Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Pediatricians should screen all children for vitamin D deficiency

As study after study shows the fundamental role vitamin D plays in disease and health, vitamin D deficiency — which often develops insidiously in childhood — should be on every parent's and pediatrician's radar, say physicians from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

23 Feb 2012

Researchers discover how mTOR protein leads to cancer metastasis

Uncovering the network of genes regulated by a crucial molecule involved in cancer called mTOR, which controls protein production inside cells, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered how a protein "master regulator" goes awry, leading to metastasis, the fatal step of cancer.

23 Feb 2012

Roche grants in vitro diagnostics product license for real-time PCR technology to LTC

Roche and Life Technologies Corporation announced today that they have entered into two license agreements to allow LTC to expand its PCR offerings for diagnostics applications.

23 Feb 2012

Mitochondria may be promising new target for cancer treatment

Mitochondria, tiny structures within each cell that regulate metabolism and energy use, may be a promising new target for cancer therapy, according to a new study. Manipulation of two biochemical signals that regulate the numbers of mitochondria in cells could shrink human lung cancers transplanted into mice, a team of Chicago researchers report in the journal FASEB.

22 Feb 2012

IDOM researchers overturn textbook view of liver metabolism

A team led by researchers from the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism (IDOM) at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, has overturned a "textbook" view of what the body does after a meal.

22 Feb 2012

Women with heart problems at higher cancer risk after Omega-3 and vitamin B supplementation

However, women with a previous history of cardiovascular pathologies seem to have a higher cancer risk after five years of supplementation. The research is published in detail in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

18 Feb 2012

New preclinical data from Regulus' miR-21 study on kidney fibrosis

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative medicines targeting microRNAs, today announced that new preclinical data investigating the role of microRNA-21 (miR-21) in the treatment of kidney fibrosis has been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

17 Feb 2012

STRAW+10 report provides general road map to reproductive aging

Published simultaneously today in four top-tier journals, a new report provides a framework within which physicians and researchers can systematically and consistently identify the different reproductive stages women go though from adolescence to menopause and beyond. The report, named STRAW+10, will help clinicians predict when a woman will enter menopause and guide the selection of treatment options for menopausal symptoms and other related conditions.

17 Feb 2012

Amylin may lead to severe heart damage in obese and diabetic patients

Severe heart damage in people who are obese and diabetic is linked with a pancreatic hormone called amylin, UC Davis researchers have found.

17 Feb 2012

Mechanical dose of load through muscle force may slow bone loss in SCI patients

Loss of bone density leads to brittle bones that fracture easily. It is a major complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), which affects about 250,000 Americans every year.

17 Feb 2012

Study underscores power of real-time cell monitoring to dissect pluridimensionality of GPCR signaling

A research team led by Dr. Michel Bouvier at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the University of Montreal in Quebec, used the Roche xCELLigence SP Instrument to measure changes in cell response following ligand stimulation.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 16 Feb 2012

RUMC conducts early phase trial of MSDC-0160 for dementia

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are conducting an early phase clinical trial of a novel drug therapy for patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The drug is a new compound called MSDC-0160, which is an insulin sensitizer that modulates mitochondrial metabolism.

16 Feb 2012

Study: Diabetes may begin in the gut

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have made a surprising discovery about the origin of diabetes. Their research suggests that problems controlling blood sugar - the hallmark of diabetes - may begin in the intestines.

15 Feb 2012

Top four reasons why many dieters fail to lose weight

It's been more than one month since the new year and swimsuit season is lurking on the horizon - how are those weight-loss resolutions working out? "Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance," says Jessica Bartfield,MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at Loyola University Health System's Gottlieb Memorial Hospital.

15 Feb 2012

Scientists identify and describe molecular mechanism behind holoprosencephaly

Researchers of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have now identified and described a molecular mechanism underlying the most common malformation of the brain in humans. In holoprosencephaly (HPE), the forebrain (prosencephalon) is only incompletely formed.

14 Feb 2012

Kowa announces data of LIVALO vs. Crestor on pharmacodynamics of warfarin

Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. today announced data assessing the effect of LIVALO (pitavastatin) compared with Crestor (rosuvastatin) on steady-state pharmacodynamics (PD) of warfarin by measuring international normalized ratio (INR) in healthy adult subjects.

14 Feb 2012

Scientists develop mutant zebrafish to study Maple Syrup Urine Disease

In medical research, finding a reliable and cost-effective animal model can greatly enhance success in identifying disease mechanisms and genetic pathways, potentially cutting years off drug testing regimes and development of new treatment strategies.

14 Feb 2012

New evidence for role of the brain in obesity

Researchers at the University of Turku and Aalto University have now found new evidence for the role of the brain in obesity. The researchers measured the functioning brain circuits involved in with multiple brain imaging methods.

10 Feb 2012

Negative consequences of maternal obesity can be reversed through exercise

Exercise is the key to overcoming the adverse metabolic effects passed on to offspring by their overweight mothers, with research showing for the first time these effects can be almost completely reversed through physical activity.

10 Feb 2012

Prescription medications may affect 17-OHPC metabolism in women

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that prescription medications may affect the body's ability to metabolize 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC), the only FDA approved medication for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth.

10 Feb 2012