Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center report in the March issue of Cancer Research that a pair of promising proteins, known as fibulins 3 and 5, slow the growth of cancer tumors in mice by preventing blood vessels from sprouting. The proteins are promising candidates for use in cancer therapy.

“Healthy humans produce fibulin proteins, which regulate cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In the past, we have seen that they are depleted in numerous metastatic

Attaching a recently discovered cytokine to neural stem cells derived from bone marrow, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have developed a tool to track and kill malignant brain tumor cells and provide long-term protection against their return.

Results of an animal study are published in the March 1, 2006 issue of Cancer Research, and the researchers are now applying to regulatory agencies to translate their work into hum

A destructive pathogen is impacting Hawaii’s production of anthuriums, a plant known for its heart-shaped flower and leaves, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).

Anthuriums’s flower portion, or spathe, is available in a variety of colors including brilliant shades of red, orange, pink, and salmon. Although they originated in Central America, anthuriums are now the most important cut flowers in the Hawaiian floriculture industry,

Every year at least six million people die from TB, malaria or HIV. Leeds researchers will play a major role in the fight against the world’s three biggest killers in a £5m programme spanning countries from China to Nepal and Bangladesh to Uganda.

The five-year project will help ensure that the best treatments reach those in most need as quickly as possible, and that effective healthcare systems are established to prevent the spread of disease.

“Our vision is to contribut

Scientists at Innsbruck Medical University have succeeded in demonstrating the anti-inflammatory effect of beer extracts. In vitro experiments conducted at the Division of Biological Chemistry at the Innsbruck Biocenter by Prof. Dietmar Fuchs and his team on peripheral mononuclear blood cells show that beer extracts block interferon-gamma-induced chemical processes.

Interferon-gamma is one of the most important messengers in inflammatory response and is mainly produced as part of the c

A reduction in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, prevalence and death rate can be achieved by 2015 in most parts of the world, with the greatest challenges occurring in Africa and Eastern Europe, according to a projection by the Stop TB Department of the World Health Organization.

This assessment appears in the first issue for March 2006 of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society.

Tuberculosis is a contagious, potent

An independent clinical and laboratory study of more than 3000 people treated with the drug natalizumab (Tysabri®) for multiple sclerosis (MS), Crohn’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis has found no evidence of new cases of the often-fatal disorder called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). The laboratory component of the study was coordinated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), working in conjunctio

Doctors in Brazil have concluded that the drug amifostine eases many of the most common side effects associated with patients receiving radiation therapy to treat their cancer while simultaneously making the cancer more susceptible to radiation. The study was published in the March 1, 2006, issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

The researchers set out to evaluat

A team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers has found that a delayed-release stimulant used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be less likely to be abused than other stimulant drugs. Study participants taking therapeutic oral doses of Concerta, a once-daily form of the drug methylphenidate, did not report perceiving and enjoying the drug’s subjective effects, features that are associated with a medication’s potential for abuse. The report ap

Much has been written about the enormous effort required to take scientific discovery from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside. In the Supplement to the February issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Brad Doebbeling, M.D., M.Sc., and colleagues offer strategy on how best to take the next step, to use technology to incorporate new or better treatments at the bedsides of patients treated anywhere.

In the paper, Dr. Doebbeling, director of the Indiana University Ce

Significant cluster found on Staten Island

According to a new study, exposure to toxins from hazardous waste sites may be a significant risk factor for developing primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Published in the March 2006 issue of Hepatology, researchers found significant clusters of the disease near Superfund toxic waste sites (SFS) and that the majority of patients in New York City who need liver transplants because of PBC, reside near SFS. Hepatology is published on behalf

New study finds PROCAM and SCORE most accurate

Two methods of assessing a patient’s risk of cardiovascular events–SCORE and PROCAM–proved more valuable for liver transplant recipients than an alternative method, according to a new study. These findings are published in the March 2006 issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS). Published o

First studies reveal next steps in historic procedure

Even after news of the first partial facial transplantation performed in France spread around the world, plastic surgeons have continued to research how to make the first full facial transplantation a reality. In the first peer-reviewed, scientific studies of their kind, U.S. plastic surgeons demonstrated how to successfully complete a full facial tissue transplantation from one human body to another, reports the March iss

The MRSA ‘superbug’ evades many of the measures introduced to combat its spread by infecting a common single-celled organism found almost everywhere in hospital wards, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

Scientists from the University of Bath have shown that MRSA infects and replicates in a species of amoeba, called Acanthamoeba polyphaga, which is ubiquitous in the environment and can be found on inanimate objects such as vases, sinks an

A cut can be life-threatening for people with hemophilia, whose bodies don’t produce enough of a protein that prevents prolonged bleeding.

Now University of Florida researchers may be one step closer to finding a safe way to spur production of this missing protein in patients with the most common form of the hereditary bleeding disorder. Using a dormant strand of DNA that has quietly existed in fish for millions of years, the researchers replaced the faulty gene responsible

Biochemistry Professor Frank Sauer and colleagues uncover new information about how embryonic fruit fly cells differentiate, a process that may advance cancer and stem-cell research.

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered a molecular mechanism that directs the fate and function of cells during animal development. The findings could hold promise for the advancement of cancer and stem-cell research.

The research is published in the Feb. 24