http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Medical researchers have manipulated human stem cells into producing types of brain cells known to play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. The new model cell system allows neuroscientists to investigate normal brain development, as well as to identify specific disruptions in biological signals that may contribute to neuropsychiatric diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-human-stem-cells-brain-neural.html Medical research Thu, 02 May 2013 13:37:10 EST news286720594 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers at King's College London's Dental Institute have shown that people with a certain kind of kidney disease have characteristic facial features that may reflect the genetic mutation they carry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-link-facial-kidney-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:04:16 EST news286005850 The blood of young and old people differs. In an article published recently in the scientific journal Blood, a research group at Lund University in Sweden explain how they have succeeded in rejuvenating the blood of mice by reversing, or re-programming, the stem cells that produce blood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-reversing-blood-freshening.html Medical research Mon, 25 Mar 2013 10:13:11 EST news283425183 Mouse model studies show that administered genetically or topically, protein Smad7 protects against or heals mouth sores commonly associated with cancer treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drug-radiotherapy-associated-oral-mucositis.html Cancer Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:44:36 EST news282321870 Scientists have developed a new method of replacing missing teeth with a bioengineered material generated from a person's own gum cells. Current implant-based methods of whole tooth replacement fail to reproduce a natural root structure and as a consequence of the friction from eating and other jaw movement, loss of jaw bone can occur around the implant. The research is led by Professor Paul Sharpe, an expert in craniofacial development and stem cell biology at King's College London and published in the Journal of Dental Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-biological-tooth-replacementa-closer.html Dentistry Sat, 09 Mar 2013 04:29:44 EST news282025776 (Medical Xpress)—Results from a meta-analysis of 11 independent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research studies are giving hope to the ALS community by showing, for the first time, that the fatal disease may be treatable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-treatment-als-neural-stem-cell.html Neuroscience Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:10:02 EST news276421665 Long-standing research efforts have been focused on understanding how stem cells, cells capable of transforming into any type of cell in the body, are capable of being programmed down a defined path to contribute to the development of a specific organ like a heart, lung, or kidney. Research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has shed new light on how epigenetic signals may function together to determine the ultimate fate of a stem cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-team-uncovers-insight-cell-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:07:17 EST news275836031 (Medical Xpress)—The protein kinase Akt is a key regulator of cell growth, proliferation, metabolism, survival, and death. New work on Akt's role in cancer stem cell biology from the lab of senior author Honglin Zhou, MD, PhD and Weihua Li, co-first author, both from the Center for Resuscitation Sciences, Department of Emergency Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Xiaowei Xu, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, appears in Molecular Cell. The findings were also highlighted in Nature and Science reviews. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-protein-kinase-akt-arbiter-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 20 Dec 2012 07:15:51 EST news275210140 Cancer scientists led by Dr. John Dick at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have found a way to follow single tumour cells and observe their growth over time. By using special immune-deficient mice to propagate human colorectal cancer, they found that genetic mutations, regarded by many as the chief suspect driving cancer growth, are only one piece of the puzzle. The team discovered that biological factors and cell behaviour – not only genes – drive tumour growth, contributing to therapy failure and relapse. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-scientists-layer-complexity-colon-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:00:12 EST news274621789 Studies of stem cell biology and transplant approaches presented today at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) illustrate how the use of advanced modeling techniques is optimizing stem cells to treat patients with blood disorders, as well as the potential of enhanced treatment strategies to improve the success rate of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation for these patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-stem-cell-transplant-strategies-outcomes.html Medical research Sun, 09 Dec 2012 11:40:25 EST news274275601 (Medical Xpress)—Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have devised a two-part approach to identify developing human embryos most likely to result in successful pregnancies. The technique could transform the lives of infertile couples seeking to use in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to start a family. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-embryo-analysis-technique-boost-vitro-fertilization.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Wed, 05 Dec 2012 08:26:55 EST news273918391 Pluripotent stem cells are nature's double-edged sword. Because they can develop into a dizzying variety of cell types and tissues, they are a potentially invaluable therapeutic resource. However, that same developmental flexibility can lead to dangerous tumors called teratomas if the stem cells begin to differentiate out of control in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-body-transplanted-stem-cells-differentiate.html Medical research Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:00:07 EST news272537685 Canadian and Italian stem cell researchers have discovered a new "master control gene" for human blood stem cells and found that manipulating its levels could potentially create a way to expand these cells for clinical use. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-stem-cell-scientists-potential-cells.html Medical research Thu, 08 Nov 2012 14:47:27 EST news271608364 By growing new retinal cells to replace those that have malfunctioned, scientists hope to one day create and fuse entire layers of fresh cells –– a synthetic patch akin to a contact lens –– as a treatment for age-related macular degeneration, the top cause of visual impairment among people over 60. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-envisioning-approaches-eye-disease-medicine.html Medical research Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:24:49 EST news269612673 A new method of using adult stem cells as a model for the hereditary condition Gaucher disease could help accelerate the discovery of new, more effective therapies for this and other conditions such as Parkinson's, according to new research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-stem-cell-gaucher-disease-neurodegenerative.html Neuroscience Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:16:31 EST news269536554 The University of Colorado Cancer Center, together with other participating academic medical centers, recently opened a phase I human clinical trial of the drug OMP-54F28 in patients with advanced solid tumor cancers. OMP-54F28, a candidate investigational drug discovered by OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, targets cancer stem cells (CSCs), also known as tumor-initiating cells, which many researchers believe are at the root of tumor occurrence and growth. These CSCs are notoriously resistant to existing chemotherapies and so may survive current treatments to repopulate a tumor, leading to relapse and metastasis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-cu-cancer-center-phase-clinical.html Cancer Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:24:26 EST news268489437 UCLA researchers have discovered a type of cell that is the "missing link" between bone marrow stem cells and all the cells of the human immune system, a finding that will lead to a greater understanding of how a healthy immune system is produced and how disease can lead to poor immune function. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-link-stem-cells-immune.html Immunology Sun, 02 Sep 2012 13:00:23 EST news265786489 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 It has long been known that cancer is a disease of aging, but a molecular link between the two has remained elusive. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-aging-cells-fuels-tumor-growth.html Cancer Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:59:36 EST news258904683 A study characterizing the multipotency and transplantation value of olfactory stem cells, as well as the ease in obtaining them, has been published in a recent issue of Cell Transplantation (20:11/12), now freely available on-line. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-potential-impact-olfactory-stem-cells.html Medical research Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:25:23 EST news258128717 For the first time scientists have succeeded in taking skin cells from heart failure patients and reprogramming them to transform into healthy, new heart muscle cells that are capable of integrating with existing heart tissue. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-scientists-patients-skin-cells-heart.html Cardiology Wed, 23 May 2012 04:11:11 EST news256965049 An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS) in Singapore and National Cancer Centre of Singapore, has identified hundreds of novel genes that are mutated in stomach cancer, the second-most lethal cancer worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-experts-critical-genes-mutated-stomach.html Genetics Sun, 08 Apr 2012 13:52:38 EST news253111907 Removing a lipoprotein receptor known as SR-BI may help protect against breast cancer, as suggested by new findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2012 by Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-good-cholesterol-receptor-breast-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:49:20 EST news252686774 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine have discovered genetic markers that may ultimately allow women to track and predict declining fertility. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-genetic-markers-fertility-decline-women.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:38:55 EST news252056325 A multi-national research team led by scientists at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School has identified the reason why some patients fail to respond to some of the most successful cancer drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-bim-gene-variation-east-asians.html Cancer Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:00:14 EST news251296817 Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have demonstrated for the first time that the metabolic biomarker MCT4 directly links clinical outcomes with a new model of tumor metabolism that has patients "feeding" their cancer cells. Their findings were published online March 15 in Cell Cycle. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cancer-paradigm-shift-biomarker-links.html Cancer Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:33:38 EST news251051606 A new research discovery by a team of Stanford and European scientists offers hope that people with atherosclerotic disease may one day be able to avoid limb amputation related to ischemia. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal suggests that the delivery of genes for two molecules naturally produced by the body, called "PDGF-BB" and "VEGF" may successfully cause the body to grow new blood vessels that can save ischemic limbs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-scientists-gene-therapy-approach-blood.html Genetics Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:00:02 EST news250253511 Singapore scientists, headed by Dr. Bing Lim, Associate Director of Cancer Stem Cell Biology at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), a research institute under the umbrella of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Dr Elaine Lim, medical oncologist affiliated with Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), have, for the first time, identified a gene responsible for lung cancer. The finding, reported in the advanced online issue of Cell on 5 January 2012, is a huge step towards finding a cure for the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-scientists-lung-cancer-stem-cells.html Cancer Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:10:01 EST news245068845 (Medical Xpress) -- A tiny 3-D collagen "scaffold" developed in a Cornell lab could prove a lifesaver for those who have lost parts of their intestine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-artificial-intestine-youths-bowel-disorder.html Medical research Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:54:58 EST news242625282 Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified cancer cell mitochondria as the unsuspecting powerhouse and "Achilles' heel" of tumor growth, opening up the door for new therapeutic targets in breast cancer and other tumor types. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-achilles-heel-breast-cancer-tumor.html Cancer Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:50:07 EST news241954515