GBP Health / Biotech News 03-22-2010:
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EurekAlert - Biology:
Public Release: 22-Mar-2010
American Journal of Human Genetics
Study finds genes that keep watch on blood clotting time
Scientists have discovered three genes that could shed light on the genetic causes of blood-clotting disorders such as thrombosis and some types of stroke.
Contact: Joanne Morrison
joanne.morrison@ed.ac.uk
44-131-651-4266
University of Edinburgh
Public Release: 22-Mar-2010Nature Neuroscience
Dangerous custodians
Progressive dementia of Alzheimer's patients is due to an inexorable loss of nerve cells from the brain. LMU neuroscientists have now shown that microglia may actually make a significant contribution to the loss of neurons associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Contact: Dr. Jochen Herms
Jochen.Herms@med.uni-muenchen.de
49-892-180-78010
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Public Release: 22-Mar-2010Transactions of the Royal Society A
Incorporating biofunctionality into nanomaterials for medical, health devices
A team led by researchers from North Carolina State University has published a paper explaining how to use atomic layer deposition to incorporate "biological functionality" into complex nanomaterials, which could lead to a new generation of medical and environmental health applications. For example, the researchers show how the technology can be used to develop effective, low-cost water purification devices that could be used in developing countries.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University
Public Release: 22-Mar-2010Journal of Cell Biology
Overcoming tumor resistance to anti-cancer agent TRAIL
The TRAIL ligand is a promising anti-cancer agent that preferentially kills tumor cells without apparent damage to healthy cells. Many cancers exhibit resistance to TRAIL, however, thus limiting its therapeutic potential. According to a study in the March 22 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, small molecules known to block Mcl-1 might represent a suitable means to overcome TRAIL resistance.
Contact: Rita Sullivan
news@rupress.org
212-327-8603
Public Release: 21-Mar-2010Nature Medicine
Newly identified growth factor promotes stem cell growth, regeneration
Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have identified a new growth factor that stimulates the expansion and regeneration of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells in culture and in laboratory animals. The discovery, appearing in the journal Nature Medicine, may help researchers overcome one of the most frustrating barriers to cellular therapy: the fact that stem cells are so few in number and so stubbornly resistant to expansion.National Institutes of Health
Contact: Michelle Gailiun
michelle.gailiun@duke.edu
919-660-1306
Duke University Medical Center
Public Release: 21-Mar-2010Nature
Caltech-led team provides proof in humans of RNA interference using targeted nanoparticles
A Caltech-led team of researchers and clinicians has published the first proof that a targeted nanoparticle -- used as an experimental therapeutic and injected directly into a patient's bloodstream -- can traffic into tumors, deliver double-stranded small interfering RNAs, and turn off an important cancer gene using a mechanism known as RNA interference. Moreover, the team provided the first demonstration that this new type of therapy can make its way to human tumors in a dose-dependent fashion.NIH/National Cancer Institute, Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Biomarker Laboratories
Contact: Jon Weiner
jrweiner@caltech.edu
626-395-3226
California Institute of Technology
Public Release: 19-Mar-2010
Fifth Decennial: International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections 2010
Conventional infection control measures found effective in reducing MRSA rates
Scientists at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center found that an emphasis on compliance with non-pathogen specific infection control practices such as hand hygiene, efforts to reduce device-related infections and chlorhexidine bathing (a daily bath with the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to "scrub in" before an operation), is successful in reducing rates of health-care-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The findings were presented today at the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections.
Contact: Sharon Reis
sreis@gymr.com
202-745-5103
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
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Public Release: 19-Mar-2010Angewandte Chemie
Silver proves its mettle for nanotech applications
Hao Yan and Yan Liu, professors at the Biodesign Institute's Center for Single Molecule Biophysics and their collaborators have introduced a new method to deterministically and precisely position silver nanoparticles onto self-assembling DNA scaffolds.
Contact: Joe Caspermeyer
joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu
480-727-0369
Arizona State University
Public Release: 18-Mar-2010
Manufacturing antibodies
New antibodies and recombinant proteins with a key signaling role in immune response to disease have been produced through collaboration between molecular immunology institutes in the Czech Republic and Germany and a private company. The proteins have their own direct uses in immunization and are also the starting point for production of novel, highly specific antibodies with a wide range of biomedical applications. All of the new products are already being marketed commercially.EUREKA
Contact: Piotr Pogorzelski
piotr.pogorzelski@es.eureka.be
322-777-0979
EUREKA
Public Release: 17-Mar-2010Biophysical Journal
Duke technique is turning proteins into glass
Duke University researchers have devised a method to dry and preserve proteins in a glassified form that seems to retain the molecules' properties as workhorses of biology.National Institutes of Health
Contact: Karl Leif Bates
karl.bates@duke.edu
919-681-8054
Duke University
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.
Infertility Increases a Man's Risk of Prostate Cancer
March 22, 2010 — Infertile men have an increased risk of developing high grade prostate cancer, which is more likely to grow and spread quickly, a new study has ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322073530.htm
H1N1: Infrared Thermal Detection Systems Useful for Patient Screening
March 22, 2010 — Researchers found an Infrared Thermal Detection System (ITDS) to be a fast and effective fever screening tool in clinical settings during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. The ITDS detected fever in ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100320171104.htm
Direct Injection of Gold Nanoparticles Into Tumors Opens Door to New Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer
March 22, 2010 — Pancreatic cancer -- known as the most fatal cancer with no known effective treatment -- requires a radical new therapy. A promising approach may come in the form of tiny gold nanoparticles -- loaded ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316101356.htm
Protecting Cancer Patients by Reducing Radiation Doses, Side Effects
March 22, 2010 — New recommendations for the safe irradiation of 16 organs have been published. For each organ, the relationship between dose/volume and clinical outcome is ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100317101357.htm
Key Predictor of Cardiovascular Death Identified
March 22, 2010 — Coronary artery disease (CAD) hospitalizes more than 160,000 Canadians every year, and almost one quarter of those patients die from this common form of heart disease. But now researchers have ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100315162051.htm
Wide Variety of Genetic Splicing in Embryonic Stem Cells Identified
March 21, 2010 — Like tuning in to an elusive radio frequency in a busy city, human embryonic stem cells must sort through a seemingly endless number of options to settle on the specific genetic message, or station, ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100301151921.htm
Newly Identified Growth Factor Promotes Stem Cell Growth, Regeneration
March 21, 2010 — Scientists have identified a new growth factor that stimulates the expansion and regeneration of hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem cells in culture and in laboratory animals. The discovery, may help ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100321182919.htm
March 20, 2010 — Interventional radiologists have opened the door to an encouraging potential future treatment for the nearly 200,000 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year: ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316101347.htm
March 19, 2010 — Bone marrow stem cells suspended in X-ray-visible microbubbles dramatically improve the body's ability to build new blood vessels in the upper leg -- providing a potential future treatment for those ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316101358.htm
Revisiting the Need to Detect Circulating Tumor Cells
March 18, 2010 — One of the most dangerous characteristics of cancer is its ability to metastasize, or spread through the body. For this reason, oncologists have a major need for better tests to detect cells that ...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316164946.htm
Source - Health Day:
Health Highlights: March 22, 2010
- PepsiCo Promises Less Sodium, Fat, Sugar in Products
- FDA to Review Menaflex Knee Repair Implant
- Women In Certain Countries Prefer Hunks: Study
- March Madness Good Time for Vasectomy: Doctors
- Radioactive Thyroid Cancer Patients a Threat: Report
House of Representatives Approves Health-Care Reform Bill
$940 billion overhaul would give 32 million more Americans access to health insurance.
Where Cancer Treatment Takes Place May Influence Outcome
Death rates same for blacks, whites at specialized cancer centers, research shows
Clinical Trials Update: March 22, 2010
- Osteoporosis
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Nocturia
With Rare Disorders, Misdiagnosis and Desperation Prevail
More than 6,000 'orphan diseases' affect 25 million in U.S.
Clinical Trials Update: March 19, 2010
- Heart Disease
- Knee Pain Due to Osteoarthritis (OA)
- Stomach Ulcer Prevention
Clinical Trials Update: March 18, 2010
- Healthy Overweight Volunteers
- Smoking Cessation
- Hepatitis C
Source - Yahoo Biotech News:
Sector Snap: Drugmakers rise as House bill passes - AP - 40 minutes ago
Shares of large drugmakers edged up Monday after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a health care overhaul bill intended to expand health insurance coverage.
Bristol combination diabetes drug under review - AP - Wed Mar 17
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and AstraZeneca said Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing their application for fixed dose of Onglyza in combination with metformin as a treatment for diabetes.
Cancer Gene Therapy by Nanotech Robots
TopNews United States
It is shocking to hear how cancer gene therapy can be done through nanotech robots. A team of Caltech researchers have found a way to enter into patient's ...
Are flu vaccines effective?
Houma Courier
We lived past the imposed panic of the H5N1 flu scare and the more recent ... If you were to believe that evidence, you would believe that flu vaccine is ...
Gene therapy has success restoring vision
Augusta Chronicle
By Tom Corwin A long-sought holy grail of medicine, gene therapy seems to be reversing a form of childhood blindness, and other genome-based treatments ...
Chasing a cure for Tay-Sachs
Cleveland Jewish News
Furthermore, the gene-therapy technique developed to cure Tay-Sachs may also treat other lipid-storage diseases, and even Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, ...
How to fortify the immunity of HIV patients
Science Centric
New findings from a Universite de Montreal and the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI) study, in collaboration with scientists from the NIH ...
Source - Medical News Today :
Therapeutic Potential Of MicroRNA Reported In GEN
Researchers around the globe are working on turning microRNAs, over 5,000 of which already have been identified, into novel drugs for a wide range of applications, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). These noncoding single-stranded RNAs act through binding to complementary mRNA sequences, thus preventing their translation into protein or accelerating mRNA breakdown, according to the March 15 issue of GEN. "MicroRNAs play an important role in various cellular processes, including cell growth, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis," says John Sterling, Editor-in-Chief of GEN. "As a result, scientists are studying them as potential therapeutics for a number of disease, particularly cancer ."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/183010.php
Philips To Unveil Breakthrough In Digital Pathology
At the United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology 2010 annual meeting (March 20-26, Washington DC, USA), Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) will unveil a work-in-progress pathology slide scanner and associated image management system. These prototype systems will form the basis of the company's future integrated digital pathology solutions. The prototype slide scanner will be designed to overcome one of the major hurdles for mainstream introduction of digital pathology - the availability of a scanning technology that combines ease of use, speed and high image quality. Philips' ambitions in digital pathology fit its integrated care cycle approach to cancer care. Anatomic pathology continues to play an ever-increasing role in the diagnosis of cancer, with the vast majority of diagnoses being made or confirmed by a pathologist. By digitizing the images that pathologists normally view through a microscope, Philips' goal is to offer solutions that help to enhance the operational efficiency and productivity of pathology departments, as well as increasing diagnostic confidence. The expected benefits to patients include improved turnaround time for lab results.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182939.php
Study Finds The Cost Of Cancer Care Is Skyrocketing
USA Today : "The cost of cancer treatment is 'skyrocketing' - both for individual patients and the nation, a new analysis shows. From 1990 to 2008, spending on cancer care soared to more than $90 billion from $27 billion. The increase was driven by the rising costs of sophisticated new drugs, robotic surgeries and radiation techniques, as well as the growing number of patients who are eligible to take them, says Peter Bach of New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Cancer, co-author of an analysis in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. Many older, frailer patients - who might not have been considered strong enough to weather traditional surgery - now have the option to have less invasive operations or more tightly focused radiation treatments, the analysis says" (Szabo, 3/16). The Seattle Times / Bloomberg : "The rising cost of cancer research and care, which helped reduce death rates by 16 percent over 40 years, is straining the U.S. health system and needs to be restrained, commentators said in a special edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. ... In one survey cited in the journal, almost a quarter of respondents with health insurance said they used most or all of their savings during treatment for the disease" (3/16).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182724.php
Radiation Breakthrough Gives Breast Cancer Patients Hope In Single Dose
Technology never before offered in the U.S. that allows patients to receive one dose of radiation during surgery, as opposed to the current average of six weeks, was successfully delivered to severalbreast cancer patients last week including the sister of the man responsible for bringing the technology from Italy. The intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) Novac7 allows patients to receive radiation treatment, delivered with the same power and precision as other advanced radiation techniques, while still in the operating room undergoing surgery, often without any additional outpatient radiation treatment visits and with fewer side effects. IORT also offers patients better cosmetic results and improved quality of life as the need for additional radiation treatment is minimized or eliminated altogether.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182703.php
Skin Cancer Should Be Treated As A Chronic Disease
"To manage the future costs and quality of care for patients with skin cancer , a revised health strategy is needed," write Simone van der Geer, M.D., of Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, and colleagues in a special article. "These new strategies should be combined into a disease management system that organizes health care for one well-documented health care problem using a systematic approach." "By applying the disease management systems approach, multiple opportunities for chronic skin cancer care become apparent in prevention, education, multidisciplinary care, information technology and management," they continue. "The disease management system is embedded within a supportive overall organization structure, which is based on firm financial support that must be available for all aspects of the system, including prevention-based efforts."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/182623.php
Source - MIT's Technology Review :
RNA-Loaded Nanoparticles Fight Cancer
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24841/
A Cheap, Portable Wound-Healing Device
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24837/
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