Necrosis

Study IDs key protein for cell death, offers way to kill cancer cells by forcing them into programmed-death pathway

When cells suffer too much DNA damage, they are usually forced to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis. However, cancer cells often ignore these signals, flourishing even after chemotherapy drugs have ...

Genetics created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Simponi approved for ulcerative colitis

(HealthDay)—Simponi (golimumab) injection has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

Medications created May 15, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Breast milk ingredient could prevent necrotizing enterocolitis—deadly intestinal problem in preemies

An ingredient that naturally occurs in breast milk might be used to prevent premature babies from developing a deadly intestinal condition that currently is largely incurable, according to researchers at the University of ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Targeting inflammation to treat depression

Researchers at Emory University have found that a medication that inhibits inflammation may offer new hope for people with difficult-to-treat depression. The study was published Sept. 3 in the online version of Archives of ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Sep 03, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (18) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Finding a new way to manage infections

(Medical Xpress)—Waging an immunological war against a pathogen is not the body's only way to survive an infection. Sometimes tolerance, or learning to live with an invader, can be just as important. In tolerance the body ...

Immunology created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Loneliness, like chronic stress, taxes the immune system

New research links loneliness to a number of dysfunctional immune responses, suggesting that being lonely has the potential to harm overall health.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jan 19, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (12) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

MicroRNA derails protein that blocks insulin production

(Medical Xpress)—Work by Michigan Technological University biologist Xiaoqing Tang is yielding new insights into how a tiny snippet of genetic material can promote healthy insulin production in mice.

Medical research created Sep 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Immune response linked to key enzyme

(Medical Xpress)—A previously unknown function of a family of enzymes familiar to biologists may contribute to scientists' understanding of signaling molecules involved in the body's immune response and ...

Immunology created Apr 12, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers identify new target for rheumatoid arthritis

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a potential new target for drugs to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a protein known as IRHOM2. The finding could provide an effective ...

Arthritis & Rheumatism created Jan 25, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover how melanoma cells circumvent the immune system

Melanoma is so dangerous because it tends to metastasize early on. New treatment approaches utilize, among other things, the ability of the immune defense to search out and destroy malignant cells. Yet this strategy is often ...

Cancer created Oct 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers elucidate cause of death of photoreceptor cells in retinitis pigmentosa

Research conducted at the Angiogenesis Laboratory at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, has for the first time, identified the mode of death of cone photoreceptor cells in an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

Ophthalmology created Aug 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Some harmful effects of light at night can be reversed: study

Chronic exposure to dim light at night can lead to depressive symptoms in rodents -- but these negative effects can be reversed simply by returning to a standard light-dark cycle, a new study suggests.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Jul 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover molecular link between circadian clock disturbances and inflammatory diseases

Scientists have known for some time that throwing off the body's circadian rhythm can negatively affect body chemistry. In fact, workers whose sleep-wake cycles are disrupted by night shifts are more susceptible to chronic ...

Medical research created Aug 01, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Cell-destroyer that fights and promotes TB reveals what's behind its split identity

Tumor necrosis factor—normally an infection-fighting substance produced by the body—can actually heighten susceptibility to tuberculosis if its levels are too high. University of Washington TB researchers ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 11, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Imipramine blue: Novel compound halts tumor spread, improves brain cancer treatment in animal studies

Treating invasive brain tumors with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation has improved clinical outcomes, but few patients survive longer than two years after diagnosis. The effectiveness of the treatment ...

Cancer created Mar 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Necrosis (from the Greek νεκρός, "dead", νέκρωσις, "death, the stage of dying, the act of killing") is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death. While apoptosis often provides beneficial effects to the organism, necrosis is almost always detrimental and can be fatal.

Cells that die due to necrosis do not usually send the same chemical signals to the immune system that cells undergoing apoptosis do. This prevents nearby phagocytes from locating and engulfing the dead cells, leading to a build-up of dead tissue and cell debris at or near the site of the cell death. For this reason, it is often necessary to remove necrotic tissue surgically, a process known as debridement.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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