UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER CINCINNATI–Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have discovered that cell metabolism plays an important role in the ability of cells to start a survival program called autophagy, an unwanted side effect of some anti-cancer drugs that helps some tumor cells dodge treatment and eventually regrow into...
Category: <span>Metabolic</span>
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The natural sugar that reduces the risk of diabetes in mice
Sugar may be the villain of our time, with too much of the sweet stuff known to be a leading cause of developing diabetes. But now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a new way to reduce the risk of this condition – sugar. Trehalose is a natural sugar that has...
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Powerful molecules provide new findings about Huntington’s disease
LUND UNIVERSITY Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a direct link between the protein aggregation in nerve cells that is typical for neurodegenerative diseases, and the regulation of gene expression in Huntington’s disease. The results pave the way for the development of new treatment strategies for diseases that involve impairment of the basic mechanism...
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This tiny particle might change millions of lives
Nanoparticle targets kidney disease for drug delivery UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Remember the scene in the movie Mission: Impossible when Tom Cruise has to sneak into the vault? He had to do all sorts of moves to avoid detection. That’s what it’s like to sneak a targeted drug into a kidney and keep it from...
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New antibiotic candidates were inside us all along
With bacteria rapidly evolving resistance to our best antibiotics, scientists are searching high and low for new ones. In recent years promising drug candidates have turned up in some unexpected places, like rattlesnake venom, platypus milk, and tobacco flowers – and now, already inside the human body. Researchers from MIT and the University of Naples Federico II have found that a potent peptide...
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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)...
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Natural sugar defends against metabolic syndrome, in mice
New research, in mice, indicates that a natural sugar called trehalose blocks glucose from the liver and activates a gene that boosts insulin sensitivity, reducing the chance of developing diabetes. Activating the gene also triggers an increase in calories burned, reduces fat accumulation and weight gain, and lessens measures of fats and cholesterol in the blood....
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Doctors may be able to enlist a mysterious enzyme to stop internal bleeding
SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE Blood platelets are like the sand bags of the body. Got a cut? Platelets pile in to clog the hole and stop the bleeding. But genetic mutations, infections and even radiation from cancer treatments can slash platelet numbers, leading to a condition called thrombocytopenia and putting people at risk for internal bleeding. Now scientists...
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Research shows it’s possible to reverse damage caused by aging cells
What’s the secret to aging well? University of Minnesota Medical School researchers have answered it- on a cellular level. Credit: CC0 Public Domain Aging starts in our cells, and those aging cells can hasten cellular senescence, leading to tissue dysfunction and related health impacts. New research involving University of Minnesota Medical School faculty Paul D. Robbins and Laura J....
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New approach to fight tuberculosis, a leading cause of death worldwide
Scientists in the San Francisco Bay Area identify nearly 200 potential drug targets GLADSTONE INSTITUTES SAN FRANCISCO, CA–August 16, 2018–Tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Nearly 2 million people die every year from this infectious disease, and an estimated 2 billion people are chronically infected. The only vaccine, developed almost...