In the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins researchers report that injection of human stem cells into the fluid around the spinal cord of each of 15 paralyzed rats clearly improved the animals’ ability to control their hind limbs — but not at all in the way the scientists had expected.
“Our first hypothesis was that functional recovery came from human cells reconstituting the nerve circuits destroyed by the paralysis-inducing virus we gave the rats,” says first
Pelvic floor exercises for men have been found to be highly effective in restoring erectile function according to recently published research. Research at the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, Bristol, shows that pelvic floor exercises result in the same overall improvement rate seen in a large trial of men taking Viagra.
Fifty-five men with an average age of 59 years who had experienced erectile dysfunction for 6 months or more took part in the tri
In two groundbreaking papers published in two prestigious journals over the last two months, University of Southern California researchers have provided evidence of two previously unknown functions for a protein that is central to the transcription of genes. Both papers shed light on the role this protein-called TATA-binding protein, or TBP-may play in promoting the development of cancer.
“What we’ve found is that changes in the cellular concentrations of this critical transcription fa
Drinking may compromise treatment success
A team of NIH-supported researchers today report that alcohol increases replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in human cells and, by so doing, may contribute to the rapid course of HCV infection. The researchers tested the actions of alcohol in HCV replicon–viral HCV-ribonucleic acid or HCV-RNAs that, when introduced into human liver cell lines, replicate to high levels. In separate laboratory experiments they showed that: alcohol
Improvements in echocardiographic sequence and mammogram analysis techniques lead to earlier detection of disease and defects.
Imaging various parts of the body is an established and important method for the diagnosis of diseases such as breast cancer, and is also used extensively for the detection of abnormalities in organs such as the heart. Accurate interpretation, and ultimately correct diagnosis, is dependent on the quality of the images. High quality images, however, can often b
An updated edition of Sources and Prices of Selected Medicines and Diagnostics for People living with HIV/AIDS will be released today. The report provides market information on 74 reviewed products for the treatment and management of HIV/AIDS from 61 manufacturers.
The report gives purchasers of AIDS medicines and diagnostics a range of choices related to suppliers and affordability. The medicines included were selected on the basis of WHO standard treatment guidelines. The list is n
The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was signed by 40 countries and the European Community during the first week it opened for signature. Norway became the first country to accept the treaty.
“The fact that so many countries signed the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in its first week demonstrates how strongly it is supported and how meaningful it is to diverse populations and situations,” said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General
Researchers have peered inside breast cancer’s toolbox and identified a set of rogue genes that accelerates the spread of cancer from its primary site in the breast to a secondary location in bone marrow. The genes identified by the scientists are distinct from those that spawn the initial tumor, which invites speculation about whether different cancers bear unique “gene expression signatures” that increase the probability that a cancer will spread in a process called metastasis.
Metast
By closely following nature’s blueprint, Toronto researchers have developed an innovative way to speed the healing of severe bone breaks, resulting in what may be the thickest tissue-engineered bone ever produced in the laboratory.
The new bone grows naturally without the addition of chemical growth stimulants, said Whitaker investigator Molly Shoichet, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto. The innovation is in the design of the synthetic scaffold that provides a framework for the growin
Biomolecular interaction analysis (BIA) using SPR (surface plasmon resonance) biosensors is now utilised increasingly in nearly all phases of drug development. The BIA system consists out of a light source emitting near infrared light, a sensor microchip, an automated liquid handling system with constant flow and a diode array position-sensitive detector. One of the two interacting partners (referred to as the ligand) is immobilized on the sensor surface. The other binding partner, called the analy
Scientists bring early detection closer
Scientists at the Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) in Seattle announced a new biomarker for ovarian cancer today. Their discovery promises improved diagnosis of the disease, which usually remains hidden until it is too late for effective treatment.
In the July 1 issue of Cancer Research, the researchers describe a molecule, HE4, associated with ovarian cancer cells. Because the molecule is secreted readily into the blood, it
Astronauts on extended missions go into space with a spring in their step but rarely return from the International Space Station (ISS) walking steady.
“We want to develop a training device to counter the effects while in space and help astronauts recover more quickly upon return to Earth,” said Dr. Jacob Bloomberg, a researcher on the National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s (NSBRI) neurovestibular adaptation team.
Returning astronauts walk with an unstable gait and wide sta
A deadly form of cancer in children, which starts out as a tumor in the eye, can now be treated successfully by a combination of therapies. This is the conclusion of a study appearing in the June issue of Ophthalmology, the clinical journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Eye M.D. Association.
Malignant retinal tumors in children, called retinoblastomas, which have spread to the bones, bone marrow and soft tissue can be successfully treated by a combination of high-dose chemot
Research by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center specialists has uncovered a novel pathway in the origin of pancreatic cancers, one of the deadliest of malignancies. Their findings are reported in the June 23, 2003, issue of Cancer Cell.
Working with cancer cells from 55 patients, the Hopkins team found that a growth signal normally turned off in adult tissues is mistakenly turned back on after injury or inflammation of the pancreas. “We think reactivation may be a first step in initiating pa
Scientists studying the brains of mice have discovered how the toxic protein that destroys the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients enters the brain. When the researchers gave mice a drug that blocked the process, flow of the protein into the brain was virtually halted and existing accumulations of it in the brain plummeted by more than 70 percent. The results of the research will be published in the July 1 issue of Nature Medicine.
The new findings center on amyloid beta, a tiny protei
Dutch researcher Patrick Vronen from Wageningen University has investigated several methods for converting toxins in high-starch potatoes into a raw material for steroid hormones used, for example, in contraceptive pills.
The molecular structure of the potato toxin solanidine, which is found in high-starch potatoes, is similar to that of diosgenine. Diosgenine is the current precursor for synthetic hormones. Patrick Vronen converted solanidine into dehydropregnenolone acetate (DPA). This su
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