Since August, 2005, this news digest has been a complimentary service of GBP Capital, a private equity firm investing in early to mid-stage life science companies. See www.gbpcap.com. The digest is published two to four days a week. If you have colleagues who would be interested in receiving this digest by email, they can be added to the list at: http://www.gbpcap.com/. Also, the complete history of the entire content of all news articles in our digests since August, 2005 is searchable with Google's enterprise search engine at the same site.
New cancer treatment gives hope to lymphoma and leukemia patients
Cancer researchers have high hopes for a new therapy for patients with certain types of lymphoma and leukemia.
Contact: Steve Yozwiak
syozwiak@tgen.org
602-343-8704
The Translational Genomics Research Institute
Public Release: 26-Feb-2010
Gastroenterology
Gene signature may improve colon cancer treatment
A gene signature, first identified in mouse colon cancer cells, may help identify patients at risk of colon cancer recurrence, according to a recent study by Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers. The findings, published in the March issue of Gastroenterology, could help personalize treatments for colon cancer -- the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States -- by identifying patients most likely to benefit from chemotherapy.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Melissa Marino
melissa.marino@vanderbilt.edu
615-322-4747
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Public Release: 26-Feb-2010
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
MSU scientists unlock key enzyme using newly created 'cool' method
A team of Michigan State University scientists -- using a new cooling method they created -- have uncovered the inner workings of a key iron-containing enzyme, a discovery that could help researchers develop new medicines or understand how enzymes repair DNA. Taurine/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase, known as TauD, is a bacterial enzyme that is important in metabolism. Enzymes in this family repair DNA, sense oxygen and help produce antibiotics.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Jason Cody
codyja@msu.edu
517-432-0924
Michigan State University
Public Release: 26-Feb-2010
Diabetes
The pig and its pancreas
The incidence of diabetes is rising worldwide. Using genetic engineering techniques in pigs, scientists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Munich have created a new model of this metabolic disorder, which recapitulates many features of the disease, and promises to contribute significantly to improvements in diagnosis and therapy.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Eckhard Wolf
ewolf@lmb.uni-muenchen.de
49-892-180-76800
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Public Release: 26-Feb-2010
Experimental Hematology
Offering hope for tissue regeneration
Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have discovered how cells communicate with each other during times of cellular injury. The findings shed new light on how the body repairs itself when organs become diseased, through small particles known as microvesicles, and offers hope for tissue regeneration. The paper is published in the March 2010 edition of the journal Experimental Hematology and is now available online in advance of publication.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Nancy Jean
njean@lifespan.org
Lifespan
Public Release: 25-Feb-2010
PLoS Pathogens
Novel compound found effective against avian influenza virus
A novel compound is highly effective against the pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, including some drug-resistant strains, according to new research led by a University of Wisconsin-Madison virologist.
Contact: Yoshihiro Kawaoka
kawaokay@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
608-265-4925
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 25-Feb-2010
Journal of Molecular Diagnostics
Personalized medicine in warfarin therapy
Researchers from the Ohio State University have developed a rapid, multiplexed genotyping method to identify the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that affect warfarin dose. The related report by Yang et al., "Rapid Genotyping of SNPs Influencing Warfarin Drug Response by SELDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry," appears in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.
Contact: Angela Colmone, Ph.D.
acolmone@asip.org
301-634-7953
American Journal of Pathology
Public Release: 25-Feb-2010
Blood
Gene-based stem cell therapy specifically removes cell receptor that attracts HIV
UCLA AIDS Institute researchers successfully removed CCR5 -- a cell receptor to which HIV-1 binds for infection but which the human body does not need -- from human cells. Individuals who naturally lack the CCR5 receptor have been found to be essentially resistant to HIV.
Rheumatology Fellowship, University of California -- Los Angeles, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH/National Cancer Institute
Contact: Enrique Rivero
erivero@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-2273
University of California - Los Angeles
Public Release: 24-Feb-2010
Cancer Cell
New cancer-fighting strategy focuses on signaling molecules
Cancer researchers studying the immune system have identified a previously unrecognized set of targets and biomarkers to battle solid tumors.
Contact: Elizabeth Fernandez
efernandez@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
Source - Science Daily : 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.
February 28, 2010 — The CREST trial that compared traditional surgery with less-invasive stenting to clear dangerously clogged carotid arteries in the neck is being called "seminal and ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100226161439.htm
Novel Way to Study Human Inflammatory Disease
February 28, 2010 — A new study shows mice infected with the bacteria salmonella develop clinical signs consistent with a deadly and poorly understood human inflammatory disease, a finding that may lead to new ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225214812.htm
Computer Simulation of Protein Malfunction Related to Alzheimer's Disease
February 27, 2010 — Researchers created a computer modeling of the structural malfunctioning of the ApoE4 protein when it enters into contact with the amyloid beta molecule, the main cause of Alzheimer's disease. The ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217093254.htm
Smoking Significantly Increases Risk of Aneurysm in People With Certain Genes
February 26, 2010 — Researchers have confirmed three gene changes that raise the risk that a blood vessel in the brain will weaken and balloon out (aneurysm), creating a life-threatening chance of rupture. Smoking, the ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100226093207.htm
Scanning for Skin Cancer: Infrared System Looks for Deadly Melanoma
February 26, 2010 — Researchers have developed a noninvasive infrared scanning system to help doctors determine whether pigmented skin growths are benign moles or melanoma, a lethal form of ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100226093209.htm
Imaging Studies Reveal Order in Programmed Cell Death
February 27, 2010 — Every day, about 10 billion cells in a human body commit suicide. Cells infected by virus, that are transformed or otherwise dysfunctional altruistically sacrifice themselves for the greater good. ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100227184921.htm
Exploiting the Body's Own Ability to Fight a Heart Attack
February 26, 2010 — Scientists trying to find a way to better help patients protect themselves against harm from a heart attack are taking their cues from cardiac patients. The work on "ischemic preconditioning" mirrors ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225164847.htm
Nanotechnology Tackles the Two Biggest Problems Associated With Chemotherapy
February 26, 2010 — Nanoscale chemistry experts have developed a nanotechnology approach that potentially could eliminate the problems of side effects and drug resistance in the treatment of cancer. Under traditional ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225151924.htm
Intracranial Stenting, Injecting Clot-Busting Drugs Directly to Brain
February 25, 2010 — Placing stents in the brain and injecting clot-busting drugs directly to the brain had better success rates for acute ischemic stroke than other treatments. There was no excess risk of hemorrhage ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225101216.htm
- Cruise Ship Cleaned After Norovirus Outbreak
- Recalled Pepper Linked to Salmonella Cases
- VA Will Review Gulf War Vets' Disability Claims
- Ancient Egyptian Priests Had Atherosclerosis: Study
- Medical Scan Makers Propose System to Cut Radiation Risks
Stents May Be Effective Weapon Against Stroke
One study finds they are equal to artery-clearing surgery, but another trial does not
Cutting Off Blood Flow Limits Damage During Heart Attack
Repeatedly inflating blood pressure cuff led to 30 percent reduction in lost cardiac tissue, study found
Clinical Trials Update: Feb. 26, 2010
- High Cholesterol
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Bipolar Disorder
Study meets composite endpoint of reduction in time to treatment failure with statistical significance
The Hindu
Gene therapy is definitely going to be the medicine of future, said Dr.Mulherkar, who is part of the committee of the Cancer Biology sub group under the ...
Heart Stem Cells Move Closer to Human Treatments
BusinessWeek
There were also advances in gene therapy reported, with Singaporean researchers using nanotechnology to deliver genetically modified cells to help heal ...
Single-Dose H5N1 Vaccine Safe and Effective in Adults and Elderly
Science Daily (press release)
24, 2010) — Researchers from Hungary and the UK have developed a single-dose H5N1 influenza vaccine that induces a protective level of immunity against ...
Gene Therapy Gives Hope in Virulent Form of Cancer
ABC News
By LAUREN COX Stephen Dixon, 57, of Nashville, Tenn., has watched his tumors from melanoma shrink on the experimental gene therapy drug called RO5185426. ...
Is Mesothelioma Gene Therapy Promising?
Surviving Mesothelioma
One of the treatment avenues being studied is gene therapy, in which doctors use a vector (typically a virus) to carry a specific gene into the body. ...
Bionic Eye Helps Blind See
KMGH Denver
Gene therapy is also offering hope. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine used gene therapy to treat 12 patients with Leber ...
With the realization that half of the people experiencing a sudden mortal heart attack were taking aspirin on the day of their demise, researchers have begun to search for a more reliable alternative, and they may have found it in a red wine molecule called resveratrol (rez-vair-ah-trawl). Researchers at the University of Connecticut induced heart attacks in animals and found resveratrol significantly reduces damage to heart muscle. Scarring and fibrosis were limited and the animals survived an otherwise mortal event.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180641.php
Notch-Blocking Drugs Kill Brain Cancer Stem Cells, Yet Multiple Therapies May Be Needed
Working with mice, Johns Hopkins scientists who tested drugs intended to halt growth of brain cancer stem cells a small population of cells within tumors that perpetuate cancergrowth conclude that blocking these cells may be somewhat effective, but more than one targeted drug attack may be needed to get the job done. One focus of attack is a chemical pathway within stem cells known as Notch, which scientists have shown is important for cancer stem cell growth. A new study published in the January 28 issue ofStem Cells by Charles Eberhart, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology, ophthalmology, and oncology at Johns Hopkins, now extends these findings to glioblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor, and ultimately suggests other pathways and treatment with two or more drugs may need to be involved.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180495.php
Clot-Busting Drugs Effective In Patients With Unwitnessed Strokes
Clot-busting treatment should be considered for patients last seen healthy within a few hours before having a stroke, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2010. A Canadian study analyzed outcomes of clot-busting drugs given to patients based on when they were last seen in their usual state of health ("time last seen normal") compared to patients who had someone witness the start of their stroke symptoms.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180391.php
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24664/
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