multiple myeloma

ALSO NOTED: Reprogramming mouse cells; Trounson takes top spot at Calif. institute;

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Stem Cell Research

Researchers at UCSF Institute for Regeneration Medicine have advanced a technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to an embryonic state. The work builds on the breakthrough reported by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and independently confirmed by MIT, Harvard and UCLA. The work accelerates a move to develop patient-specific stem cell therapies. Report

The choice of Alan Trounson to head up California's $3 billion stem cell initiative has spurred hopes that the Australian will also help spur the stem cell research field in his native country. Report

Researchers at Monash University in Victoria say they believe they know how to isolate stem cells from the lining of women's wombs, a process that could give rise to new therapies for gynecological conditions. Report

Cancer Research

Researchers at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute are the first to discover a mechanism that plays a critical role in the multiple myeloma cell cycle and survival. Their research may result in identification of a new therapeutic target for treating multiple myeloma. Release

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team has found. Release

Scientists say the more they learn about the genetic causes of cancer, the more complex their field becomes. Report

Genetics

A genetic variation determines how women smell male sweat. The odor of androstenone will vary from urine to vanilla depending on that variation. Report

Variations in a gene linked to insulin production can create neonatal diabetes. Report

An international team of scientists has identified the gene in mice necessary for binocular vision. Report

Advances in genetics are shedding new light on identifying which patients will respond to particular antihypertensive drugs. The research team published their findings in BMC Medical Genetics. Release

More Research

A major new cancer research program will create up to 100 new jobs at Dundee University. New money is being budgeted to develop research laboratories for David and Birgit Lane, and officials in the area say they will use this program to help create a bustling center of new life science research. Report

UT Southwestern Medical Center's obesity research team has received a $22 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to enhance its groundbreaking efforts to attack obesity from every angle, from studying fat cells to developing medicines. Release

Using an atomic force microscope, scientists for the first time captured footage of the interaction of an enzyme and a strand of DNA. The film, made on a nanoscale theater, shows a protective enzyme attacking the DNA of a virus. Article

New insights on the role of specialized neurons in the brain could lead the way to restore brain functions lost to disease or accidents. Report

An international team of bioethics experts from the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health in Toronto has identified the challenges faced by major science programs in developing countries. Release

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and scientific collaborators from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have published a study related to mechanisms for in vivo delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), the molecules that mediate RNAi. Release

A human peptide that acts as a natural antibiotic against invading microbes can also bind to the body's own DNA and trigger an immune response in the absence of an infection, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in an early online publication in Nature. Release

Blood-sucking parasitic worms are being studied as a potential treatment for asthma and other allergic diseases. People with asthma and hay fever are being purposely infected with hookworms to test whether the parasites can control the allergic reactions that cause the conditions. Release

Zebrafish are overtaking mice as the animal-of-choice for studies involving human mitochondrial disease. Release

ALSO NOTED: Stem cell therapy threat; Immunization stimulates antibodies to attack tumors;WHO creates genetic "clearinghouse";

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Stem Cell Research

New research indicates that cell death associated with diseases like Parkinson's and ALS could be caused by toxic factors surrounding motor neurons. If the research is confirmed, it could have implications in stem cell research. Therapeutic stem cells could face the same threats that caused the disease in the first place. Report

Results of two studies funded by Project A.L.S. and appearing in today's advance online publication of Nature Neuroscience demonstrate that embryonic stem cells may provide a new tool for studying disease mechanisms and for identifying drugs to slow ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Release

Seoul National University is investigating a journal study by a team of South Korean researchers to determine if they inflated the results of a study involving cloned wolves. This is the same team that was led by disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk. Report

How myoblasts identify other myoblasts and how they cling together had been established, but the way that the cell membranes fuse into one has remained a mystery. Now, a study by Weizmann Institute scientists has shed light on this mystery. Release

Cancer Research

Active immunization can stimulate the body to produce highly efficient IgE antibodies that attack tumors. This breakthrough, achieved in an animal model, is based on the combination of two established experimental methods. Report

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center researchers have found that chaetocin, a by-product of a common wood mold, has promise as a new anti-myeloma agent. Results of their study show the by-product to be more effective than currently used therapies at killing multiple myeloma cells. Release

Preliminary results from a large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial for patients with primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor, a type of tumor usually found in the stomach or small intestine, showed that patients who received imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) after complete removal of their tumor were significantly less likely to have a recurrence of their cancer compared to those who did not receive imatinib. Release

Studies of human tumor cells implanted in mice have shown that the abnormal activation of four genes drives the spread of breast cancer to the lungs. The new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers reveal that the aberrant genes work together to promote the growth of primary breast tumors. Cooperation among the four genes also enables cancerous cells to escape into the bloodstream and penetrate through blood vessels into lung tissues. Release

Researchers have developed a new mouse model that can be used in research into one of the deadliest forms of ovarian cancer. Report

Scientists at The Wistar Institute have now developed a novel way to clone an antigen recognized by a helper T cell. The new antigen-cloning approach may allow scientists to design vaccines capable of directly stimulating helper T cells, aiding the development of vaccines not only for cancer but also for infectious diseases. Release

Snake venom toxin 'Vipera lebetina turanica' may be effective in inhibiting the growth of androgen independent prostate cancer, according to a report published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. Release

More Research

The World Health Organization is creating an Internet-based "clearinghouse" of genetic information related to a long list of diseases, including malaria and Chagas. Report

A team of U.S. and Canadian researchers has found seven genes linked to a risk for developing Crohn's disease. Four of those genes are new to investigators, offering fresh targets for drug developers. Report

A new technology developed at the University of Toronto is revealing biochemical processes responsible for diseases such as cystic fibrosis and could one day pave the way for pharmaceutical applications. Release

Researchers have found that the number of proteins involved in liver regeneration are fewer than previously believed, making is easier to develop a new method to regenerate a patient's liver. Report

A test of 85 genetic variants believed to indicate a risk for heart disease show that they are not actually useful as biomarkers. Now the researchers say they will investigate 500,000 genetic variations to find the right ones. Report

Stretching a carbon nanotube composite like taffy, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Rochester Institute of Technology have made some of the first measurements of how single-walled carbon nanotubes both scatter and absorb polarized light, a key optical and electronic property. Release

Scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation have uncovered a molecular mechanism that links a gene linked to Alzheimer's to the process of Alzheimer's disease onset. Release

Some mature brain cells can grow new extensions when the amount of three particular proteins on their surface increases, a new study shows. The research examined three related receptor proteins, called GPR3, GPR6 and GPR12, on nerve cells in the brains of rats. Release

The results of a new study suggest that bacteria that cause diseases like bubonic plague and serious gastric illness can turn the genes that make them infectious on or off. Knowing how disease-causing bacteria, like Yersinia pestis and E. coli, do this may one day help scientists create drugs that control the expression of these genes, thereby making the bacteria harmless. The findings appear in the April 13 issue of the journal Molecular Cell. Release

A multi-center team funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute has published in the April 13 issue of the prestigious journal Science the complete sequence for the genome of the rhesus macaque monkey. They concluded that the monkey shares genes that cause diseases in humans, while chimpanzees do not. Release

ALSO NOTED: Female stem cells twice as effective as male; HIV researchers seeking new vaccine;

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:01:38 -0400

Stem Cell Research

A study at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC concludes that female stem cells derived from muscle are twice as effective as male stem cells when it comes to regenerating skeletal muscle tissue. The scientists said that they believed that the difference was due to the female mice's improved ability to handle stress. Report

Wisconsin officials hurried to maintain their commitment to embryonic stem cell research--and the patents in the field that have been threatened by a preliminary ruling by the U.S. Patent Office. Critics have been attempting to break the state's hold on three key patents, saying that they prevent research in the field. Report

CNNMoney reviews the stem cell therapies being developed by Cytori Therapeutics and Osiris, which researchers believe could be approved and on the market in '08. Report

U.S. researchers have isolated cochlear stem cells located in the inner ear, primed for development into ear-related tissue to treat hearing loss. Report

The Commons science committee has joined a group of 223 medical research charities who claim that a ban on animal-human embryos would interfere with important research. Report

Cancer Research

Researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago's College of Pharmacy has found an RNA-binding protein that overexpresses in ovarian cancer, offering a new target in cancer treatments. Report

Immunology researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson studying a multiple sclerosis-like disease in mice have shown that the amount of "damage" to the central nervous system's protective blood-brain barrier almost always correlates to the severity of the disease. Release

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center announced recently that a multiple myeloma clinical trial has shown a significant improvement in survival with lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone therapy compared to lenalidomide plus high-dose dexamethasone. Release

A research team at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University have synthesized 10 different types of flavanones, a type of flavonoid, using a new general method they developed that takes advantage of one simple catalyst. The basic research gives chemists--for the first time--a method for making new molecules based on flavonoids, setting the stage for the development of new cancer therapeutics. Report

Scientists from the Indiana University-Bloomington, the University of Washington School of Medicine, and the University of Cambridge have discovered how the plant hormone auxin interacts with its hormone receptor, called TIR1. Because TIR1 is similar to enzymes that are involved in cancer, the researchers say their work can help advance cancer research. Release

In advanced cancer, anti-tumor therapies often work only partially or not at all, and tumors progress following treatment. Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center scientists have now linked a treatment-induced growth factor to the cancer's future spread. Release

More Research

A group of French researchers are focusing on CD8 immune cells for additional insight into why a tiny percentage of HIV patients do not see any spread of the virus. They believe CD8 could hold the key to a new vaccine. Report

Researchers have discovered important details of how nicotine adjusts the signaling properties of neuronal wiring to enhance memory. These signaling properties include the strength of the connections by which one neuron triggers another. While nicotine is highly addictive, researchers have also shown the drug to enhance learning and memory--a property that has launched efforts to develop nicotine-like drugs to treat cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Report

A new study has found a promising drug for the treatment of epilepsy patients, whose symptoms remain uncontrolled with existing medications. The new drug called Eslicarbazepine (ESL), offers the patients added convenience, as it is a once-daily dose, while current treatments can involve several doses per day. The research was conducted by the Department of Research and Development at BIAL in Portugal. Release

Scientists at MIT and Stanford have learned how to turn parts of the brain off and on using a simple flash of light. Report

U.S. scientists who earlier found an enzyme that's a natural tumor suppressor have identified two variants that could treat diabetes and other diseases. Release

Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that by combining two antibiotics-- doxycycline and ciprofloxacin--they halted the growth of doxycycline-resistant E. coli. The resistant strain of E. coli ignored the doxycycline, which left the ciprofloxacin to attack the bacteria unimpeded. Report

Researchers say a newly discovered molecule could be a key factor in developing new ways to curb high blood fats, such as triglycerides and cholesterol. Found on the lining of blood vessels, the molecule GPIHBP1 captures molecular particles that deliver fats to cells to use as fuel. Targeting the molecule could be a method of treating high levels of cholesterol and other fats. Report

Researchers at Cornell have found 23 biomarkers for Alzheimer's that could lead to an early diagnosis. Report

In a new study published in the journal Cell, Dr. James Dennis, senior investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital, has discovered a new role for sugars on proteins. His research focuses on the effects of changing the sugars associated with the key proteins that act as receptors for hormones and growth factors. These are the same types of proteins that are targeted by a new generation of anti-cancer drugs such as Herceptin (trastuzumab). "These findings may lead to a new class of drug treatments as well as strategies to improve the effectiveness of existing anti-receptor drugs," states Dr. Jim Woodgett. Release

Researchers at McGill University have found a genetic mutation linked to spina bifida, a discovery that could hasten research for a cure as well as improve diagnosis and identify parents most likely to have a child with the disease. Report

Two new studies show that the antiretroviral drugs used to prevent HIV transmission from a pregnant mother-to-child may cause genetic damage. Report

After an acute viral infection, some T cells generated to kill virus-infected cells remain on guard to establish long-term immunity. These so-called memory T cells, which derive from CD8 T cells, engage in a self-renewal process essential to their persistence. Now, a new study shows that the CD8 T cells produced to fight a chronic infection operate under an entirely different maintenance scheme than do the CD8 T cells that become memory T cells. Report

Pediatricians in growing numbers say that the antibiotics used to treat ear infections are increasingly unlikely to work. Report

In an effort to avoid dangerous adverse drug reactions, scientists at the Child and Family Research Institute at B.C. Children's Hospital in Canada will begin collecting DNA samples from children in an effort to discover new biomarkers that will help determine if children are allergic to certain medications. Report

Agent prevents tumors from developing in bones

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Researchers at UT's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have used a "Trojan Horse" to prevent bone tumors from developing in mice. The agent--VEGF121/rGel--prevented cells from eating away at the bone of half the mice involved in the study to make room for tumors to grow. Their research specifically dealt with prostate cancer cells, but has implications for preventing metastasis for breast, multiple myeloma, lung and renal cell cancers.

"Many tumors invade bone in the same way, so these findings suggest it may be possible to shut down this process regardless of the tumor type," says the study's lead author, Michael G. Rosenblum, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics. "If that could be done--and we are a long way from determining if it is possible--we may be able to offer the first treatment that specifically targets bone metastasis."

- see the release on the new cancer research