http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—Scientists at the School of Medicine have shown that their previously identified therapeutic approach to fight cancer via immune cells called macrophages also prompts the disease-fighting killer T cells to attack the cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-anti-cd47-antibody-route-successful-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 21 May 2013 07:21:45 EST news288339694 Children born with rare, inherited conditions known as Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation, or CDG, have mutations in one of the many enzymes the body uses to decorate its proteins and cells with sugars. Properly diagnosing a child with CDG and pinpointing the exact sugar gene that's mutated can be a huge relief for parents—they better understand what they're dealing with and doctors can sometimes use that information to develop a therapeutic approach. Whole-exome sequencing, an abbreviated form of whole-genome sequencing, is increasingly used as a diagnostic for CDG. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cautionary-tale-genome-sequencing-diagnostics-rare.html Genetics Fri, 10 May 2013 05:49:36 EST news287383768 (Medical Xpress)—Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are a recently discovered class of RNA molecules that regulate how genes are expressed. UCD researchers led by Conway Fellow, Professor Catherine Godson are studying the role of miRNAs in diabetic kidney disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-key-kidney-injury.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 09 May 2013 07:55:34 EST news287304926 Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with radiolabeled somatostatin analogs, an established treatment for cancer patients, could offer a novel therapeutic approach to decrease levels of inflammation in the atherosclerotic plaques of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), reported an abstract¹ study at the International Conference on Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT, May 5 to 8 in Berlin, Germany. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-cancer-treatment-inflammation-cvd.html Cardiology Sun, 05 May 2013 05:59:42 EST news286952357 Mindfulness exercises that include meditation, stretching, and acceptance of thoughts and emotions might help veterans with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder find relief from their symptoms. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mindfulness-therapy-veterans-combat-related-post-traumatic.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:34:44 EST news285417275 Many recent studies have suggested that obesity is associated with chronic inflammation in fat tissues. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have discovered that an imbalance between an enzyme called neutrophil elastase and its inhibitor causes inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease. This enzyme is produced by white blood cells called neutrophils, which play an important role in the body's immune defense against bacteria. The researchers found that obese humans and mice have increased neutrophil elastase activity and decreased levels of α1-antitrypsin, a protein that inhibits the elastase. When the team reversed this imbalance in a mouse model and fed them a high-fat diet, the mice were resistant to body weight gain, insulin resistance (a precursor to type 2 diabetes), and fatty liver disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-white-blood-cell-enzyme-contributes.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:16:32 EST news284138185 A multi-institutional team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has identified a molecular pathway that appears to be essential for the growth and spread of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. In their report in the Feb. 28 issue of Cell, they show that blocking this pathway – which involves interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding tissues – leads to regression of all four molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma in several mouse models. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-growth-factor-essential-common-malignant.html Cancer Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:33:45 EST news281277209 Working with a group from Nagasaki University, a research group at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at Japan's Kyoto University has announced in the Feb. 21 online publication of Cell Stem Cell has successfully modeled Alzheimer's disease (AD) using both familial and sporadic patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and revealed stress phenotypes and differential drug responsiveness associated with intracellular amyloid beta oligomers in AD neurons and astrocytes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-alzheimer-disease-ipscs.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:14:55 EST news280671287 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have demonstrated a new strategy for treating autoimmune disease that successfully blocked the development of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model. They say it holds promise for improved treatment of arthritis and other autoimmune disorders in people. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-strategy-rheumatoid-arthritis-mice.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:00:02 EST news279542331 Antibodies against amyloid beta (Aβ) protein deposits that are thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease have shown some success in preventing the buildup of deposits in animals, but they have not been effective at removing preexisting deposits. Now researchers reporting in the December issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron show that a modified antibody was able to clear preexisting Aβ deposits in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-antibody-therapy-alzheimer-plaques-mice.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:00:01 EST news273925881 Pathological changes typical of Alzheimer's disease were significantly reduced in mice by blockade of an immune system transmitter. A research team from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the University of Zurich has just published a new therapeutic approach in fighting Alzheimer's disease in the current issue of Nature Medicine. This approach promises potential in prevention, as well as in cases where the disease has already set in. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-alzheimer-disease-mice-alleviated-therapeutic.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:00:14 EST news273067537 The development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with a variety of genetic changes. Some of these alterations are epigenetic, wherein the sequence of the genes is unchanged, but chemical modifications to the DNA alter gene expression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-code-silence-acute-myeloid-leukemia.html Cancer Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:00:09 EST news272536266 Last year a clinical trial of L-DOPA—a mainstay of Parkinson's disease therapy—was launched for Angelman syndrome, a rare intellectual disorder that shares similar motor symptoms such as tremors and difficulty with balance. The clinical trial is based on a 10-year-old case report showing benefit with the drug, but few studies since have explored the neurological justification for using L-DOPA to treat parkinsonian features in Angelman syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-l-dopa-therapy-angelman-syndrome.html Medical research Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:00:13 EST news271941192 (Medical Xpress)—Having HIV/AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but it's still a lifelong illness that requires an expensive daily cocktail of drugs—and it means tolerating those drugs' side effects and running the risk of resistance. Researchers at The Rockefeller University may have found something better: they've shown that a therapeutic approach harnessing proteins from the human immune system can suppress the virus in mice without the need for daily application and could one day be used in humans to treat the disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-potent-antibodies-neutralize-hiv-therapy.html Immunology Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:07:01 EST news271494406 Duke researchers may have found a promising stem cell therapy for preventing osteoarthritis after a joint injury. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-stem-cells-post-injury-arthritis.html Arthritis & Rheumatism Fri, 10 Aug 2012 10:44:03 EST news263814221 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a mechanism that can give energy-storing white fat some of the beneficial characteristics of energy-burning brown fat. The findings, based on studies of mice and of human fat tissue, could lead to new strategies for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-mechanism-white-fat-energy-burning-brown.html Medical research Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:00:27 EST news263126631 Having identified the important role in controlling insulin secretion played by the protein Cx36, a team of scientists at the University of Geneva have perfected an innovative method which enables testing the effectiveness of thousands of molecules potentially usable in the fight against diabetes. This results of this research have already been published in the scientific review PLoS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-diabetes.html Diabetes Thu, 26 Jul 2012 10:08:04 EST news262516074 A new class of drug developed at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine shows early promise of being a one-size-fits-all therapy for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury by reducing inflammation in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-drug-alzheimer-multiple-sclerosis-brain.html Neuroscience Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:09:11 EST news262368535 A team of researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and other institutions, have discovered that measuring HDL particles as opposed to HDL cholesterol is a much better indicator of coronary heart disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hdl-particles-opposed-cholesterol-indicator.html Cardiology Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:00:01 EST news261240768 Research published in the May 10 issue of the journal Neuron, describes a potential new therapeutic approach for improving memory and modifying disease progression in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment. The study finds that excess brain activity may be doing more harm than good in some conditions that cause mild cognitive decline and memory impairment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-reduction-excess-brain-memory-amnestic.html Neuroscience Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:01 EST news255776328 Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a new way to deliver long-lasting pain relief through an ancient medical practice. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-pain-relief-pap-longer-traditional.html Medical research Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:35:32 EST news254399725 A new study describes a therapeutic approach to halting cancer progression by exploiting a previously unrecognized "addiction" of leukemia cells to specific signaling molecules. The research, published by Cell Press online on April 16th in the journal Cancer Cell, identifies non-classical oncogenes critical for tumor development and survival, and describes a potentially less toxic strategy that selectively targets these molecules. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-therapy-exploits-addiction-leukemia-cells.html Cancer Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:45:03 EST news253802693 A new technique involving the use of an artificial scaffold into which a patient's own stem cells are inserted, turning it into a fully functional organ, could offer a potential solution to the donor shortage crisis, according to the second paper in this week's Lancet Series on stem cells. This pioneering approach to regenerating and transplanting organs requires no human donors, has no problems with rejection, and has no need for immunosuppressive drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-potential-solution-donor-shortage.html Medical research Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:30:04 EST news250445974 Millions of people suffer from type 2 diabetes. The leading cause of death in these patients is heart disease. Joseph Hill and colleagues, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, have now identified, through their work in mice, a potential new therapeutic approach to reduce the prevalence of heart failure and improve the long-term survival of patients with type 2 diabetes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-death-diabetics-heart-problem.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:37:07 EST news248362600 A study carried out by Eric Vivier and Sophie Ugolini at the Marseille-Luminy Centre for Immunology has just reveal a gene in mice which, when mutated, can stimulate the immune system to help fight against tumors and viral infections. Whilst this gene was known to activate one of the body's first lines of defense (Natural Killer, or 'NK' cells), paradoxically, when deactivated it makes these NK cells hypersensitive to the warning signals sent out by diseased cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-immune-infection.html Medical research Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:36:17 EST news246285367 Using a mouse model, Heidelberg University Hospital researchers have for the first time successfully treated a severe congenital disorder in which sugar metabolism is disturbed. The team headed by Prof. Christian Korner, group leader at the Center for Child and Adolescent Medicine, demonstrated that if female mice are given mannose with their drinking water prior to mating and during pregnancy, their offspring will develop normally even if they carry the genetic mutation for the congenital disorder. The team's outstanding work will contribute to better understanding of the molecular processes of this metabolic disease, along with the key stages in embryonic development, and may offer a therapeutic approach for the first time. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-severe-congenital-disorder-successfully-mouse.html Genetics Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:31:21 EST news243768665 Cancer of the liver – rare in the United States but the third-leading cause of cancer death worldwide – can result from environmental exposures or infections like chronic hepatitis, but the link is poorly understood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-therapeutic-approach-liver-cancer.html Cancer Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:38:01 EST news242649466 The enzyme arginase-2 plays a major role in kidney failure, and blocking the action of this enzyme might lead to protection against renal disease in diabetes, according to researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-aims-diabetic-kidney-failure.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 05 Nov 2011 04:20:05 EST news239682697 Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), or the formation of scar tissue within the eye, is a serious, sight-threatening complication in patients recovering surgical repair of retinal detachment. A new study conducted by investigators at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Pathology, suggests that a cocktail containing reagents to neutralize a relatively small subset of vitreal growth factors and cytokines may be an effective treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-approach-proliferative-vitreoretinopathy.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:06:45 EST news239241993 Belgian researchers describe a new mechanism to enhance the restoration of the blood flow in ischemic diseases, which are among the leading causes of death worldwide. The team of Massimiliano Mazzone demonstrates that blocking the protein PhD2 in white blood cells accelerates the maturation of blood vessels. This leads to a better blood perfusion to organs that had been deprived from blood supply by ischemia. This might become a new therapeutic approach in ischemic diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-strategy-blood-vessel-maturation-therapeutic.html Medical research Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:46:15 EST news237552369