By Nick Lavars Scientists have uncovered a new mechanism behind hair loss, and one they think could be leveraged to prevent the onset of male patten baldness. By stopping a newly discovered muscle movement that is key to the shedding of old follicles, scientists believe they may one day be able intervene to help men...
Gel made out of a patient’s blood could help problem foot ulcers heal quicker
By ROGER DOBSON FOR THE DAILY MAIL A gel made from blood could rapidly speed up the healing of chronic wounds. Problem foot ulcers treated with the gel, made from the patient’s own blood, are more likely to heal than those treated traditionally, according to a new study. Many of the 2.2 million wounds treated by...
Drug targeting common cancer cause enters phase 2 clinical trials
By Michael Irving A promising new cancer drug will soon enter phase 2 clinical trials, after finding success in animal models and preliminary human studies. Known as AMG 510, the drug targets a gene mutation that’s one of the most common causes of cancer. Errors in a gene called KRAS are responsible for up to...
A molecular map of the brain’s decision-making area
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have come one step closer toward understanding how the part of our brain that is central for decision-making and the development of addiction is organized on a molecular level. In mouse models and with methods used for mapping cell types and brain tissue, the researchers were able to visualize...
Many younger patients with stomach cancer have a distinct disease, Mayo research discovers
MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER, Minn. — Many people under 60 who develop stomach cancer have a “genetically and clinically distinct” disease, new Mayo Clinic research has discovered. Compared to stomach cancer in older adults, this new, early onset form often grows and spreads more quickly, has a worse prognosis, and is more resistant to traditional chemotherapy...
Injection of Virus-Delivered Gene Silencer Blocks ALS Degeneration, Saves Motor Function
Writing in Nature Medicine, an international team headed by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine describe a new way to effectively deliver a gene-silencing vector to adult amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice, resulting in long-term suppression of the degenerative motor neuron disorder if treatment vector is delivered prior to disease onset,...
Motor neurone disease linked to cholesterol imbalance in cells
Scientists have developed a new theory on the underlying cause of motor neurone disease, which could lead to more accurate diagnosis for patients and new treatments. A team at the University of Exeter has found evidence that the condition is caused by an imbalance in cholesterol and other fat levels in the compartments of the...
Can brain injury from boxing, MMA be measured?
by American Academy of Neurology For boxers and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, is there a safe level of exposure to head trauma? A new study shows different effects in the brain for younger, current fighters compared to older, retired fighters. The study is published in the December 23, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal...
Breaking the dogma: Key cell death regulator has more than one way to get the job done
by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered a new way that the molecule RIPK1 leads to cell death in infected, damaged or unwanted cells showing that more than one mechanism can trigger the process. The findings appeared online today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. “Our findings break...
Could higher magnesium intake reduce fatal coronary heart disease risk in women?
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC./GENETIC ENGINEERING NEWS New Rochelle, NY, December 23, 2019–A new prospective study based on data from the Women’s Health Initiative found a potential inverse association between dietary magnesium and fatal coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women. The study, which also showed a trend between magnesium and sudden cardiac death in this population,...