Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a mechanism that helps explain why healthy cells are not killed by DNA-damaging cancer chemotherapy drugs. The findings are published in the Oct. 4 issue of the journal Cell.

DNA-damaging agents are the most common kind of drugs used to treat cancer. Like most chemotherapy drugs, these are carried in the blood and travel throughout the body. They work by irreparably gumming up DNA in rapidly dividing tumo

Penn State mechanical engineers, working with medical and pharmaceutical researchers, have developed the first computer-generated “virtual stomach” to follow the path of extended-release tablets that are designed to remain in the stomach for hours while slowly releasing medicine.

The researchers note that, although many medications are prepared in extended-release form, the details of exactly how the pills break down and release medicine in the stomach are largely unknown. The new “virtual

Genital herpes due to HSV-1 – the herpes simplex virus primarily associated with cold sores on the mouth – is strongly associated with an early start to sex, suggests research in Sexually Transmitted Infections. And its prevalence is increasing, say the authors.

The findings are based on blood samples and details of sexual behaviour from 869 people attending a central London sexual health clinic and from 1494 blood donors.

Analysis of the samples showed that evidence of previous or

Suggests new route to treat anxiety without sedating or addicting side effects

The trouble with most anti-anxiety drugs is that they tend to sedate, not just relax. A research team led by scientists at UCSF’s Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center has shown that de-activating a common enzyme in neurons reduces anxiety without inducing sedation. The study in mice suggests a new route to treat anxiety while avoiding sedating and possibly addicting effects.

The research, p

Duke anesthesiologists have found that a “Doppler” technique of using reflected sound waves to measure the heart?s pumping action can better guide the administration of fluids and plasma during major surgery. They have found that the use of Doppler technology appears to reduce hospital stays and to speed patient recovery.

Additionally, according to Duke University Medical Center researchers, these patients experience less postoperative nausea and vomiting and are able to eat solid foods muc

Transplants in animal models could translate into therapy for humans

Neural stem cells, transplanted into injured brains, survive, proliferate, and improve brain function in laboratory models according to research based at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The findings, published in the October edition of the journal Neurosurgery, suggest that stem cells could provide the first clinical therapy to treat traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injuries occur in two

Whether 240 miles above in the International Space Station or firmly grounded on Earth, medical testing without needles wins everyone’s vote.

Refinements under way to current near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic techniques will expand the range of non-invasive blood and tissue chemistry measurements. These changes also will provide accurate readings unaffected by skin color or body fat.

“Once complete, this device will allow chemical analysis and diagnosis without removing samples f

Lasker recipient James E. Darnell contends drug developers should focus more on ’transcription factor’ proteins

Researchers may be looking for novel cancer drugs in the wrong places, says Rockefeller University Professor James E. Darnell, Jr., M.D., in an article in this month’s Nature Reviews Cancer.

Darnell, who received the 2002 Albert Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science, argues that drug development research should focus more on a speci

Chinese herbal medicine combined with standard therapy may be more effective than standard therapy alone for treatment of chronic hepatitis B, according to an analysis of randomized, controlled trials led by University of California, Berkeley, researchers.

Researchers analyzed 27 clinical trials in which chronic hepatitis B patients using Chinese herbal medicine alone, or with interferon alfa, were compared with a control group of patients that were taking only interferon alfa. The protein

‘Chronic pain causes permanent alterations in the human primary somatosensory (SI) and motor (M1) cortices,’ says docent Nina Forss. ‘These alterations can be used as objective indicators of pain that shapes the human brain,’ she continues. Nina Forss works at the Helsinki University of Technology Low Temperature Laboratory: the laboratory’s Brain Research Unit was appointed a Centre of Excellence in Research in 1995.

Each body part has its representation area in the somatosensory cortex

Two independent research groups, led by Drs. Haruhiko Siomi (Institute for Genome Research, University of Tokushima, Japan) and Gregory Hannon (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA) have discovered that the Drosophila version of the human fragile X mental retardation protein associates with components of the RNAi pathway, suggesting that the molecular mechanism underlying fragile X syndrome may involve an RNAi-related process.

“It has been our feeling since we became involved in the field sev

The c-myc gene is commonly activated in a variety of human tumors. As a new report in the October 1 issue of Genes & Development shows, scientists are gaining a better understanding as to why.

Dr. John Cleveland and colleagues at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that c-Myc is essential for tumor development, as it regulates factors necessary for the growth of blood vessels into tumors – lending a new potential target to anti-angiogenic cancer therapies.

T

Speaking at BioArrays Europe (Cambridge, UK, 30 Sept-1 Oct), Dr Tony Smith, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Solexa, presented data on the progress of the Company`s proprietary Single Molecule Array™ technology for human genetic variation applications, highlighting significant progress in the massively parallel detection of single molecules using fluorescence.

Solexa’s Single Molecule Array technology is being applied to the measurement of individual genetic variation to develop a method f

Less than 10% of the human genome contains coded information in the form of genes. The 30,000-40,000 genes in the genome are found grouped in discrete regions of the chromosomes. Chemical agents and radiation habitually cause a large variety of injuries to the DNA which interferes in many cell processes, like transcription and replication, and this can cause a loss of control of cell division and the appearance of tumours. In order to avoid this, the human genome contains more than 130 DNA repair gen

Regular use of inhaled steroids cuts hospital admissions for severe asthma by almost a third, reveals research in Thorax.

Most previous research has looked at the short-term effects of inhalers to prevent asthma attacks, but this Canadian study analysed data for asthma patients over a period of 22 years.

The study included all asthma patients aged 5 to 44 years of age between 1975 and 1991, who were part of the health insurance scheme provided for all residents in the province of Sa

New research shows that a synthetic antioxidant can reduce brain damage by more than 40 percent in an animal model of stroke when given seven and a half hours after the stroke begins. Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center and Duke University Medical Center will report their findings in the October issue of the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

“Because the onset of a stroke can be difficult to detect, many patients do not get treatment for several hours,” said