http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A malarial drug is showing promise in stopping breast cancer before it starts, Mason researchers are discovering during a clinical trial. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-george-mason-university-breast-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:28:32 EST news270998766 An injection of banked sperm-producing stem cells can restore fertility to male primates who become sterile due to cancer drug side effects, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute. In their animal study, which was published today in Cell Stem Cell, previously frozen stem cells restored production of sperm that successfully fertilized eggs to produce early embryos. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-male-fertility-cancer-treatment.html Medical research Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:00:08 EST news270988629 (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at The University of Auckland's Centre for Brain Research have succeeded in converting human skin cells directly into immature brain cells (or neural precursor cells). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-crucial-advance-stem-cell-human.html Medical research Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:22:33 EST news267949313 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed a new way to identify and study the stem cells that are capable of giving rise to new Leydig cells in adult testes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-stem-cell-method-leydig-cells.html Medical research Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:47:23 EST news266140002 UCLA stem cell scientists have shown that two common tumor suppressor genes, TSC and PTEN, are vital to regulating the stem cell-like precursor cells that create the blood supply in Drosophila, the common fruit fly. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-tumor-suppressor-genes-vital-blood.html Medical research Wed, 05 Sep 2012 10:48:54 EST news266060848 (Medical Xpress)—Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be coaxed into becoming precursor sperm cells, suggesting that it might be possible one day to restore fertility for sterile males with an easily obtained skin sample, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings are available today in the online version of Cell Reports. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-sperm-precursor-cells-lab-day.html Medical research Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:37:12 EST news265365418 Neural precursor cells (NPC) in the young brain suppress certain brain tumors such as high-grade gliomas, especially glioblastoma (GBM), which are among the most common and most aggressive tumors. Now researchers of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have deciphered the underlying mechanism of action with which neural precursor cells protect the young brain against these tumors. They found that the NPC release substances that activate TRPV1 ion channels in the tumor cells and subsequently induce the tumor cells to undergo stress-induced cell-death. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-neural-precursor-cells-cell-death.html Cancer Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:40:19 EST news262262403 It is not unusual for babies to be born with congenital heart defects. This is because the development of the heart in the embryo is a process which is not only extremely complex, but also error-prone. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now identified a key molecule that plays a central role in regulating the function of stem cells in the heart. As a result, not only could congenital heart defects be avoided in future, but new ways of stimulating the regeneration of damaged hearts in adults may be opened up. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-finished-heart-stem-cells.html Medical research Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:26:29 EST news261314746 German biologists have deliberately transformed stem cells from the spinal cord of mice into immature nerve cells. This was achieved by changing the cellular environment, known as the extracellular matrix, using the substance sodium chlorate. Via sugar side chains, the extracellular matrix determines which cell type a stem cell can generate. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-fate-stem-cells-immature-nerve.html Medical research Thu, 28 Jun 2012 09:42:55 EST news260095363 Stem cells from patients with a rare form of muscular dystrophy have been successfully transplanted into mice affected by the same form of dystrophy, according to a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-successful-transplant-patient-derived-stem-cells.html Medical research Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:00:05 EST news260010182 Fruit flies and humans both rely on hormones secreted by insulin-producing cells (IPCs) for metabolic maintenance and the regulation of numerous other physiological processes. In some ways, fly IPCs differ considerably from their mammalian counterparts; they emerge from different embryonic precursor cells, and reside within the brain rather than the pancreas. Yet, they also show striking functional similarities. Now, new findings from Takashi Nishimura and colleagues at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe have demonstrated that these cells employ highly similar molecular mechanisms to manage hormone production.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-common-path-metabolic-maintenance.html Medical research Fri, 15 Jun 2012 09:20:18 EST news258970808 Japanese researchers have created a functioning human liver from stemcells, a report said Friday, raising hopes for the manufacture of artificial organs for those in need of transplants. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-japan-team-liver-stem-cells.html Medical research Fri, 08 Jun 2012 04:50:02 EST news258349148 (Medical Xpress) -- UCLA stem-cell researchers have identified a certain type of cell and a signaling pathway in the placental niche that play a key role in stopping blood stem cells from differentiating into mature blood cells in the placenta. Preventing this premature differentiation is critical to ensuring a proper blood supply for an individual's lifetime. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scientists-crucial-cell-pathway-placental.html Medical research Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:34:10 EST news249827642 For the first time, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have isolated egg-producing stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and shown these cells can produce what appear to be normal egg cells or oocytes. In the March issue of Nature Medicine, the team from the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology at MGH reports the latest follow-up study to their now-landmark 2004 Nature paper that first suggested female mammals continue producing egg cells into adulthood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-scientists-isolate-egg-producing-stem-cells.html Medical research Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:00:11 EST news249480547 T-cells are the immune system's security force. They seek out pathogens and rogue cells in the body and put them out of action. Their precursors are formed in the bone marrow and migrate from there into the thymus. Here, they mature and differentiate to perform a variety of tasks. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have now succeeded for the first time in observing the maturation of immune cells in live zebrafish embryos. During their development, the immune cells migrate into and out of the thymus more than once. The zebrafish is thus an ideal animal model for studying the dynamic processes of immune cell development. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-thymus-t-cells.html Medical research Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:41:46 EST news248704887 When SUMO grips STAT5, a protein that activates genes, it blocks the healthy embryonic development of immune B cells and T cells unless its nemesis breaks the hold, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports today in Molecular Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-sumo-snipping-protein-crucial-role-cell.html Genetics Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:42:33 EST news246890507 The thalamus is the central translator in the brain: Specialized nerve cells (neurons) receive information from the sensory organs, process it, and transmit it deep into the brain. Researchers from the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics of KIT have now identified the genetic factors Lhx2 and Lhx9 responsible for the development of these neurons. Their results contribute to understanding the development of the thalamus. In the long term, they are to help healing thalamic strokes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-major-results-thalamus-relay-center.html Neuroscience Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:15:13 EST news243079990 Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered two proteins that are essential for the fusion of muscle cells to build muscle fibres. Their discovery might help us better understand and treat illnesses such as muscle-wasting disorders and diseases of bone over-growth, in which cellular fusion is an important feature. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-jamb-jamc-essential-proteins-fusion.html Medical research Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:00:11 EST news243005647 The word's first artificial windpipe transplant has been such a success that a second operation has been carried out and a third is being planned, The Lancet reported on Thursday. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-recipient-artificial-windpipe-graft.html Other Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:13:56 EST news241330419 Ependymomas are the second most frequent type of malignant brain tumor in children. Ependymoma develops from precursor cells of the tissue that lines the hollow cavities of the brain. Therapy results of ependymoma vary immensely: While in some patients tumor growth comes to a standstill after surgery and radiotherapy, in other children the disease rapidly takes a severe course. In about half of those affected the tumor continues to grow and the patients often succumb to the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-brain-tumors-two-tier.html Cancer Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:37:40 EST news233314628 Scientists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research have shown that a mutation in the lipid kinase PI3K, which occurs in about 30% of human breast cancers, itself evokes different forms of breast cancer. While this kinase has long been associated with cancer, and is a target for anti-tumor therapy, it is now shown to be causal for multiple types of breast cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-breast-cancer-mutant-pi3k-recapitulates.html Cancer Tue, 12 Jul 2011 10:47:27 EST news229686432 Using a mouse genetic system co-developed by researchers at the University of Oregon and Stanford University, a research team led by UO biologist Hui Zong has isolated the cellular origin for malignant glioma, a deadly human brain cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-cellular-deadly-brain-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:43:05 EST news229261370 German researchers succeed in obtaining brain and spinal cord cells from stem cells of the peripheral nervous system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-neural-stem-cells.html Neuroscience Thu, 12 May 2011 11:19:23 EST news224417912