http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Janelle Leuthaeuser is on the cutting edge of biophysics. A molecular genetics and genomics Ph.D. student, she is part of a nationwide effort to create a more efficient generation of protein-based drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-drugs-side-effects-explore-ways.html Medical research Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:29:50 EST news286180183 (Medical Xpress)—NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) and Mayo Clinic researchers have partnered on a study that shows genetic and clinical evidence that therapies targeting the expression of alpha-synuclein—a gene whose function is involved in the development and progression of Parkinson's disease—may accelerate disease progression and increase the risk of physical incapacitation and dementia. If replicated, the findings will have profound implications for therapies under development for Parkinson's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-genetic-evidence-therapies-parkinson-disease.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:20:06 EST news283076397 Following BRCA testing, many women who are non-BRCA carriers undergo risk-reducing procedures and additional ovarian cancer screenings, despite limited data to determine the effectiveness of these interventions among the general population, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-reduction-screening-ovarian-cancer-women.html Cancer Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:00:06 EST news274966977 (Medical Xpress)—In the early stages of that vast undertaking known as the Human Genome Project, enthusiasm ran high. The enterprise would be costly and laborious but the clinical rewards, unprecedented. Once the complete blueprint of life was unlocked, the genetic underpinnings for a broad range of human maladies would be laid bare, allowing custom-tailored diagnosis and treatment and revolutionizing the field of medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-genomic-thicket-disease-variants.html Genetics Tue, 25 Sep 2012 09:34:32 EST news267784453 Nuremberg, Germany: The first report of the diagnostic use of the technique of exome sequencing, where short sequences of DNA are analysed, shows that it can give good results at low cost, a researcher from The Netherlands will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday). The scientists were able to perform a genetic diagnosis in around 20% of 100 cases of patients with intellectual disability (ID) and 50% of the 25 cases of blindness studied. Not only is the exome test cheaper, but results are available more quickly than with Sanger sequencing[1], they say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-exome-sequencing-cheaper-faster-diagnosis.html Genetics Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:47:57 EST news259811262 A key protein, which may be activated to protect nerve cells from damage during heart failure or epileptic seizure, has been found to regulate the transfer of information between nerve cells in the brain. The discovery, made by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol and published in Nature Neuroscience and PNAS, could lead to novel new therapies for stroke and epilepsy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-neuroscientists-key-protein-responsible-nerve.html Neuroscience Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:00:07 EST news254301787 Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified a new type of potential anticancer drug. The compound, named FOBISIN, targets 14-3-3 proteins, important for the runaway growth of cancer cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-x-ray-protein-probe-potential-anticancer.html Cancer Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:52:51 EST news235061547 An international research team led by Queen's University have developed a ground breaking treatment for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. The new drug will benefit sufferers who have the 'Celtic Gene', a genetic mutation which is particularly common in Ireland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-scientists-drug-celtic-gene-cystic.html Medical research Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:07:38 EST news227786841 Traditionally, RNA was mostly known as the messenger molecule that carries protein-making instructions from a cell's nucleus to the cytoplasm. But scientists now estimate that approximately 97 percent of human RNA doesn't actually code for proteins at all. A flurry of research in the past decade has revealed that some types of non-coding RNAs switch genes on and off and influence protein function. The best studied non-coding RNAs are the microRNAs. Now, researchers led by Dr. Ranjan Perera at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) in Lake Nona and collaborators at the University of Queensland in Australia, have discovered that levels of a relatively understudied group of RNAs – long, non-coding RNA (lncRNA) – are altered in human melanoma. Their study, published online May 10 by the journal Cancer Research, shows that one lncRNA called SPRY4-IT1 is elevated in melanoma cells, where it promotes cellular survival and invasion. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-rna-spurs-melanoma.html Cancer Tue, 10 May 2011 13:18:38 EST news224252294 Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new tool for identifying protein function from genetic code. A team led by Stephen Ekker, Ph.D., succeeded in switching individual genes off and on in zebrafish, then observing embryonic and juvenile development. The study appears in the journal Nature Methods. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-genetic-zebrafish-genes.html Genetics Sun, 08 May 2011 13:00:40 EST news224056027