Asthmatic smokers may be able to reverse some of the damage to their lungs that exacerbates asthmatic symptoms just by putting down their cigarettes, according to research out of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
The research is published in the December 15 issue of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
NEW ORLEANS—A drug that has become a mainstay of multiple myeloma treatment may outperform alternative therapies in re-establishing the immune system of patients who have received stem cell transplants from unrelated, partially matched donors, according to early clinical trial results to be presented by
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators at the American Society of Hematology's (ASH) annual meeting on Sunday, Dec. 6 (Abstract 48, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 243-245, 5:45 pm CT).
A massive, data-crunching computer search program that matches fragments of potential drug molecules to the known shapes of viral surface proteins has identified several FDA-approved drugs that could be the basis for new medicines -- if emerging viruses such as the H5N1(avian flu) or H1N1/09 (swine flu) develop resistance to current antiviral therapies -- according to a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.
The spread, or metastasis, of individual breast cancer cells from the main tumor into the blood circulation to the lungs and other body tissues and organs is under the control of a growth factor abbreviated TGFb, according to a study with laboratory mice that will be presented at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.
These messenger genes may be a promising target for drugs to block the metastatic breast cancer route, said Erik Sahai, Ph.D., of Cancer Research UK in London.
One of the pioneers in research on sleep:wake circadian genes, Amita Sehgal, Ph.D., has discovered that fruit flies' appetite and consumption are controlled by two rival sets of clocks, one in neurons and the other in the fly fat body, which is analogous to the liver.
These research results, which extend the circadian clock repertoire into metabolism, will be reported at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.
Scientists in Cambridge have discovered that the loss of a key segment of DNA can lead to severe childhood obesity. This is the first study to show that this kind of genetic alteration can cause obesity. The results are published today in Nature.
The study, led by Dr Sadaf Farooqi from the University of Cambridge and Dr Matt Hurles from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, looked at 300 children with severe obesity.
LA JOLLA, CA, December 4, 2009 –In an encouraging new development, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has restored partial function to lung cells collected from patients with cystic fibrosis. While there is still much work to be done before the therapy can be tested in humans, the discovery opens the door to a new class of therapies for this and a host of other chronic diseases.
The results were published on December 6, 2009 in an advance, online edition of the high-impact journal Nature Chemical Biology.
To do this test, they trapped between 20 and 100 "donor" male flies—so called because they "donate" the volatile pheromones into the surrounding environment—in a tiny cage surrounded by a fine mesh screen. The screen allowed pheromones to escape, but kept the donor flies inside.
A new study by researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, found a substantial variation in hydroxyurea utilization for pain and other sickle cell disease complications in children. Barriers to its use on the part of both providers and patients were also identified. The study led by Amanda M. Brandow, DO, MS, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College and Children's Research Institute at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, will be presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting Dec. 7, 2009, in New Orleans.
Hamilton, ON. Dec. 6, 2009 — A new study provides welcome news for patients with a common clotting disorder known as venous thromboembolism (VTE).
The condition is estimated to impact 62,000 Canadians and half-a-million Americans every year, and occurs when an abnormal clot forms in a vein and restricts the flow of blood, causing pain and swelling. In some cases, the clot may detach from its point of origin and travel through the heart to the lungs, causing a potentially fatal condition known as a pulmonary embolism.
NEW ORLEANS—A new three-drug combination has shown in a phase 1/2 clinical trial that it is a "highly effective regimen" in the treatment of patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of white blood cells in bone marrow, say researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D (http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2008-mchi/4904.html) in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (http://www.mayoclinic.org/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/)was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival.
Pediatric oncologists have identified specific genes, dubbed partner genes, that fuse with another gene to drive an often-fatal form of leukemia in infants. By more accurately defining specific partner genes, researchers expect to better predict which infants may benefit from particular treatments.
Case Western Reserve University researchers, from the School of Medicine's Department of Nutrition, discovered two new metabolic pathways by which products of lipid peroxidation and some drugs of abuse, known as 4-hydroxyacids, are metabolized. The pathways were identified by a combination of metabolomics and mass isotopomer analysis.
Late recurrence is a risk for some pediatric cancers, particularly Ewing sarcomas and tumors of the central nervous system, according to a new study published online December 4 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
This study was undertaken because there is limited research on late recurrence (after 5 years and up to 20 years) for pediatric cancer patients.