Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Researchers discover how prion protein damages brain cells

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have gained a major insight into how the rogue protein responsible for mad cow disease and related neurological illnesses destroys healthy brain tissue.

11 Jun 2009

Angiotensin 1-7 hormone offers hope for metabolic syndrome

Angiotensin 1-7, a hormone in the body that has cardiovascular benefits, improves the metabolic syndrome in rats, according to a new study. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

10 Jun 2009

Stopping type 1 diabetes damage with vitamin C

Researchers at the Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center have found a way to stop the damage caused by Type 1 diabetes with the combination of insulin and a common vitamin found in most medicine cabinets.

9 Jun 2009

Gene variation associated with resistance to chemotherapy drug in women with breast cancer

Researchers have found links between an individual's genetics and their response to treatment with chemotherapy. The findings, by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues, show how a genetic variant, located in the SOD2 gene, may affect how a person responds to the chemotherapy drug cyclophosphamide. Cyclophosphamide is used in the treatment of breast and other cancers.

9 Jun 2009

Cancer vaccine efficacy enhanced using anti-diabetic drug Metformin

After a vaccination or an infection, the human immune system remembers to keep protecting against invaders it has already encountered, with the aid of specialized B-cells and T-cells. Immunological memory has long been the subject of intense study, but the underlying cellular mechanisms regulating the generation and persistence of long-lived memory T cells remain largely undefined. Now, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have found that a common anti-diabetic drug might enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. The findings are described this week in an advanced online publication of Nature.

4 Jun 2009

Discovery of critical marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer

A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.

4 Jun 2009

Stopping fatty change in heart cells

Heart failure is one of the world's most frequent causes of death - caused by conditions such as diabetes and obesity. With people who are overweight, the heart has to do more work in order to pump the blood through the circulatory system and this causes an increase in blood pressure.

4 Jun 2009

Metformin may 'revolutionize' cancer-fighting treatments

Researchers at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that a widely used anti-diabetic drug can boost the immune system and increase the potency of vaccines and cancer treatments. Their findings will be published June 3 in the journal Nature.

3 Jun 2009

Greater understanding on leptin's role in brain neurocircuitry

In investigating the complex neurocircuitry behind weight gain and glucose control, scientists have known that the hormone leptin plays a key role in the process. But within the myriad twists and turns of the brain's intricate landscape, the exact pathways that the hormone travels to exert its influence have remained a mystery.

2 Jun 2009

Research looks at relationship between bone density and erosion in arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, affects almost three percent of people over age 65. RA patients experience pain, functional limitations and two forms of disabling bone disease: focal erosions and osteoporosis.

1 Jun 2009

Old drug Auranofin may lead to new antibiotics

A mineral found at health food stores could be the key to developing a new line of antibiotics for bacteria that commonly cause diarrhea, tooth decay and, in some severe cases, death.

1 Jun 2009

Glucose metabolism and recidivism of severe violent crimes in alcohol intoxications

It is commonly known that alcoholism and alcohol intoxications are connected with severe violent crimes such as homicides. For instance, in Finland even 80 per cent of these crimes happen in alcohol intoxications. It has not, however, been clear why only a minority of alcoholics in intoxications become irritated and impulsively aggressive or even commit severe violent crimes.

1 Jun 2009

MicroRNAs grease the cell's circadian clockwork

Most of our cells possess an internal clock, a group of genes displaying a cyclic expression pattern that reaches a peak once a day. A large number of circadian genes are expressed by organs such as the liver, whose activity needs to be precisely regulated over the course of the day.

31 May 2009

New U.S. patent issued for Limbrel in osteoarthritis

Primus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the issuance of a new composition of matter patent for Limbrel, the first prescription medical food product to safely meet the distinctive nutritional requirements of patients with osteoarthritis (OA). U.S. Patent #7,514,469 was recently issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

27 May 2009

The evolution of gene regulation: How microbial neighbors settle differences

Even microbes are governed by the principle of supply and demand - at least at the genetic level. Not all of their gene products, the blueprints for proteins, are required at all times. That means most of their genes only become active when they are needed, as is the case in higher organisms.

26 May 2009

Inositol protects against the development of neural tube defects

Women of childbearing age can reduce the risk of having a child born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida by eating enough folate or folic acid. However, folate prevents only about 70 percent of these defects.

25 May 2009

Viral Genetics issued patent for novel cancer therapies

Biotechnology firm Viral Genetics, Inc. has been issued a patent for novel cancer therapies. The patent protects cancer drugs that have been tested in pre-clinical research studies in mice. Issued on March 31, 2009, the U.S. Patent Number is: 7,510,710. Additional patents directed at generic classes of the drugs are still pending.

22 May 2009

Discovery of gene that controls sugar production, implications for diabetes

Scientists in Sydney and Boston believe they may have identified a gene that controls abnormal production of sugar in the liver, a very troublesome problem for people with diabetes.

22 May 2009

Protein discovery provides new targets for drugs that could extend the healthy years of life

A protein that plays a key role in tumor formation, oxygen metabolism and inflammation is involved in a pathway that extends lifespan by dietary restriction.

22 May 2009

COPD patients benefit from lifestyle program

Patients with moderate COPD were randomized to receive "usual care" or to undergo an interdisciplinary, community-based program (INTERCOM) that offered an intensive lifestyle moderation phase of four months, during which patients were instructed in detail to perform two 15-minute intervals of pleasurable walking or cycling, and offered instruction in other lifestyle changes such as nutrition and smoking cessation.

20 May 2009