SAN DIEGO—Two-year results from phase III clinical trials show the experimental immunosuppressive drug belatacept can better preserve kidney function in kidney transplant recipients while preventing graft rejection when compared with the standard immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine.
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May 3, 2010 – Genes interact in complex networks that govern cellular processes, much like people connect a social network through relationships. Researchers are now discovering how biological networks change and are rewired in cancer. In a study published today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), scientists have analyzed the genetic networks of microRNAs in tumors, shedding light on how interactions go awry in disease.
NEW ORLEANS, LA (May 2, 2010) – Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which may soon be the leading indication for liver transplant, is found to be significantly associated with worse transplant outcomes. In addition, a new tool for diagnosing NAFLD represents an alternative to liver biopsy, which is more expensive and prone to complications, and ultrasound and alfafeprotein blood test screening are an effective alternative to CT scan and MRI for patients with cirrhosis at high risk for hepatocellular cancer.
LA JOLLA, CA – April 28, 2010 –In findings that could one day lead to new therapies, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute have described some striking differences between the biochemistry of stem cells versus mature cells.
The study, led by Scripps Research Associate Professor Sheng Ding and Senior Director of the Scripps Research Center for Mass Spectrometry Gary Siuzdak, was published in an advance, online edition of the prestigious journal Nature Chemical Biology on May 2, 2010.
STANFORD, Calif. - Life is almost unbearably complex. Humans and mice, frogs and flies toggle genes on and off in dizzying combinations and sequences during their relentless march from embryo to death. Now scientists seeking to understand the machinations of the proteins behind the genomic wizard's screen have a powerful new tool at their disposal, courtesy of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
PITTSBURGH, May 2 – Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine went on a molecular fishing trip and netted a catch of new mediators that not only can explain how omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation, but also hint at novel treatments for a host of diseases linked to inflammatory processes. Their findings were published today in the online version of Nature Chemical Biology.
Scientists have discovered three genes linked to the development of Paget's disease, a painful bone condition that affects up to one million people in the UK.
The international team of scientists, led by the University of Edinburgh, believes the genes are involved in regulating the rate at which bone is repaired, providing an explanation of why the disease might occur.
Researchers from the University of Leeds, UK, the Charité University Medical School and the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, Germany, have discovered a new driving force behind cancer growth.
New studies examine adverse outcomes associated with obesity and more applicable measures of obesity
NEW ORLEANS, LA (May 2, 2010) – Pay-for-performance reimbursement models may create unintended financial incentives for doctors to discriminate against obese patients, measuring a patient's waist circumference may be more effective in predicting surgical outcomes than the more traditional body mass index measure, and childhood obesity doubles the risk of developing colon cancer, according to data being presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW®) 2010.
DETROIT – Extending hepatitis C treatment for liver transplant patients beyond current standards results in high clearance rates of the hepatitis C virus from the blood, and a low relapse rate, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.
"We found that patients who achieved a sustained virological response were more likely to have had extended treatment after transplant," says Matthew Moeller, M.D., gastroenterology fellow at Henry Ford Hospital and lead author of the study.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Physicians usually ask children to fast overnight before a cholesterol test. New research shows that this may not always be necessary.
"Cholesterol testing can be very difficult for families," said Asheley C. Skinner, PhD, lead author of the study to be presented Sunday, May 2 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. "When having to fast, this almost always means the child has to return on another morning for the test, which can be very problematic for busy families."
Depression among economically disadvantaged mothers could last well beyond the postpartum period and become a chronic condition, suggests a new study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The study also finds that symptoms could improve with brief treatment.
The results will be presented May 1 by lead author Carol C. Weitzman, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and in the Child Study Center at Yale School at Yale School of Medicine, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia Medicine.
Heart and liver transplant recipients are at particularly high risk of developing lung cancer after receiving the donated organ, researchers report at the 2nd European Lung Cancer Conference. They are advising doctors to screen for such cancers in these patients to maximize the chance of detecting the malignancy early.
Clinicians, researchers and scientists from around the world will gather for Digestive Disease Week® 2010 (DDW), the largest and most prestigious gastroenterology meeting, from May 1 to May 5, 2010, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA. DDW is the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute, the largest and oldest GI society in the world. AGA researchers will present exciting, cutting-edge data during the meeting that will help change the way physicians diagnose and treat GI disorders.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Extremely low birthweight infants (ELBW) who received feedings supplemented with probiotics had better weight gain than infants who were not given the supplements, according to a randomized, controlled, double-blind study to be presented Saturday, May 1 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.