July 13, 2018

Senolytic drugs reverse damage caused by senescent cells in mice

Injecting senescent cells into young mice results in a loss of health and function but treating the mice with a combination of two existing drugs cleared the senescent cells from tissues and restored physical function. The drugs also extended both life span and health span in naturally aging mice, according […]
July 13, 2018

Rise of the Clones

A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has identified some of the first known inherited genetic variants that significantly raise a person’s likelihood of developing clonal hematopoiesis, an age-related white blood cell condition linked with higher risk of […]
July 12, 2018

Potential game-changer for Parkinson's disease outcomes

A unique gaming system called ‘OrbIT’ will play a lead role in the fight to improve life for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease, thanks to funding from the Estate of the late Olga Mabel Woolger. In a three-year $90,000 study, Flinders University Rehabilitation Engineer, Mr David Hobbs and University of […]
July 12, 2018

Vitamin D no defence against dementia

New research from South Australian scientists has shown that vitamin D (also commonly known as the sunshine vitamin) is unlikely to protect individuals from multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease or other brain-related disorders. The findings, released in the science journal Nutritional Neuroscience reported that researchers had failed to find solid clinical […]
July 12, 2018

Combination of blood test and imaging improves detection of prostate cancer

The study compares traditional detection of prostate cancer with a novel practice using a blood test, the Stockholm3 test, in combination with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted prostate biopsies. More men get a correct diagnosis and treatment The results show that the suggested diagnostic strategy decreased the number of […]
July 12, 2018

“Fighting” Cancer May Detract Men from Palliative Care

Men with advanced cancer are 30 percent less likely than women to consider palliative care, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study. Researchers believe the findings reflect social norms about gender roles — as well as widespread messages in the media and society about “fighting” cancer. Often men see themselves […]
July 11, 2018

Vitamin D does not protect people from brain-related disorders

Dementia is a hugely debilitating condition, taking its toll on aging people and their families. Humans value their intellectual ability highly and coming to terms that they are deteriorating is very difficult. Many people believe that there are some remedies that can prevent multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease or […]
July 11, 2018

Deadly Form of Advanced Prostate Cancer is Common, Calls for Distinct Treatment

A new study of prostate cancer in 202 men, whose cancers had spread and were resistant to standard treatment, found that a surprisingly large number of these cancers – about 17 percent – belong to a deadlier subtype of metastatic prostate cancer. Previously, it was thought that these cancers constituted […]
July 11, 2018

Pucker up, baby! Lips take center stage in infants’ brains, study says

A typically developing 2-month-old baby can make cooing sounds, suck on her hand to calm down and smile at people. At that age, the mouth is the primary focus: Such young infants aren’t yet reaching for objects with their hands or using their feet to get around, so the lips […]
July 11, 2018

Brain circuit triggers hot flashes in males and females

Activation of a single type of neuron appears to trigger hot-flash-like symptoms in mice.  In the issue of Cell Reports, researchers show that so-called Kiss1 neurons in the hypothalamus may be the link between sex hormone fluctuations and the hot flashes that affect many menopausal women. These cells project to a brain region controlling […]
July 11, 2018

High blood pressure in pregnancy linked to mother's heart function

The study, led by Imperial College London and researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Cambridge, also suggest pregnant women who develop high blood pressure (pre-eclampsia), or fetal growth restriction (where a baby's growth slows or stops before birth), may have differences in their blood circulation. The team tracked the […]
July 11, 2018

Molecular brake on human cell division prevents cancer

One of biology’s great mysteries is how a single fertilised egg can generate millions of cells that together make up a human body, while simultaneously restricting growth to prevent lethal diseases such as cancer. This process is strictly regulated by our DNA, the genetic cookbook carried by each single cell […]
July 11, 2018

Crystal Structure Reveals How Curcumin Impairs Cancer

Through x-ray crystallography and kinase-inhibitor specificity profiling, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Peking University and Zhejiang University, reveal that curcumin, a natural occurring chemical compound found in the spice turmeric, binds to the kinase enzyme dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) at […]
July 10, 2018

Low-carb, high-fat diet may boost targeted cancer therapy

A very low carbohydrate, high-fat diet called the ketogenic diet may improve the effectiveness of an emerging class of cancer drugs, according to a study in mice by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian. In a study published in Nature, scientists provide a possible […]
July 10, 2018

Lab-grown tumors provide insights on rare prostate cancer

Growing miniature tumors from a patient’s cells in the laboratory may help scientists personalize treatments for those with a rare form of prostate cancer, according a study by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian scientists. Patients with prostate cancer often receive therapies that reduce levels of testosterone. Many of their tumors […]
July 10, 2018

NIH study associates obesity with lower breast cancer risk in young women

Young women with high body fat have a decreased chance of developing breast cancer before menopause, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators. The finding, published online in the journal JAMA Oncology, may help researchers better understand the role obesity plays in breast cancer risk. […]
July 10, 2018

Novel drug therapy partially restores hearing in mice

A small-molecule drug is one of the first to preserve hearing in a mouse model of an inherited form of progressive human deafness, report investigators at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The study, which […]
July 10, 2018

Gene therapy method developed to target damaged kidney cells

Gene therapy has gained momentum in the past year, following the federal government’s approval of the first such treatments for inherited retinal diseases and hard-to-treat leukemia. Now, research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown, in mice, that genetic material can be delivered to damaged […]
July 9, 2018

New Form Of Wound Healing Revealed By Parasitic Gut Worms

Experiments using parasitic worms in the mouse gut have revealed a surprising new form of wound repair, a finding that could help scientists develop ways to enhance the body’s natural healing abilities. Researchers have long believed that adult stem cells contribute to wound healing in tissues like the gut and […]
July 9, 2018

How CRISPR Tools are Unlocking New Ways to Fight Disease

Recent leaps in gene editing technology have brought ideas that just a decade ago seemed like science fiction to the cusp of reality. The already famous CRISPR system allows scientists to edit faulty genes by cutting and replacing sections of DNA, but new and improved CRISPR techniques have expanded CRISPR’s […]
July 9, 2018

Researchers apply computing power to track the spread of cancer

This migration of cells can lead to metastatic disease, which causes about 90 percent of cancer deaths from solid tumors — masses of cells that grow in organs such as the breast, prostate or colon. Understanding the drivers of metastasis could lead to new treatments aimed at blocking the process […]
July 6, 2018

Positive Topline Results of the Final Analysis for BAN2401 for Treating Alzheimer's Disease Announced

Eisai Co., Ltd. and Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) announced positive topline results from the Phase II study with BAN2401, an anti-amyloid beta protofibril antibody, in 856 patients with early Alzheimer's disease. The study achieved statistical significance on key predefined endpoints evaluating efficacy at 18 months on slowing progression in Alzheimer's […]
July 5, 2018

Obesity affects prostate cancer test results

University of Adelaide research shows that the results of the most widely used test for prostate cancer may be affected by obesity. With increasing prevalence of obesity in high-income countries, this study published by the Society for Endocrinology, has important implications for detecting and monitoring the most common form of cancer […]
July 5, 2018

A Next-Gen EEG Could Help Bring Back Lost Brain Function

A device under development at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University could help bring back lost brain function by measuring how the brain responds to therapies that stimulate it with electric current. The approach could open new avenues for treating brain disorders and selectively switching […]
July 5, 2018

Wireless Pressure-Sensing Eye Implant Could Help Prevent Blindness

“By bringing together novel packaging and microelectronic technologies, and in close collaborations with ophthalmologists, we were able to design a miniaturized, fully wireless, and highly-sensitive sensor,” says Azita Emami, Caltech's Andrew and Peggy Cherng Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering and a Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator, and paper co-author. […]
July 4, 2018

Stem cells restore function in primate heart-failure study

Researchers at UW Medicine in Seattle have successfully used human stem cells to restore heart function in monkeys with heart failure. The findings suggest that the technique will be effective in patients with heart failure, the leading cause of death in the world. “The cells form new muscle that integrates […]
July 4, 2018

Research Brief: Eradicating cancer with immune cells armed with nanorings

Can we use nanotechnology to transform our own immune cells into cancer serial killers? Dr. Carston R. Wagner, professor and endowed chair of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in the College of Pharmacy and Masonic Cancer Center member, has proven so by his team’s development of techniques that activate immune cells, specifically T-cells, to […]