http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Little is known about why asthma develops, how it constricts the airway or why response to treatments varies between patients. Now, a team of researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University Medical Center and SUNY Downstate Medical Center has revealed the roots of a common type of childhood asthma, showing that it is very different from other asthma cases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-common-childhood-asthma-unconnected-allergens.html Inflammatory disorders Thu, 23 May 2013 13:34:48 EST news288534882 Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have successfully tested their novel anti-cocaine vaccine in primates, bringing them closer to launching human clinical trials. Their study, published online by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, used a radiological technique to demonstrate that the anti-cocaine vaccine prevented the drug from reaching the brain and producing a dopamine-induced high. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cocaine-vaccine-key-hurdle.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 10 May 2013 14:08:40 EST news287413696 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers from Manchester Biomedical Research Centre at Saint Mary's Hospital and the University of Manchester have identified a new gene, which increases our understanding of the rare inherited disorder Perrault syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-breakthrough-deafness-ovarian-failure-syndrome.html Genetics Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:55:42 EST news283762531 Two studies led by investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College shed light on the molecular biology of three blood disorders, leading to novel strategies to treat these diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-decode-biology-blood-iron-disorders.html Medical research Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:39:50 EST news283437564 A new online database combining symptoms, family history and genetic sequencing information is speeding the search for diseases caused by a single rogue gene. As described in an article in the May issue of Human Mutation, the database, known as PhenoDB, enables any clinician to document cases of unusual genetic diseases for analysis by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine or the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. If a review committee agrees that the patient may indeed have a previously unknown genetic disease, the patient and some of his or her family members may be offered free comprehensive genetic testing in an effort to identify the disease culprit. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-database-genetic-discoveries.html Genetics Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:09:33 EST news282820165 Genetic medicine experts from Manchester Biomedical Research Centre at Saint Mary's Hospital and The University of Manchester have identified a new gene responsible for causing an inherited form of tumour, known as spinal meningioma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-genetic-key-spine-tumours.html Genetics Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:25:45 EST news280142716 A team led by Vanderbilt University investigators has discovered two new genes – both coding for the signaling protein calmodulin – associated with severe early-onset disorders of heart rhythm. The findings, reported online Feb. 6 in the journal Circulation, expand the list of culprits that can cause sudden cardiac death and may point to new therapeutic approaches. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-calcium-binding-protein-mutations-heart-rhythm.html Cardiology Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:00:13 EST news279377526 A cocktail of three specific genes can reprogram cells in the scars caused by heart attacks into functioning muscle cells, and the addition of a gene that stimulates the growth of blood vessels enhances that effect, said researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College, Baylor College of Medicine and Stony Brook University Medical Center in a report that appears online in the Journal of the American Heart Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-gene-therapy-reprograms-scar-tissue.html Cardiology Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:50:22 EST news276540604 So, is it a girl or a boy? This is the first question parents ask at the birth of an infant. Though the answer is obvious, the mechanism of sex determination is much less so. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) attempt to shed light on this complex process by identifying the crucial role played by insulin and IGF1 and IGF2 growth factors, a family of hormones known for its role in metabolism and growth. In the absence of these factors at the time of sex determination, embryos do not differentiate into either male or female and have no adrenal glands. The results of this study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, allow us to better understand sexual development and will eventually improve diagnosis and genetic counseling practices for individuals with disorders of sex development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-embryo-male-female.html Genetics Thu, 03 Jan 2013 17:00:10 EST news276442976 (Medical Xpress)—Diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, a group of patients too ill for or not responding to other treatment options decided to take part in a clinical trial testing angiogenic gene therapy to help rebuild their damaged blood vessels. More than 10 years later, in a follow-up review of these patients, doctors at Baylor College of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College (where the clinical trial and review took place) and Stony Brook University Medical Center report the outcomes are promising and open the door for larger trials to begin. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-rebuilding-blood-vessels-gene-therapy.html Cardiology Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:16:46 EST news275300096 Targeted cancer therapy has been transforming the care of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is now standard practice for tumor specimens from NSCLC patients to be examined for EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements to identify patients for therapy with EGFR and ALK inhibitors, respectively. Now, researchers say large-scale genomic testing is feasible within the clinical workflow, impacting therapeutic decisions. The study is published in the December 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-large-scale-genomic-feasible-impacts-therapy.html Cancer Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:26:19 EST news272208370 A recent finding by medical geneticists sheds new light on how Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy develops and how it might be treated. More commonly known as FSHD, the devastating disease affects both men and women. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-mutations-genes-dna-packaging-result.html Genetics Sun, 11 Nov 2012 13:00:03 EST news271860742 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 Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-anti-body-vaccine-blocks-addictive-nicotine.html Medical research Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:00:07 EST news260010070 An international team led by human genetic researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health has identified the latest gene associated with typical late-onset Lewy body Parkinson's disease (PD), with the help of a Canadian Mennonite family of Dutch-German-Russian ancestry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-parkinson-disease-gene-mennonite-family.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 27 Jun 2012 02:50:33 EST news259984002 Researchers at Johns Hopkins have identified a gene that modifies the risk of newborns with cystic fibrosis (CF) developing neonatal intestinal obstruction, a potentially lethal complication of CF. Their findings, which appeared online March 15 in PLoS Genetics, along with the findings of their Toronto-based colleagues, published April 1 in Nature Genetics, may lead to a better understanding of how the intestines work and pave the way for identifying genes involved in secondary complications of other disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-uncover-genes-fault-cystic-fibrosis-related.html Genetics Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:59:11 EST news254419141 A team of researchers led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College has designed what appears to be a powerful gene therapy strategy that can treat both beta-thalassemia disease and sickle cell anemia. They have also developed a test to predict patient response before treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-gene-therapy-approach-red-blood.html Genetics Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:32:51 EST news252088361 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers have identified genetic causes in nearly 1 in 5 patients who suffer a type of heart failure called dilated cardiomyopathy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-genetic-patients-dilated-cardiomyopathy-heart.html Cardiology Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:52:23 EST news252053513 Symptoms improved significantly in adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B following a single treatment with gene therapy developed by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and demonstrated to be safe in a clinical trial conducted at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-method-boosts-blood-clotting-hemophiliacs.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 11 Dec 2011 03:17:03 EST news242795804 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 Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College say they have taken an important step forward in their quest to "turn on" lung regeneration -- an advance that could effectively treat millions of people suffering from respiratory disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-lung-regeneration-closer-reality-discovery.html Medical research Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:17:00 EST news239084206 A new genetic defect that predisposes people to acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia has been discovered. The mutations were found in the GATA2 gene. Among its several regulatory roles, the gene acts as a master control during the transition of primitive blood-forming cells into white blood cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-gene-defect-predisposes-people-leukemia.html Genetics Sun, 04 Sep 2011 13:01:42 EST news234359162 Using human breast cancer cells and the protein that causes fireflies to glow, a Johns Hopkins team has shed light on why some breast cancer cells become resistant to the anticancer effects of the drug tamoxifen. The key is a discovery of two genetic "dimmer switches" that apparently control how a breast cancer gene responds to the female hormone estrogen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-breast-cancers-sensitivity-estrogen.html Cancer Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:50:01 EST news230984527 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 Using geriatric mice, a Johns Hopkins research team has shown that losartan, a commonly used blood pressure drug, not only improves regeneration of injured muscle but also protects against its wasting away from inactivity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-losartan-loss-muscle.html Medical research Wed, 11 May 2011 14:00:16 EST news224338835 There are more than 1 million blind people in the U.S., and about 100,000 of those lost their sight due to retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that destroys light-sensitive cells in the retina. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-optogenetic-technology-visual-behavior-mice.html Medical research Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:19:51 EST news222495572