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Source - EurekAlert – Biology:
Public Release: 2-Sep-2009
Diesel exhaust is linked to cancer development via new blood vessel growth
Scientists here have demonstrated that the link between diesel fume exposure and cancer lies in how diesel exhaust induces the growth of new blood vessels that supply solid tumors. The researchers found that in both healthy and diseased animals, more new blood vessels sprouted in mice exposed to diesel exhaust than did in mice exposed to clean, filtered air. This suggests that previous illness isn't required to make humans susceptible to the damaging effects of the diesel exhaust.
Contact: Qinghua Sun
sun.224@osu.edu
614-247-1560
Ohio State University
Public Release: 2-Sep-2009
Powerful new 'molecular GPS' helps probe aging and disease processes
Scientists in Michigan are reporting the development of a powerful new probe for identifying proteins affected by a key chemical process important in aging and disease. The probe works like a GPS or navigation system for finding these proteins in cells. It could lead to new insights into disease processes and identify new targets for disease treatments, the researchers say. Their study is scheduled for the Sept. 18 issue of ACS Chemical Biology, a monthly journal.
Contact: Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society
Public Release: 2-Sep-2009
DNA mutations linked to diabetes
Genes that regulate the energy consumption of cells have a different structure and expression in type 2 diabetics than they do in healthy people, according to a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet published in Cell Metabolism. The researchers believe that these "epigenetic mutations" might have a key part to play in the development of the disease.
Contact: KI Press Office
pressinfo@ki.se
46-852-486-077
Karolinska Institutet
Public Release: 1-Sep-2009
H1N1 pandemic virus does not mutate into 'superbug' in UMd lab study
In the first study to examine how the H1N1 pandemic virus interacts with other flu strains, laboratory research by the University of Maryland found no evidence of "reassortment" to form a more virulent "superbug," but did demonstrate the heightened communicability of the pandemic form responsible for the so-called swine flu. The pandemic virus prevailed over and out-competed the other strains in ferrets, reproducing, on average, twice as much.
Contact: Neil Tickner
ntickner@umd.edu
301-405-4622
University of Maryland
Public Release: 1-Sep-2009
Scientists identify gene that predicts post-surgical survival from brain metastasis of breast cancer patients
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have identified a gene that may play a role in breast cancer metastasis to the brain, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Contact: Jeremy Moore
jeremy.moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 1-Sep-2009
From fat to chronic inflammation
Researchers may have found a key ingredient in the recipe that leads from obesity to chronic low-grade inflammation, according to a report in the September issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 1-Sep-2009
Computational process zeroes in on top genetic cancer suspects
Johns Hopkins engineers have devised innovative computer software that can sift through hundreds of genetic mutations and highlight the DNA changes that are most likely to promote cancer.
Contact: Phil Sneiderman
prs@jhu.edu
443-287-9960
Johns Hopkins University
Public Release: 1-Sep-2009
Promise of nanodiamonds for safer gene therapy
A team of Northwestern University researchers has introduced the power of nanodiamonds as a novel gene delivery technology that combines key properties in one approach: enhanced delivery efficiency along with outstanding biocompatibility. The researchers engineered surface-modified nanodiamond particles that successfully and efficiently delivered DNA into mammalian cells. The delivery efficiency was 70 times greater than that of a conventional standard for gene delivery. The new hybrid material could impact many facets of nanomedicine.
Contact: Megan Fellman
fellman@northwestern.edu
847-491-3115
Northwestern University
Public Release: 31-Aug-2009
Finding the ZIP-code for gene therapy: Scientists imitate viruses to deliver therapeutic genes
A research report featured on the cover of the September 2009 print issue of the FASEB Journal describes how Australian scientists developed a new gene therapy vector that uses the same machinery that viruses use to transport their cargo into our cells. As a result, therapeutic DNA can be transferred to a cell's nucleus more efficiently than in the past, raising hopes for more effective treatment of genetic disorders and some types of cancers.
Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
cmooneyhan@faseb.org
301-634-7104
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Source - Science Daily:
Please note: Due to the format restrictions of Science Daily articles, you must click on the URL (web address) below the article summary, rather than the article title.
Weight Gain In Adulthood Associated With Prostate Cancer Risk; Patterns Differ By Ethnicity
September 2, 2009 — Body mass in younger and older adulthood, and weight gain between these periods of life, may influence a man's risk for prostate cancer. This risk varies among different ethnic populations, according ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901132802.htm
Why Don't Brain Tumors Respond To Medication?
September 2, 2009 — Malignant brain tumors often fail to respond to promising new medication. Researchers in Germany have discovered a mechanism and a tumor marker for the development of this resistance. A "death ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901104850.htm
Protein–telomere Interactions Could Be Key In Treating Cancer
September 2, 2009 — Researchers have shown that a large noncoding RNA in mammals and yeast plays a central role in helping maintain telomeres, the tips of chromosomes that contain important genetic information and help ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831213216.htm
Fine-tuning An Anti-cancer Drug
September 2, 2009 — Biochemists have illuminated a reaction pathway that blocks the action of proteasomes, vital intracellular waste-processing plants. They report insights that could potentially lead to development of ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090818130433.htm
Cardiac Surgeons Implant World's First New DeBakey Heart Assist Device
September 2, 2009 — At the end of July 2009, a team of cardiac surgeons in Germany was the first in the world to implant the HeartAssist 5 ventricular assist device, the modern version of the DeBakey VAD. The device ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817142741.htm
How Much Omega-3 Fatty Acid Do We Need To Prevent Cardiovascular Disease?
September 1, 2009 — Scientists found the dose of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) that is "just right" for preventing cardiovascular disease in healthy men. In a new study, they show that 200 mg of DHA per day is enough to ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831130751.htm
Study Reveals How A Common Virus Eludes The Immune System
September 1, 2009 — Viruses have numerous tricks for dodging the immune system. New research reveals a key detail in one of these stratagems, identifying a protein that enables cytomegalovirus to shut down an antiviral ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831130049.htm
New Hope For Deadly Childhood Bone Cancer: Surprising Discovery Made By Studying 'Junk DNA'
September 1, 2009 — Researchers have shed new light on Ewing's sarcoma, an often deadly bone cancer that typically afflicts children and young adults. Their research shows that patients with poor outcomes have tumors ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831080955.htm
New Genetic Culprit In Deadly Skin Cancer Revealed
September 1, 2009 — Drawing on the power of DNA sequencing, researchers have identified a new group of genetic mutations involved in the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma. This discovery is particularly ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831212427.htm
Surprising Rate Of Recurring Heart Attacks, Strokes Globally
September 1, 2009 — Despite medicines for patients with vascular disease, a large international study shows these patients have a surprisingly high rate of recurring strokes, heart attacks and hospitalizations as well ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831130051.htm
Circulating Tumor Cells A Must Watch
September 1, 2009 — The presence of tumor cells circulating in the blood is associated with shortened survival. Now, researchers in Japan have developed a simple imaging system to detect circulating tumor cells, which ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901172828.htm
Promising New Target Emerges For Autoimmune Diseases
September 1, 2009 — Scientists have uncovered an important way that aggressive immune cells normally are held in check so they don't attack the body's own cells. The findings open a new avenue of research for future ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090901122641.htm
Cardiac Arrest Casualties Form Valuable Source Of Donor Kidneys
August 31, 2009 — A pilot study of a system for harvesting kidneys from non-heart-beating donors where attempts of resuscitation after a witnessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have failed (uncontrolled NHBDs) ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827192326.htm
Human Breast Cancer Hit For Six: Key Role For Six1 In Tumor Development And Metastasis
August 31, 2009 — Researchers have provided new insight into breast cancer development using mouse models and analysis of human cells, implicating the protein Six1 as central to this ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090825084948.htm
Project Zero Delay Accelerates Drug's Path To Clinical Trial
August 31, 2009 — A phase I clinical trial enrolled its first patient only two days after US Food and Drug Administration clearance of the experimental drug for a first-in-human cancer trial, a milestone that normally ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803173243.htm
Rheumatism Video Discloses Center Of Inflammation At An Early Stage
August 29, 2009 — It can strike anyone: rheumatism occurs just as often as diabetes, arteriosclerosis and cancer combined. Approximately one percent of the population is stricken with the rheumatoid arthritis. Now ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824205742.htm
Source - Health Day:
Health Highlights: Sept. 1, 2009
- 2-in-1 Heart Device Cuts Heart Failure
- Communities Can Do More to Stop Childhood Obesity: Report
- Tobacco Makers Sue Over FDA Oversight
- Docs to Watch for Guillain-Barré After H1N1 Vaccine
- Workouts Trump Angioplasty for Heart Woes, Experts Say
What you need to know about vaccinations for swine flu, regular flu.
New Technique Offers Hope for Kids With Immune Deficiency
Stem-cell transplant without chemo can help avoid treatment toxicity, research shows.
Clinical Trials Update: Sept. 2, 2009
- Iron Deficiency Anemia
- Osteoarthritis
- Atrial Fibrillation
- Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (DPN)
- Gout
- Restless Legs Syndrome
- Heart Disease
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Source - Yahoo Biotech News:
Interim Phase II Data Presented at XIV World Congress of Neurological Surgery Supports Potential of Peregrine's Cotara(R) for Treatment of Brain Cancer
Life Technologies to Sell Mass Spectrometry Business to Danaher for $450 Million in Cash
CARLSBAD, Calif.----Life Technologies Corporation today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its ownership stake in its mass spectrometry business, operated as a joint venture, to Danaher Corporation for $450 million in cash.
Source - Google Health News:
The H1N1 Virus - Varied Local Responses to a Global Spread
Global Arab Network - English News
Due to the high fatality rate of H5N1 – once considered the most likely candidate for the next flu pandemic, the WHO pandemic alert system focuses on the ...
Canada's flu strategy flawed: CMAJ
Globe and Mail
... reasons Canada went with an adjuvant strategy is because non-adjuvant vaccine didn't work as well in the clinical trials for the H5N1 avian flu strain. ...
New approach to the flu
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Park said the Food and Drug Administration had put out word that the upcoming vaccine would be "a simple strain change from the regular formula. ...
Common Antibiotic Can Act As An 'Off Switch' For Parkinson's Therapy
MedIndia
Taken together, the findings have indicated that gene therapy to enable the brain to retain its ability to produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that falls ...
H1N1 (Swine) Flu Jumps to Turkeys
About - News & Issues
The fear is that the H1N1 virus may recombine with the avian H5N1 virus, an influenza virus of birds. The H5N1 virus more lethal, but not as contagious to ...
Scientists Develop Gene Therapy Method to Prevent Some Inherited ...
MedIndia
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) believe they have developed one of the first forms of ...
Source - Medical News Today:
ASCO Calls On Medicare To Abandon Proposed Cuts To Cancer Care
In formal comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162680.php
Detecting Circulating Tumor Cells
As the presence of tumor cells circulating in the blood is associated with shortened survival, a method to detect circulating tumor cells could help clinicians hoping to predict a patient's chances of survival and/or monitor a patient's response to treatment. Now, Toshiyoshi Fujiwara and colleagues, at Okayama University Hospital, Japan, have developed a simple imaging system able to do just that. Specifically, they developed an approach to visualize live tumor cells circulating in the peripheral blood of humans and found that the number of live circulating tumor cells reflected the tumor burden, as they decreased in number upon complete surgical removal of primary tumors. The authors therefore hope that their technology will prove to be of immense clinical benefit.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162668.php
Stent For Life Initiative
Primary angioplasty (with stent implantation) is the most effective therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but it is not available to many patients, even though most European countries have sufficient resources (ie, catheterisation laboratories) for its wider use. The Stents 4 Life initiative was a study aiming to analyze the use of primary angioplasty in the treatment of AMI in 27 European countries. Data were collected from national infarction or angioplasty registries, on AMI epidemiology and treatment and on angioplasty centres and procedures
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162585.php
Heart Failure: More Or Less Malignant Than Cancer?
A recently completed analysis of over one million hospital cases in Sweden during the period 1988 to 2004 has revealed that heart failure
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162555.php
Chemotherapy Resistance: Checkpoint Protein Provides Armor Against Cancer Drugs
Cell cycle checkpoints act like molecular tripwires for damaged cells, forcing them to pause and take stock. Leave the tripwire in place for too long, though, and cancer
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162555.php
Source - MIT's Technology Review:
A More Sensitive Cancer Breathalyzer
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23331/
Modeling Diabetes with Stem Cells
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23335/
A Simulator for Brain Surgeons
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/23337/
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