Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been hailed as one of the great advances in oncology care, but not all patients will respond. This is particularly the case with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), where durable antitumor complete responses have been observed in only 26% of patients, in contrast to the greater than 90%...
Post
Artificial Retinas Made Of This Ultra-Thin Super Material Could Help Millions See Again
TRULY SUPER. There’s a reason researchers call graphene a “super material.” Even though it’s just a single layer of carbon atoms thick, it’s super strong, super flexible, and super light. It also conducts electricity and is biodegradable. Now an international team of researchers has found a way to use the super material: to create artificial retinas. They presented their work Monday...
Post
Combination immunotherapy shrinks melanoma brain metastases
Combination immunotherapy shrank melanoma that has spread to the brain in more than half of the patients in a clinical trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine led by an investigator at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Hussein Tawbi, M.D., Ph.D. Credit: MD Anderson Cancer Center Of 94 patients in the single-arm study combining...
Post
Found: A destructive mechanism that blocks the brain from knowing when to stop eating
An international team of researchers has uncovered a destructive mechanism at the molecular level that causes a well-known phenomenon associated with obesity, called leptin resistance. Mice fed a high-fat diet produce an enzyme named MMP-2 that clips receptors for the hormone leptin from the surface of neuronal cells in the hypothalamus. This blocks leptin from binding to...
Post
Receptor protein in the brain controls the body’s fat ‘rheostat’
Scientists at the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University have identified the function of a protein that has been confounding metabolism researchers for more than two decades. And it may have implications both for treating obesity and for understanding weight gain during pregnancy and menopause. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The protein, called the melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R)...
Post
Cellular changes lead to chronic allergic inflammation in the sinus
Chronic rhinosinusitis is distinct from your average case of seasonal allergies. It causes the sinuses to become inflamed and swollen for months to years at a time, leading to difficulty breathing and other symptoms that make patients feel miserable. In some people, this condition also produces tissue outgrowths known as nasal polyps, which, when severe...
Post
Baby poop may be source of beneficial probiotics
WAKE FOREST BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – August 23, 2018 – Probiotics seem to be everywhere these days – in yogurt, pickles, bread, even dog food. But there’s one place that may surprise you: There are probiotics in dirty diapers. Yes, that’s right – baby poop. Scientists at Wake Forest School of Medicine have...
Post
Scientists close in on mystery surrounding dangerous blood syndromes
Genetically driven MDS enabled by gene linked to metabolism and oxygen in cells CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER CINCINNATI – Scientists may be on the road to solving the mystery of a group of mostly incurable blood diseases called myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), which cause people to have immature, malfunctioning bone marrow cells that fuel a...
Post
New biomarkers of inflammation identified as risk of polyneuropathy
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER DIABETESFORSCHUNG DZD Polyneuropathy is one of the most common complications in people with diabetes. However, it can also occur with certain risk factors or diseases before the onset of diabetes. First symptoms are often pins-and-needles sensations in the feet. Although polyneuropathy is present in about 30% of people with diabetes, it often...
Post
Polymer antibodies efficiently target and eliminate cancer cells
MOSCOW INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY A joint research team from Russia and the U.K. has demonstrated the possibility of developing a new type of anti-neoplastic drugs based on nanoMIPs, or “plastic antibodies.” NanoMIPs are synthetic polymers that can function as antibodies, selectively binding to target proteins on the surface of cancer cells. This approach could lead...