http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan report today that they have identified a compound that could be used as a new treatment to prevent relapse in acute myeloid leukemia patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-compound-acute-blood-cancer-relapse.html Cancer Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:00:06 EST news285423111 A new class of drugs for the treatment of severe diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases is developed by the start-up Bicycle Therapeutics. The company is generating bicyclic peptides that can selectively bind disease-related proteins and to modulate their function without affecting other proteins in the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-peptides-treatment-severe-diseases.html Medical research Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:30:01 EST news285229035 (Medical Xpress)—Important new research from UMass Medical School demonstrates how exosomes shuttle proteins from neurons to muscle cells where they take part in critical signaling mechanisms, an exciting discovery that means these tiny vehicles could one day be loaded with therapeutic agents, such as RNA interference (RNAi), and directly target disease-carrying cells. The study, published this month in the journal Neuron, is the first evidence that exosomes can transfer membrane proteins that play an important role in cell-to-cell signaling in the nervous system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-intercellular-potential-rnai-gene-based-therapeutics.html Neuroscience Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:10:01 EST news283596137 (HealthDay)—Although the first description of a rapidly progressive nephropathy associated with the consumption of aristolochic acid (AA) found in Chinese herbs was first reported 20 years ago, AA-induced nephropathy remains a worldwide health concern due to the lack of regulation on herbal medication and the easy availability of such medications online, according to a review published in the March 19 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-aristolochic-acid-nephropathy-global-health.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:20:01 EST news282914874 Once the initial episode of influenza has passed, the chronic effects tend to be overlooked. The results of a new study indicate that the cytokine interleukin-22 (IL-22) plays a critical role in normal lung repair following influenza infection. This study is published in the April 2013 issue of the American Journal of Pathology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-essential-role-il-lung-flu.html Medical research Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:00:07 EST news282138712 The European Union on Thursday pledged 144 million euros of fresh funding for research on rare diseases that currently affect some 30 million Europeans, the majority of them children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-eu-mn-euro-rare-disease.html Genetics Thu, 28 Feb 2013 04:50:01 EST news281247852 The treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases can be particularly challenging because many of the therapeutic agents such as recombinant proteins and gene medicines are not easily transported across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Focused ultrasound can be used to "open the door" of the blood brain barrier. However, finding a way to "prop the door open" to allow therapeutics to reach diseased tissue without damaging normal brain tissue is the focus of a new study by a team of researchers at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at National Taiwan University presenting at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 2-6, 2013, in Philadelphia, Pa. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-propping-door-blood-brain-barrier.html Medical research Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:10:07 EST news278959721 Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute have for the first time demonstrated that baboon embryonic stem cells can be programmed to completely restore a severely damaged artery. These early results show promise for eventually developing stem cell therapies to restore human tissues or organs damaged by age or disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-stem-cells-artery-lab.html Medical research Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:50:49 EST news277055439 (Medical Xpress)—One of the world's most devastating diseases is malaria, responsible for at least a million deaths annually, despite global efforts to combat it.  Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, working with collaborators from Drexel University, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins University, have identified a protein in human blood platelets that points to a powerful new weapon against the disease. Their work was published in this months' issue of Cell Host and Microbe. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-team-mimicking-natural-defense-malaria.html Medical research Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:20:02 EST news275845997 A team of UC Davis scientists has shown in experimental mouse models that a new drug delivery system allows for administration of three times the maximum tolerated dose of a standard drug therapy for advanced bladder cancer, leading to more effective cancer control without increasing toxicity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-drug-delivery-bladder-cancer-nanoparticles.html Cancer Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:15:18 EST news270396838 Lance Armstrong's doping scandal may be considered by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as "more extensive than any previously revealed in professional sports history," but a new editorial in The FASEB Journal by USADA's Larry D. Bowers shows that it is clearly not the first. From early athletes who used rat poison and heroin to fight fatigue to modern Olympians who perform under the ever-present shadow of high tech hormones, stimulants and steroids, this editorial lays out both the history and the science behind athletic "doping" scandals. Bowers traces modern antidoping regulation to tragic accidents such as the death of British cyclist Tommy Simpson in the 1967 Tour de France, a race then notorious as a pharmaceutical free-for-all. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-usada-chief-science-officer-publishes.html Other Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:58:48 EST news269279907 (HealthDay)—Smoking-induced insulin resistance, which improves with smoking cessation, may be due to activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), according to a study published online Sept. 10 in Diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-mechanism-smoking-induced-insulin-resistance-elucidated.html Diabetes Mon, 17 Sep 2012 12:51:35 EST news267105084 Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified biological mechanisms by which glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a gut hormone, protects against kidney disease, and also mechanisms that inhibit its actions in diabetes. The findings, which are reported today online by Diabetes, may lead to the development of new therapeutic agents that harness the actions of GLP-1 to prevent the harmful effects of hyperglycemia on renal endothelial cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-joslin-gain-diabetes-kidney-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:27:42 EST news262258055 Approximately 1 in 3 Americans suffers from chronic sleep deprivation and another 10-15% of the population has chronic insomnia. Sleep disorders can profoundly affect a person's whole life and have been linked to a range of diseases, including obesity, depression, anxiety, and inflammatory disorders. Over-the-counter herbal remedies are often used to treat insomnia, but surprisingly, very little research has been done to study their efficacy, according to an article in Alternative and Complementary Therapies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-efficacy-herbal-remedies-insomnia.html Other Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:20:29 EST news261832822 Scientists from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland have recently discovered a serum biochemical signature which predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease months or even years before the first symptoms of the disease occur. The goal of the new collaboration between VTT and GE Healthcare is to validate this biomarker in a large patient cohort as well as to discover novel biomarker candidates. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-biomarkers-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:33:44 EST news259922003 Herbal, dietary, and energy or nutritional supplements may offer specific health benefits, but they can also have harmful and even life-threatening effects when combined with commonly used medications. Clinicians need to be aware of and educate their patients about the potential risks of mixing supplements and therapeutic agents, since their interaction can diminish or increase drug levels. This timely topic is explored in a provocative article in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free on the Alternative and Complementary Therapies website at www.liebertpub.com/act. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drugs-herbal-supplements-doctors-patients.html Health Tue, 01 May 2012 11:10:02 EST news255088498 Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have demonstrated, in a study to be published online April 24 in Stroke, that a compound mimicking a key activity of a hefty, brain-based protein is capable of increasing the generation of new nerve cells, or neurons, in the brains of mice that have had strokes. The mice also exhibited a speedier recovery of their athletic ability. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-potential-treatment.html Cardiology Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:46:11 EST news254504744 Anurag Singh, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University School of Medicine has been invited to present his recent work on targeted therapeutics for colon cancer at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Singh's seminar, scheduled for Tuesday April 3rd, will be featured in the "Late-Breaking Abstracts Mini-Symposium". This highlights recent and provocative groundbreaking research in cancer biology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-therapeutics-colon-cancer-aacr.html Cancer Wed, 04 Apr 2012 01:48:21 EST news252722892 Tumor-targeted bioluminescent bacteria have been shown for the first time to provide accurate 3D images of tumors in mice, further advancing the potential for targeted cancer drug delivery, according to a study published in the Jan. 25 issue of the online journal PLoS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-bacteria-effectively-tumors-enabling-tumor.html Cancer Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:00:15 EST news246710951 Glioblastoma, a lethal brain cancer, is one of the most resistant to available therapies and patients typically live approximately 15 months. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-pathway-glioblastoma-resistance.html Cancer Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:37:28 EST news246627439 Tissue deprived of oxygen (ischemia) is a serious health condition that can lead to damaged heart tissue following a heart attack and, in the case of peripheral arterial disease in limbs, amputation, particularly in diabetic patients. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-blood.html Medical research Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:34:39 EST news231431574 Researchers from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified three novel small molecules that interrupt a crucial cellular communication pathway that regulates many aspects of development and cancer. The finding, published in the April 12, 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and featured on its cover, could provide the basis for innovative therapies for colorectal cancer and other diseases associated with aberrations in this pathway. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-small-molecules-inhibit-growth-human.html Cancer Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:49:01 EST news221903318