Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers and their colleagues have discovered one way in which the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) wins its cat-and-mouse game with the body’s immune system.
The study, published in the March 20, 2003, issue of the journal Nature, shows that HIV-1, a common strain of the virus that causes AIDS, uses a strategy not seen before in other viruses to escape attack by antibodies, one of the immune system’s prime weapons against invading viruses and b
Research at Oxford University’s Institute of Molecular Medicine has identified a novel therapeutic regimen for the treatment of cancer that provides significant advantages over the existing methods of cancer treatment.
There are already a number of regimens available for treatment of cancer, including chemotherapy, which is commonly used to treat a number of different types of cancer. In most cases chemotherapeutic agents are given at the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), but at such doses the
Anxiety has long been linked to substance abuse. It is the key psychological factor driving the impulse to drink alcohol and one of the first symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.
Now, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered they can control the urge to drink in experimental animals by manipulating the molecular events in the brain that underlie anxiety.
The study is published in the current issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the nation
New study may have implications for millions in search of the elusive “good night’s sleep”
In movies and novels alike, much is made of the stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM), since this is the phase of slumber in which dreams (good, bad, exotic) occur. Among the medical community, there is an increased appreciation for what is called “slow-wave” sleep, (also known as deep or delta-wave sleep), because this fourth stage of sleep can be difficult to attain. If one is aw
Study Sheds light on HIV mutation process; May help guide AIDS vaccine development
Scientists in California have provided the first detailed look at how human antibodies, proteins critical for the body’s defense against invading pathogens, may actually drive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to mutate and escape detection by the immune system. The findings, reported online March 18 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may be key in efforts to develop an effective
A deactivation of the immune system in patients infected with HIV could be one way to inhibit progression to the immunodeficiency diseases associated with AIDS, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Emory University report.
A study comparing the effects of immunodeficiency virus in humans to its effects in sooty mangabey monkeys, which do not become ill when infected, revealed two major differences in the monkeys’ responses to the infection. The findings could o
Opiates and cannaboids, apart from being drugs, have curative properties. Thus, opiates (morphine, methadone, etc.) have been used for some time as a pain-reducer and many cannaboids have also analgesic properties.
Regarding their curative aspects, it is very important to know the effects produced after a prolonged period of treatment. Carrying out this analysis with opiates and cannabinoids, two important problems arise: given that they are drugs, they create psychological dependency and, i
Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers and their colleagues have developed a mouse model of the most prevalent and deadly form of human ovarian cancer — epithelial ovarian cancer. The mouse model provides a better opportunity to study the cause of ovarian cancer, examine the genes involved and test preventive, diagnostic and treatment approaches that could be applied to human ovarian cancer.
“These transgenic mice offer us a valuable scientific tool that never before has been available to ova
Scientists from Imperial College London, the University of Leicester, and Hammersmith Hospital have found a way to stop certain types of genetic diseases from occurring by modifying the way DNA is turned into proteins.
The research published in this month’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows how the researchers have been able to restore proper expression of defective genes, and that this might potentially have a positive effect in genetic diseases such as spina
Study may open way to using bone marrow stem cells as diabetes treatment
In a finding that may open a new avenue to treating diabetes, researchers show that cells from the bone marrow give rise to insulin-producing cells in the pancreas of mice. These morphed cells actually produce the hormone insulin in response to glucose and display other characteristics demonstrating that they truly function as pancreas cells, according to a new study by researchers from NYU School of Medicine.
Penn study find people respond poorly, while feeling only ’slightly’ tired
Sleep: Don’t be too sure you’re getting enough of it.
Those who believe they can function well on six or fewer hours of sleep every night may be accumulating a “sleep debt” that cuts into their normal cognitive abilities, according to research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. What’s more, the research indicates, those people may be too sleep-deprived to know it.
Scientists from Imperial College London, the University of Leicester, and Hammersmith Hospital have found a way to stop certain types of genetic diseases from occurring by modifying the way DNA is turned into proteins.
The research published in this month’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows how the researchers have been able to restore proper expression of defective genes, and that this might potentially have a positive effect in genetic diseases such as spinal muscular a
Binghamton University electronics engineering center charts new directions at ’micro’ and ’nano’ scale
Imagine a diagnostic “pill” that doctors can navigate through your system to collect video and chemical data about what’s going on in your body. Or how about a space age, two-ply, self-assembling organic-inorganic thin film that makes expensive mirrors and lenses such as those used by NASA virtually indestructible.
Each of these items is at the hear
To study the genetic components of disease, researchers rely on mice or other research models in which particular genes are silenced, or turned off. In recent years, researchers discovered that they can selectively silence genes using small pieces of RNA called siRNA (short interfering RNA).
Unfortunately, sorting out which siRNA sequences block expression of which genes has proven to be truly daunting. Researchers at Whitehead Institute, however, recently released for public use a new comp
Prospects for surviving acute liver failure are very slim, and statistics place mortality as high as 90 percent. A liver transplant may be the only alternative before fatal complications set in, yet not enough donor organs are available to meet the demand.
But a new bio-artificial technology about to undergo clinical tests at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and several other centers nationally may help extend the lives of those awaiting a donor liver and may even allow the
Johns Hopkins researchers last year reported that an experimental treatment for severe ragweed allergy consisting of just six shots in six weeks dramatically reduced allergic symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion and sneezing, and nearly eliminated the need for relief medications like antihistamines and decongestants. Now, follow-up of patients who continued in the study for a second year, shows that the initial six-injection course of this treatment appears to be effective – and safe – for m
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