http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a gene that, when repressed in tumor cells, puts a halt to cell growth and a range of processes needed for tumors to enlarge and spread to distant sites. The researchers hope that this so-called "master regulator" gene may be the key to developing a new treatment for tumors resistant to current drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cancer-cancerous-blocking-gene-tumors.html Cancer Thu, 02 May 2013 17:02:44 EST news286732952 Through a series of investigations in mice and humans, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified a protein that appears to be the target of both antidepressant drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Results of their experiments explain how these therapies likely work to relieve depression by stimulating stem cells in the brain to grow and mature. In addition, the researchers say, these experiments raise the possibility of predicting individual people's response to depression therapy, and fine-tuning treatment accordingly. Reports on separate aspects of the research were published in December on the Molecular Psychiatry website, and will also appear in the Feb. 7 issue of Cell Stem Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-uncovers-key-antidepressant-response.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:01 EST news279448470 (Medical Xpress)—As anyone familiar with the X-Men knows, mutants can be either very good or very bad—or somewhere in between. The same appears true within cancer cells, which may harbor hundreds of mutations that set them apart from other cells in the body; the scientific challenge has been to figure out which mutations are culprits and which are innocent bystanders. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have devised a novel approach to sorting them out: they generated random mutations in a gene associated with lymphoma, tested the proteins produced by the genes to see how they performed, and generated a catalog of mutants with cancer-causing potential. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-technique-lymphoma-linked-genetic-variations.html Cancer Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:14:18 EST news275836453 A team led by Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, Director of the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, has shown for the first time the effectiveness of a new technique that could allow the development of more-specific, cell-based immune therapies for cancer. Their findings were reported online today in Nature Biotechnology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-cell-technique-cell-based-immune-therapies.html Cancer Sun, 16 Dec 2012 13:00:20 EST news274884184 (Medical Xpress)—Johns Hopkins researchers have used a small synthetic molecule to stimulate cells to move and change shape, bypassing the cells' usual way of sensing and responding to their environment. The experiment pioneers a new tool for studying cell movement, a phenomenon involved in everything from development to immunity to the spread of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-microchoreography-synthetic-molecule-cellular.html Medical research Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:00:28 EST news273938404 A small molecule known to regulate white blood cells has a surprising second role in protecting brain cells from the deleterious effects of stroke, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The molecule, microRNA-223, affects how cells respond to the temporary loss of blood supply brought on by stroke—and thus the cells' likelihood of suffering permanent damage. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-duty-immune-brain-effects.html Immunology Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:48:07 EST news273336473 Johns Hopkins researchers report concrete steps in the use of human stem cells to test how diseased cells respond to drugs. Their success highlights a pathway toward faster, cheaper drug development for some genetic illnesses, as well as the ability to pre-test a therapy's safety and effectiveness on cultured clones of a patient's own cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-advances-stem-cells-personalized-medicine.html Medical research Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:37:33 EST news273166640 (Phys.org)—Johns Hopkins researchers have uncovered a protein "partner" commonly used by breast cancer cells to unlock genes needed for spreading the disease around the body. A report on the discovery, published November 5 on the website of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, details how some tumors get the tools they need to metastasize. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-link-molecular-culprit-breast-cancer.html Cancer Sun, 25 Nov 2012 07:30:01 EST news273049193 The invasion of cancer cells into the lymph vessels that connect the breast to surrounding lymph nodes is the first step leading to the metastasis, or spread, of cancer throughout the body. Metastasis is the primary cause of breast cancer deaths. Surprisingly little is known about the control of this process and how it might be interrupted to prolong the lives of women with breast cancer. In a study to be reported Sept. 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition, researchers at Johns Hopkins describe their discovery of how a protein responsible for cell survival in low oxygen can trigger the spread of cancer cells into the lymphatic system in a mouse model of breast cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-breast-cancer-key-lymph-node.html Cancer Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:00:27 EST news266494200 Johns Hopkins scientists have developed a reliable method to turn the clock back on blood cells, restoring them to a primitive stem cell state from which they can then develop into any other type of cell in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-blood-cells-stem-cell-state.html Medical research Wed, 22 Aug 2012 11:19:26 EST news264853158 Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have figured out how stem cells found in a part of the brain responsible for learning, memory and mood regulation decide to remain dormant or create new brain cells. Apparently, the stem cells "listen in" on the chemical communication among nearby neurons to get an idea about what is stressing the system and when they need to act. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-brain-stem-cells-eavesdrop.html Medical research Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:45:32 EST news263475912 Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a single protein molecule may hold the key to turning cardiac stem cells into blood vessels or muscle tissue, a finding that may lead to better ways to treat heart attack patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-master-molecule-stem-cell-treatment.html Cardiology Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:35:50 EST news259424199 The spread of breast cancer is responsible for more than 90 percent of breast cancer deaths. Now, the process by which it spreads -- or metastasizes -- has been unraveled by researchers at Johns Hopkins. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-breast-cancer-lung.html Cancer Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:27:56 EST news240658068 Cells grow abundant when oxygen is available, and generally stop when it is scarce. Although this seems straightforward, no direct link ever has been established between the cellular machinery that senses oxygen and that which controls cell division. Now, in the June 10 issue of Molecular Cell, researchers at Johns Hopkins report that the MCM proteins, which promote cell division, also directly control the oxygen-sensing HIF-1 protein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-link-cell-division-oxygen.html Medical research Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:46:39 EST news226982766 (Medical Xpress) -- It's long been known that cancer cells eat a lot of sugar to stay alive. In fact, where normal, noncancerous cells generate energy from using some sugar and a lot of oxygen, cancerous cells use virtually no oxygen and a lot of sugar. Many genes have been implicated in this process and now, reporting in the May 27 issue of Cell, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that this so-called Warburg effect is controlled. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-cancer-energetics.html Cancer Sat, 04 Jun 2011 02:20:39 EST news226372765