http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule produced in the brain, can damage neurons. When the brain produces too much nitric oxide, it contributes to the severity and progression of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute recently discovered that nitric oxide not only damages neurons, it also shuts down the brain's repair mechanisms. Their study was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of February 4. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-chemical-reaction-stroke-damaged-brain.html Medical research Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:59:38 EST news279215970 (Medical Xpress)—Muscular dystrophy is caused by the largest human gene, a complex chemical leviathan that has confounded scientists for decades. Research conducted at the University of Missouri and described this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified significant sections of the gene that could provide hope to young patients and families. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-scientists-needle-haystack-muscular-dystrophy.html Medical research Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:11:27 EST news278089867 Usually, results from a new study help scientists inch their way toward an answer whether they are battling a health problem or are on the verge of a technological breakthrough. Once in a while, those results give them a giant leap forward. In a preliminary study in a canine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), University of Missouri scientists showed exactly such a leap using gene therapy to treat muscular dystrophy. The results of the study will be published in the journal Molecular Therapy on Jan. 15, 2013. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-quantum-gene-therapy-duchenne-muscular.html Medical research Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:46:25 EST news277469173 (Medical Xpress)—A University of Colorado Cancer Center study in this month's edition of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology describes a new target and potential treatment for melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. MicroRNA can decide which genes in a cell's DNA are expressed and which stay silent. Melanoma tends to lack microRNA-26a, which makes the gene SODD go silent. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-serendipity-potential-therapy-melanoma.html Cancer Thu, 20 Dec 2012 12:24:26 EST news275228659 Between the blueprint of the genome and the products of its expression lie microRNAs, which can boost or lower the rate at which genes become stuff. In fact, many cancers use microRNA to magnify the expression of faulty genes or shrink the expression of helpful genes that would otherwise suppress tumors. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the December issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that in medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor of children, microRNA-218 is especially low. The article also shows that adding microRNA-218 to neural stem cells engineered to develop medulloblastoma decreases the development of the cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-microrna-medulloblastoma-aggressive-childhood-brain.html Cancer Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:37:29 EST news274617443 Approximately 250,000 people in the United States suffer from muscular dystrophy, which occurs when damaged muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous, bony or fatty tissue and loses function. Three years ago, University of Missouri scientists found a molecular compound that is vital to curing the disease, but they didn't know how to make the compound bind to the muscle cells. In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, MU School of Medicine scientists Yi Lai and Dongsheng Duan have discovered the missing pieces to this puzzle that could ultimately lead to a therapy and, potentially, a longer lifespan for patients suffering from the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-muscular-dystrophy-mystery-mu-scientists.html Medical research Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:04:55 EST news274118671 Several drugs companies have ineffectively tried to produce antibodies that bind to the IGF-1 receptor on the cell surface, which has a critical part to play in the development of cancer. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now ascertained how these antibodies work, and can explain why only some cancer patients are helped by IGF-1 blockers during clinical tests. The researchers also present a means by which drugs of this kind could help more cancer patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-setback-dogged-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:54:16 EST news273167641 A study published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Skeletal Muscle reports of a new therapeutic technique to repair and rebuild muscle for sufferers of degenerative muscle disorders. The therapy brings together two existing techniques for muscle repair – cell transplantation and tissue engineering – specifically, mesoangioblast stem cells delivered via a hydrogel cell-carrier matrix. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-degeneration-regeneration-advances-skeletal-muscle.html Medical research Mon, 26 Nov 2012 13:21:38 EST news273158490 As is true of many brain structures, the hippocampus, which plays a central role in memory and learning, is made up of multiple cell types organized into domains controlling different functions. Distinct from many other brain regions, however, the hippocampus is a site of active neuronal generation in the adult. Its distinctive pyramidal neurons are contained mainly in the cornu ammonis (CA), while another hippocampal region called the dentate gyrus (DG) is characterized by granule cells. While it is known that the survival of these granule cells relies on the activity of specific transcription factors, how they arise during the differentiation of the hippocampus has remained unknown. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-transcription-factor-prox1-hippocampal-cellular.html Neuroscience Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:55:14 EST news269596504 Researchers may have discovered a new explanation as to why obese patients with cancer often have a poorer prognosis compared with those who are lean. The potential explanation is based on data reported in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-link-obesity-higher-incidence-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 15 Oct 2012 06:16:05 EST news269500558 Uterine fibroids are the most common type of pelvic tumors in women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover a genetic risk allele (an alternative form of a gene) for uterine fibroids in white women using an unbiased, genome-wide approach. This discovery will pave the way for new screening strategies and treatments for uterine fibroids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-genetic-uterine-fibroids.html Genetics Thu, 04 Oct 2012 12:04:42 EST news268571064 A mysterious form of cell death, coded in proteins and enzymes, led to a discovery by UNC researchers uncovering a prime suspect for new cancer drug development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-cell-death-mystery-yields-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:26:06 EST news266750756 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 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and Wayne State University have discovered that tumor cell survival relies on adaptation to acidic conditions in the tumor microenvironment. Their research investigating the effects of acidity on breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines revealed the importance of autophagy in acidic microenvironments and suggests that a successful treatment strategy might be based on this autophagic dependence. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-acidic-ph-microenvironments-tumors-aid.html Cancer Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:59:05 EST news266122675 Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered a mutant form of the gene, Chk1, that when expressed in cancer cells, permanently stopped their proliferation and caused cell death without the addition of any chemotherapeutic drugs. This study illustrates an unprecedented finding, that artificially activating Chk1 alone is sufficient to kill cancer cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-gene-permanently-cancer-cell-proliferation.html Cancer Wed, 01 Aug 2012 00:20:01 EST news262978935 It is a cellular component so scarce, some scientists even doubted its existence, and many others gave up searching for its molecular structure. Now a team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins has defined the protein structural composition of mitoKATP, a potassium channel in the mitochondria of the heart and other organs that is known to protect against tissue damage due to a heart attack or stroke. Importantly, the newly found channel strongly improves heart cell survival, demonstrating an essential life-saving role. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-year-quest-scientists-pin-elusive.html Cardiology Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:03 EST news261750478 Double-stranded breaks in cellular DNA can trigger tumorigenesis. Researchers from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich, Germany, have determined the structure of a protein involved in the repair and signaling of DNA double-strand breaks. The work throws new light on the origins of neurodegenerative diseases and certain tumor types. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-detector-dna-factor-revealed.html Medical research Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:15:09 EST news259323299 A molecule thought to limit cell proliferation also helps cancer cells survive during initial tumor formation and when the wayward cells spread to other organs in the body, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-key-enzyme-roles-friend-foe.html Medical research Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:55:53 EST news258882913 Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators suggests that safeguarding cell survival and maintaining a balanced immune system is just the start of the myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1) protein's work. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-key-protein-newly-function-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:50:01 EST news255004486 With more than 1.7 million people sustaining a traumatic brain injury each year, the need to identify processes to limit inflammation and subsequent damage is critical. Approximately 275,000 people are hospitalized annually with traumatic brain injury, leaving 85,000 with long-term disabilities and taking the lives of more than 50,000. More than 5 million people live with disabilities caused by traumatic brain injuries, often the result of car accidents and falls. Direct and indirect costs exceed $75 billion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-estrogen-hormone-reveals-ability-traumatic.html Medical research Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:03:52 EST news254372618 Scientists who developed a technology for identifying and targeting unique protein receptor ZIP Codes on the cellular surface have found a way to penetrate the outer membrane and deliver engineered particles - called iPhage - to organelles inside the cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-scientists-tailor-cell-surface-organelle.html Medical research Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:17:25 EST news253898239 Combined, complimentary therapies have the ability to maximize the benefits of neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation for spinal cord repair in rat models, according to a study carried out by a team of Korean researchers who published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:9), now freely available on-line. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-neural-stem-cell-transplants-spinal.html Medical research Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:14:44 EST news253898054 Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers seeking a successful treatment for traumatic brain injury have found that the size and extent of damaged tissue can be reduced by using a new device to prevent cell death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-mechanical-tissue-resuscitation-technology.html Surgery Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:13:52 EST news253815227 Scientists modified a protein in the heart which dramatically reduced cell damage after heart attacks, according to new research published the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-protein-heart.html Cardiology Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:39:08 EST news249842335 Scientists at the Diabetes Research Institute have developed a revolutionary technique to provide critical oxygen for maintaining the survival of insulin-producing cells. This is the first time that scientists have been able to successfully deliver oxygen locally to beta cells using a biomaterial. The results of the study, which represents a major step toward the goal of developing an alternative site to house insulin-producing cells, were just published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-oxygen-generating-biomaterial.html Medical research Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:13:46 EST news249840799 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues in California have found that the XL888 inhibitor can prevent resistance to the chemotherapy drug vemurafenib, commonly used for treating patients with melanoma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-potential-solution-melanoma-resistance-vemurafenib.html Cancer Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:33:32 EST news249669204 Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are conducting an early phase clinical trial of a novel drug therapy for patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The drug is a new compound called MSDC-0160, which is an insulin sensitizer that modulates mitochondrial metabolism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-mitochondrial-function-potential-therapeutic-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:48:00 EST news248521671 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have discovered that the immune response regulator IKBKE (serine/threonine kinase) plays two roles in tobacco-related non-small cell lung cancers. Tobacco carcinogens induce IKBKE and, in turn, IKBKE induces chemotherapy resistance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-important-role-tobacco-related-lung-cancers.html Cancer Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:55:37 EST news248014519 Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report that a short course of vaccination with an anti-HER2 dendritic cell vaccine made partly from the patient's own cells triggers a complete tumor eradication in nearly 20 percent of women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), an early breast cancer. More than 85 percent of patients appear to have a sustained immune response after vaccination, which may reduce their risk of developing a more invasive cancer in the future. The results of the study were published online this month of Cancer and in the January issue of the Journal of Immunotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-four-week-vaccination-regimen-early-breast.html Cancer Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:50:01 EST news247163863 Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered three genes that increase the risk of thyroid cancer, which is has the largest incidence increase in cancers among both men and women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-cleveland-clinic-genetic-thyroid-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:55:37 EST news243856364