Hematopoietic stem cells, that form mature blood cells, require a very precise amount of protein to function — and defective regulation of protein production is common in certain types of aggressive human blood cancers. Now, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has uncovered a completely new mechanism that controls how proteins are produced...
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New blood test useful to detect people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease
Heidelberg, 6 April 2018 – There is, as yet, no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It is often argued that progress in drug research has been hampered by the fact that the disease can only be diagnosed when it is too late for an effective intervention. Alzheimer’s disease is thought to begin long before patients show...
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Repairing a leaky blood-brain barrier in epilepsy
The representative immunostaining for MMP-2 (left), MMP-9 (middle) and the negative control (right; overlay of green, blue and transmitted light channels) in isolated rat brain capillaries. MMPs are shown in green; nuclei were …more Blocking the activity of an enzyme that has a key role in the generation of recurring seizures may provide a new...
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New blood test found to predict onset of TB up to two years in advance
April 6, 2018 — A new blood test has been found to more accurately predict the development of tuberculosis up to two years before its onset in people living with someone with active TB, according to research published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, an American Thoracic Society journal. IMAGE: TB blood...
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Cutting-edge cancer drug ( Keytruda ) hobbled by diagnostic test confusion -pharmaceutical
Physicians struggle to identify which patients are likely to respond to a recently approved therapy. Cancerous cell growth (orange) in the colon. A landmark cancer drug approved last year seemed to herald a long-anticipated change in the treatment of some tumours: with medicines selected on the basis of molecular markers, rather than the tissue in...
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It’s all about the (stem cell) neighborhood
Stem cells have the ability to develop or differentiate, into the many different cell types in the body. They also serve as a repair system to replace aged or damaged cells. With their regenerative abilities, stem cells offer enormous potential in treating many diseases. Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School have now identified how the stem...
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Nauseating Marijuana Side-Effect Suffered By Heavy Users Is Relieved By Taking A Hot Shower
Doctors have seen the rise of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome as the use of marijuana has increased in the United States. It affects heavy marijuana users and causes severe nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Since the rise of the condition, people have found one thing that alleviates symptoms: hot showers. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome A recent study looking into...
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An index measures similarity between cancer cells and pluripotent stem cells
The new methodology measures tumor aggressiveness and the risk of relapse, helping doctors plan treatment, according to Brazilian scientists authors of a paper published in a special issue of the journal Cell The theory that cancer progression involves the acquisition by tumor cells of features similar to those of stem cells has gained strength in...
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New immunotherapy for lung cancer shows promise of success
In a groundbreaking development, results from a recent clinical trial to treat lung cancer show that a novel immunotherapy combination is surprisingly effective at controlling the disease’s progression. The study, published April 4 in the journal The Lancet Oncology, focused on non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most common form of lung cancer. IMAGE: In...
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A Non-apoptotic Function of MCL-1 in Promoting Pluripotency and Modulating Mitochondrial Dynamics in Stem Cells
Highlights Downregulation or inhibition of MCL-1 causes loss of OCT4 and NANOG expression MCL-1 downregulation or inhibition causes elongation of the mitochondrial network MCL-1 binds and modulates DRP-1 and OPA1 expression and activity Interactions between MCL-1 and DRP-1/OPA1 are disrupted by MCL-1 inhibitor Summary Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) maintain a highly fragmented mitochondrial network, but the...