New Rochelle, NY, April 15, 2010—A new technique for reprogramming human adult cells could greatly improve the safety and efficiency of producing patient-specific stem cells for use in a range of therapeutic applications to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissues. A description of this innovative strategy is published in the peer-reviewed journal Cellular Reprogramming, published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The paper is available free online.
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Quebec City, April 15, 2010–Researchers from Université Laval's Faculty of Medicine and the CHUQ Research Center have proven that it is possible to repair the defective gene responsible for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The team, led by Professor Jacques P. Tremblay, is presenting its new therapeutic approach in an article published today in the online version of the scientific journal Gene Therapy.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have identified childhood cancer survivors who are at increased risk for deteriorating lung health, in part due to the lifesaving bone marrow transplants they underwent years earlier.
Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 2010 - The March 2010 issue of Clinics in Perinatology (www.perinatology.theclinics.com), published by Elsevier, provides Neonatologists and Maternal-Fetal-Medicine specialists with the tools and concepts necessary to understand Quality Improvement (QI) methodology and to initiate QI projects within their own practices and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).
Results of a study presented today at the at the International Liver CongressTM 2010 reveals the effects of a new drug for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis, and shows further evaluation is necessary.
INT-747 is a novel derivative of a human bile acid CDCA (that binds to the farnesoid-X receptor). In patients with PBC, addition of INT-747 to UDCA resulted in a significant amelioration of liver enzymes compared to placebo.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — April 15, 2010 — Fido's wet licks might hold more than love. They could provide the DNA keys to findings new treatments for rare cancers and other diseases in both dogs and human patients.
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) have created the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium, a program designed to study naturally occurring cancers in dogs to better understand why both pets and people get sick.
WESTCHESTER, IL - A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that having a sleep disturbance is associated with clinically meaningful reductions in health-related quality of life, and the magnitude of this effect varies by race and sleep disorder.
Thinner girls may be at higher risk of breast cancer. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research found that girls who were leaner at age seven were at higher risk of cancer later in life.
Urologists are failing to pick up and treat Chlamydia infection in young men, say UK researchers in a letter published ahead of print in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
Yet Chlamydia trachomatis is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in Europe and the commonest cause of inflammation of the testicle and the epididymis (involved in sperm manufacture), a condition known as epididymo-orchitis.
If chlamdyial infection goes untreated, it can cause infertility.
An experimental drug is showing promise for the treatment of men with an aggressive form of advanced prostate cancer. A new multicenter study has concluded that the targeted therapy MDV3100 is safe and effective for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), known for its poor prognosis and limited treatment options. The research, led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, appears early online and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet.
A natural product found in both coconut oil and human breast milk – lauric acid -- shines as a possible new acne treatment thanks to a bioengineering graduate student from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. The student developed a "smart delivery system" – published in the journal ACS Nano in March – capable of delivering lauric-acid-filled nano-scale bombs directly to skin-dwelling bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes) that cause common acne.
The new T. rex has ferociously large teeth lining a single jaw. But its length is less than 2 inches. Tyrannobdella rex, which means tyrant leech king, is a new species of blood sucker that lives in the remote parts of the Upper Amazon. Although its regular host remains unknown, it was discovered three years ago in Perú when a 44.5 millimeter leech was plucked from the nose of a girl who had recently been bathing in a river. The new species, described in PLoS ONE, has led to revising the group of leeches that has a habit of feeding from body orifices of mammals.
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A study led by Mayo Clinic suggests remission from Crohn's disease (http://www.mayoclinic.org/crohns/) may be more likely if patients get biologic therapy combined with immune-suppressing drugs first instead of immune-suppressing drugs alone.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- For 30 years, the chemotherapy drug cisplatin has been one of doctors' first lines of defense against tumors, especially those of the lung, ovary and testes. While cisplatin is often effective when first given, it has a major drawback: Tumors can become resistant to the drug and start growing again.
To be a truly comprehensive and successful anti-obesity program, First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign must include interventions that target pregnant women, infants, and pre-school-age children, UCSF experts say.