Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Cancer Targets & Therapeutics Conference to take place from Feb. 25-26 in Las Vegas

With the rapid progression of molecular biology and genetics, and the subsequent emergence of many new targets, emerging targets & therapeutics provides new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of several major disease systems.

19 Jan 2013

Rochester scientists propose new reason why acute myeloid leukemia is so difficult to cure

University of Rochester Medical Center scientists have proposed a new reason why acute myeloid leukemia, one of the most aggressive cancers, is so difficult to cure: a subset of cells that drive the disease appear to have a much slower metabolism than most other tumors cells.

18 Jan 2013

Tips to help maintain health during travel

Whether you're away for business or pleasure, don't let traveling be an excuse to break your healthy New Year's resolutions. Check out these tips from Jodi Sullivan, Hilton Worldwide's senior director of global fitness, to help maintain your health wherever your travels may take you.

18 Jan 2013

ARHGEF28 gene mutations present in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Research

Researchers at Western University in London, Canada, have identified a new genetic mutation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), opening the door to future targeted therapies. Dr. Michael Strong, a scientist with Western's Robarts Research Institute and Distinguished University Professor in Clinical Neurological Sciences at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and colleagues found that mutations within the ARHGEF28 gene are present in ALS.

16 Jan 2013

p53 activation suppresses malic enzyme expression and leads to senescence in pre-cancerous cells

It is perhaps impossible to overstate the importance of the tumor suppressor gene p53. It is the single most frequently mutated gene in human tumors. p53 keeps pre-cancerous cells in check by causing cells, among other things, to become senescent - aging at the cellular level. Loss of p53 causes cells to ignore the cellular signals that would normally make mutant or damaged cells die or stop growing.

16 Jan 2013

TSC22D4 gene plays a key role in the onset of cachexia

Cachexia or wasting is a condition affecting up to 70 percent of cancer patients, depending on the type of cancer. It is characterized by a dramatic loss of body weight that is independent of food intake. Cachexia is seen particularly often and most pronounced in patients suffering from cancers of the digestive tract and the lungs.

16 Jan 2013

Spacemen upset sodium balance theories

Levels of salt in the body and sodium in the urine fluctuate over fixed cycles that are independent of salt intake, shows a space simulation study.

15 Jan 2013

Mothers with high PUFA levels during pregnancy have fatter children

Southampton researchers have demonstrated that mothers who have higher levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are found in cooking oils and nuts, during pregnancy have fatter children.

11 Jan 2013

Several genes may control body-fat responses to fast-food diets

Researchers at UCLA say it's not just what you eat that makes those pants tighter - it's also genetics. In a new study, scientists discovered that body-fat responses to a typical fast-food diet are determined in large part by genetic factors, and they have identified several genes they say may control those responses.

10 Jan 2013

High-fiber diets may control progression of prostate cancer

A high-fiber diet may have the clinical potential to control the progression of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed in early stages of the disease.

10 Jan 2013

Leptin hormone also regulates airway diameter

A new study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in energy metabolism, fertility, and bone mass, also regulates airway diameter.

9 Jan 2013

Metabolic stress can increase onset of atrial fibrillation

Researchers have found new evidence that metabolic stress can increase the onset of atrial arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.

9 Jan 2013

Kingston University professor receives prestigious prize for work on drug metabolism

The Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing at London's Kingston University has received a prestigious prize recognising her lifetime's work on drug metabolism.

9 Jan 2013

Body's sodium levels fluctuate rhythmically with 7-day and monthly cycles

Clinical pharmacologist Jens Titze, M.D., knew he had a one-of-a-kind scientific opportunity: the Russians were going to simulate a flight to Mars, and he was invited to study the participating cosmonauts.

9 Jan 2013

Tunisian women more likely to suffer from obesity than male compatriots

Men and women in Tunisia are not equal before the scales. Tunisian women are three times as likely to suffer from obesity as their male compatriots.

9 Jan 2013

Orexigen reports progress with FDA on faster path to Contrave NDA resubmission

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of obesity, today announced progress with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a faster path to resubmission of the Contrave (naltrexone SR / bupropion SR) New Drug Application (NDA).

9 Jan 2013

Babies born to obese mothers have low levels of vitamin D

Women who are obese at the start of their pregnancy may be passing on insufficient levels of vitamin D to their babies, according to a new Northwestern Medicine- study.

8 Jan 2013

Esperion reports positive results from ETC-1002 Phase 2 clinical trial on type 2 diabetes

Esperion Therapeutics, the leading developer of small molecule therapies for the treatment of cardiometabolic disorders, today announced positive results of a recently completed Phase 2 clinical trial of ETC-1002 in patients with type 2 diabetes with LDL-C lowering of up to 43% compared to placebo.

8 Jan 2013

Edison Pharmaceuticals to commence EPI-743 phase 2B Friedreich's ataxia study

Edison Pharmaceuticals today announced the initiation of a phase 2B study entitled, "Safety and Efficacy Study of EPI-743 on Visual Function in Patients with Friedreich's Ataxia."

7 Jan 2013

Diabetes drug metformin works in different way than previously understood: Researchers

A team, led by senior author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor of Medicine, with the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, found that the diabetes drug metformin works in a different way than previously understood.

7 Jan 2013