previous concerns about the cancer-causing potential of sunscreens containing retinyl palmitate (vitamin A), an independent analysis published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology determined that there is no evidence that the inclusion of retinyl palmitate in sunscreens can cause cancer in humans.

10 Aug 2010

Children of incarcerated parent likely to be incarcerated

It comes as no surprise that many children suffer when a parent is behind bars. But as rates of incarceration grew over the past 30 years, researchers were slow to focus on the collateral damage to children.

10 Aug 2010

ROCK2 protein may be a good therapeutic target for autoimmune disorders: Research

Autoimmune disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), occur when an individual's immune system turns on other cells in the body. Inappropriate and excessive production of the soluble immune mediators IL-17 and IL-21 have been linked to several autoimmune disorders. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this aberrant production might identify new therapeutic targets.

10 Aug 2010

New method for tracing brain circuits

The brain has been mapped to the smallest fold for at least a century, but still no one knows how all the parts talk to each other.

10 Aug 2010

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

Drug resistance remains a major problem in combating HIV infection, but a different approach to drug development could be the answer.Current viral inhibitors target the HIV-1 protease function with a competitive mechanism. Writing in the BJ ChemBio Knowledge Environment of the Biochemical Journal, Max Chang and colleagues from the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, suggest that pharmaceutical companies look at compounds that use an allosteric non-competitive mechanism of inhibition.

10 Aug 2010

Study finds 'grid cells' that help brain map locations outside hippocampus

"Grid cells," which help the brain map locations, have been found for the first time outside of the hippocampus in the rat brain, according to new research from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). The finding should help further our understanding of how the brain generates the internal maps that help us remember where we have been and how to get to where we want to go.

10 Aug 2010

FDA approves human embryonic stem cells clinical trial for spinal cord injury treatment

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc.: Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration gave their highly-anticipated approval for the first clinical trial using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), which are the type of cells that can develop into all tissues of the body. Geron Corporation of Menlo Park, California, received the green light from the US FDA to use cells derived from hESCs to treat people with acute spinal cord injuries. Ten people will receive injections into the injury site of hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, which stimulate the growth of new and severed nerves and recoat damaged nerves with myelin. The hope is that the injections will help people recover function lost through injury, as seen in rodent studies in 2005.

10 Aug 2010

Epitherix identifies potent and selective multiple chemical scaffolds against colorectal carcinoma

Epitherix, LLC, a privately held company focused on the discovery and development of novel Wnt pathway small molecule inhibitors for epithelial and leukemic cancers, today announced that it has identified multiple chemical scaffolds that are potent and selective against colorectal carcinoma. "We're very encouraged by our in vitro and in vivo data, especially considering the difficulty in drugging this pathway to date," said Dr. Osman Kibar, CEO of Epitherix.

10 Aug 2010

Medical Science News

Common soluble proteins become insoluble and form aggregates while aging: Study

Researchers identify perforant path brain passage associated with Alzheimer's disease

Georgia Institute receives EUREKA grant to design brain tumor treatment

Enriched breakfast re-energizes children's morning rituals and boosts learning potential

Brain morphological changes associated with cyclic menstrual pain

Spinal muscular atrophy may lead to cardiac dysfunction: Study

Scientists identify chemical system effective in cocaine-addiction cure

Progestins have tumor-stage specific effects that determine promotion, suppression: Study

Scientists develop new method to enable drug release inside cancer cells

Study suggests zinc supplementation may reduce pneumonia risk

ACT signs agreement to select novel clinical candidates for two cancer metabolic programs

Study results provide rationale for use of PI3K inhibitors in therapeutic settings

Analysis finds no evidence that inclusion of retinyl palmitate in sunscreens can cause cancer

Children of incarcerated parent likely to be incarcerated

ROCK2 protein may be a good therapeutic target for autoimmune disorders: Research

New method for tracing brain circuits

Scientists identify compound to inhibit wild-type HIV-1 protease

Study finds 'grid cells' that help brain map locations outside hippocampus

FDA approves human embryonic stem cells clinical trial for spinal cord injury treatment

Epitherix identifies potent and selective multiple chemical scaffolds against colorectal carcinoma

CellVoyant's AI-Powered Vision for the Future of Cell Therapy

Scalable, Smart, and Accessible: The Future of Lab Automation

Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures: A Conversation with WHO’s Dr. Allotey

Latest News