http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken of VIB (Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) and KU Leuven has shown for the first time that dysfunctional mitochondria in brain cells can lead to learning disabilities. The link between dysfunctional mitochondria and Parkinson's disease is known, but this new research shows that it is also present in other brain disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-faulty-energy-production-brain-cells.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Fri, 17 May 2013 08:30:01 EST news287996248 Acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children under the age of 14 years. With optimum treatment, approximately 75 % of children are currently cured, but the treatment consists of severe chemotherapy with many side effects. In collaboration with international research teams, scientists at VIB, KU Leuven and UZ Leuven have identified new genetic mutations that lead to T-ALL, a variant of ALL. They have unmasked the ribosome – the molecular machine in the cell that is involved in the production of proteins – as a weak spot in leukemia cells. Their research has also shown that there is a difference in T-ALL between adults and children. Both findings can be important in the search for improved treatments for T-ALL. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-mechanisms-t-all-leukemia-primarily.html Cancer Sun, 23 Dec 2012 13:00:42 EST news275488610 Unfortunately, newspaper articles about young athletes dying suddenly on the field are not unheard of. Such reports fuel discussions about compulsory screening, for example of young footballers, for heart failure. Research by scientists from Ghent (VIB/UGent) and Italy will benefit these screening methods. They have discovered a link between mutations in a certain gene and the heart condition Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-discovery-screening-sudden-cardiac-death.html Cardiology Wed, 12 Dec 2012 10:39:58 EST news274531181 Scientists from VIB and KU Leuven have discovered a new target molecule for the development of a treatment against Alzheimer's disease. There is currently no cure for this disease. Many candidate drugs fail because they also target proteins essential to life. This discovery from Leuven could form a target for a treatment against Alzheimer's disease with fewer side effects and that suppresses the very first symptoms of the disease. This research will be published in the leading journal Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-pathway-treatment-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:15:45 EST news273759332 VIB researchers from UGent and Vrije Universiteit Brussel , together with a team of the firm Oxyrane have developed a new technology that can lead to a more efficient and possibly also cheaper therapy for diseases such as Pompe disease. Oxyrane will now start developing a clinical program for this therapy in Pompe disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-technology-efficient-treatment-pompe-disease.html Medical research Mon, 19 Nov 2012 09:21:21 EST news272539272 Flemish biologists lead by Joris Messens (VIB / Vrije Universiteit Brussel) have discovered that Mycobacterium tuberculosis – the bacterium that causes tuberculosis – has an ingenious defence mechanism against oxygen. This knowledge is important in the search for a treatment for tuberculosis. 9.4 million people are infected with tuberculosis annually and 1.7 million people die as a result. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-link-defense-mechanism-tuberculosis-pathogen.html Medical research Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:02:01 EST news272102503 Scientists affiliated with VIB and UGent have discovered a mechanism used by the protein A20 to combat inflammation. This could be a very important point of focus in the search for a treatment for autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, in which the patient suffers from chronic, uncontrolled inflammation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-focus-treatment-rheumatoid-arthritis-autoimmune.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:07:42 EST news268999655 Two to three percent of the children are born with an intellectual disability. Possibly by a genetic defect, but in 80% of these cases, we do not know – yet - which genes are responsible. VIB researchers at KU Leuven show that increased production of the HUWE1 protein is the cause in some patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-protein-huwe1-intellectual-disability.html Genetics Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:12:05 EST news265626718 Leuven scientists (VIB/KU Leuven) are using zebrafish as a model in their search for genes that play a role in the mechanism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As a result, they have identified a molecule that could be the target for a future ALS treatment. ALS is a progressive degenerative motor neuron disease for which there currently is no treatment. Their study has been published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-zebra-fish-therapies-amyotrophic-lateral.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:52:30 EST news265283534 Researchers in Leuven (VIB/KU Leuven) have confirmed their hypothesis that normalizing blood vessels by blocking oxygen sensor PHD2 would make chemotherapy more effective. They also demonstrated for the first time that this strategy would reduce the harmful side effects of chemotherapy on healthy organs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-scientists-uncover-strategy-chemotherapy-side.html Cancer Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:21:51 EST news264158505 ​A melanoma is a malignant form of skin cancer and is one of the most aggressive types of tumors there is. Treatment is particularly difficult, because melanomas are usually resistant against conventional chemotherapy treatments. Agnieszka Gembarska and Chris Marine http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-line-approach-combination-therapy-melanoma.html Cancer Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:29:16 EST news262258148 VIB researcher Diether Lambrechts, associated with KU Leuven, has discovered a biomarker that might potentially predict which patients will benefit more from treatment with bevacizumab (Avastin). If validated, this discovery could be an important step towards personalized medicine and patient-tailored use of this important cancer drug. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-biomarker-response-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Mon, 21 May 2012 10:13:41 EST news256813986 Neuroscientist Patrik Verstreken, associated with VIB and KU Leuven, succeeded in undoing the effect of one of the genetic defects that leads to Parkinson's using vitamin K2. His discovery gives hope to Parkinson's patients. This research was done in collaboration with colleagues from Northern Illinois University (US) and will be published this evening on the website of the authorative journal Science. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-vitamin-k2-parkinson-patients.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Fri, 11 May 2012 09:42:05 EST news255948107 VIB researchers have developed a mouse model for Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) neuropathy, a hereditary disease of the peripheral nervous system. They also found a potential therapy for this incurable disease. The treatment not only halted the damage to the nerves and the atrophy of the muscles, it even succeeded in reversing the symptoms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-mice-therapy-charcot-marie-tooth-disease.html Dentistry Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:10:07 EST news231505760 One in three women will be faced at least once in her life with cystitis, for some the start of a constantly recurring infection. Cystitis is caused by Escherichia coli bacteria which fasten on to the wall of the bladder by means of thread-like structures (pili). Han Remaut of the VIB Department for Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel reveals for the first time the complex interactions which lead to the formation of these pili. This knowledge can be used to develop new antibiotics to treat infections of the urinary tract. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-strategy-combat-cystitis.html Medical research Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:52:58 EST news226317149