Study Supports Development Potential in Several Therapeutic Areas Zengen, Inc. announced today that its researchers have discovered that activation of melanocortin receptors (MCR) subtypes MC1R and MC3R could be a novel strategy to control inflammatory disorders. The findings, “Targeting Melanocortin Receptors as a Novel Strategy to Control Inflammation,” appear in the March 2004 issue of Pharmacological Reviews, a publication of the American Society for Pharmacology and Exp
Scientists at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC), in Portugal, together with colleagues at the Universities of Lisbon and Warwick, in the United Kingdom, have developed a mathematical model that explains why the tuberculosis (TB) vaccine is ineffective in many of the developing countries. The model quantifies the predicted decrease in the number of TB cases in light of both the socioeconomic development of a population and the characteristics of new vaccines. Their research has been published
Research suggests that Vitamin supplements may slow bone loss
Older women with low levels of vitamin B-12 are more likely to experience rapid bone loss, according to new research published this month in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The new findings help to establish the importance of vitamin B-12 in the bone health of women as they age.
Vitamin B-12, which is found in animal products, such as meat, shellfish, milk, cheese and eggs, is needed to produce
Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, Roger Pomerantz, M.D., suggests that understanding how HIV interacts with another virus, GBV-C, may help researchers devise improved therapies.
Another virus could hold a key to helping researchers devise new strategies against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A new study appearing March 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that individuals infected with two viruses – HIV and the little known GBV-C – actually do better than th
Inserm and CNRS research scientists and doctors at the Institut Curie have demonstrated the influence of the status – mutated or functional – of the tumour suppressor gene p53 in the response of colorectal cancer to chemotherapy. Tumours in which the p53 gene is mutated respond less well to treatment. However, by adding another agent, researchers at the Institut Curie have succeeded in increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy in mice bearing human cancer xenografts.
The presence of a mutatio
Data from unique gene function studies show Rb is required for proliferation of retinal cells and development of the light-sensitive rods and gives hints for improving treatment of retinoblastoma
The finding that a tumor-suppressor protein called Rb is required for proper development of the mouse retina is a major step toward understanding why some children develop the devastating eye cancer called retinoblastoma. This discovery should eventually help scientists design a better treatm
Whether giving good bacteria that normally helps keep the intestinal tract and immune system healthy can reduce infections in intensive-care patients is the focus of a new clinical study at the Medical College of Georgia.
“When people are admitted to intensive care on broad-spectrum antibiotics, we know that 25 to 40 percent of them will get an infection with a resistant bacteria during their stay,” says Dr. Robert G. Martindale, gastrointestinal surgeon, nutritionist and principal investiga
Researchers have found another good reason to eat your fruits and vegetables and not abuse antibiotics.
A transporter in the colon called SLC5A8 plays an important role in enabling the colon to get the last bit of good out of food before the unusable is flushed away, according to research currently published online as an accelerated communication in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
In an amazing model of efficiency, good bacteria in the colon produce an enzyme that rele
A drug widely used to prevent nausea and other side effects in patients receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer may also, unfortunately, prevent the therapy from working efficiently on tumor cells, researchers from the University of Chicago report in the March 1 issue of the Journal, Cancer Research.
Dexamethasone, a synthetic steroid, is routinely given to women just before they receive chemotherapy with either paclitaxel or doxorubicin, two drugs commonly used to treat breast cancer. In
The use of crystal methamphetamine by men who have sex with men (MSM) increases the risk of HIV transmission and can cause complications in those who are already HIV-positive, according to an article in the March 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Highly popular with young people who frequent dance clubs, crystal meth and its cousin “Ecstasy” both induce a feeling of elation and alertness. This sense of well-being is dangerous, though, as it lessens inhibitions
The intense pain many patients with pancreatic cancer experience may be reduced by more than 50 percent using a nerve block technique along with the standard pain-relieving medications. That is the finding of a Mayo Clinic study that will be published in the March 3 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The study also found that the neurolytic celiac plexus block (NCPB), the type of nerve block used, continued to provide sustained pain relief over several months
Predicting the mortality of patients with pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lung) may become possible with a newly developed clot-volume ranking index, according to a study appearing in the March issue of the journal Radiology.
“We found that the amount of clot present is predictive of patient outcome,” said study coauthor, John A. Pezzullo, M.D., assistant professor of diagnostic imaging at Brown University in Providence, R.I. “Consequently, patients with a high clot volume have a poor
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have for the first time used a chemical marker detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to successfully diagnose breast cancer. The diagnostic technique produces pictures of choline within breast tumors.
In the study, researchers from the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at Hopkins demonstrated that choline signals analyzed by MRI were significantly elevated in malignant tumors in 15 of 18 patients stud
Unwanted fat may have a bigger effect on the heart than physicians previously thought.
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have discovered that cells in human fat actually may help the body grow new blood vessels to repair both muscle and heart tissue. These cells, called stromal cells, are immature fat cells. Their findings are reported in the March 1 online issue of Circulation, the scientific journal of the American Heart Association.
Jalees Rehman,
Disulfiram (a drug used to help selected patients with alcohol disorders remain sober) and cognitive behavioral therapy appear effective in reducing cocaine use, especially among cocaine users who are not dependent on alcohol, according to an article in the March issue of The Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Patients taking disulfiram who ingest even small amounts of alcohol develop a reaction that produces nausea, flushing, vomiting, and throbbing headache
A University of Iowa study suggests that inhibiting a certain protein involved in inflammation might be of therapeutic benefit in organ transplantation, heart attacks and possibly stroke. The study, led by John Engelhardt, Ph.D., UI professor and interim head of anatomy and cell biology, found that blocking the action of this protein can prevent the tissue damage caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury. The study is published in the March 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
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