Direct observations of the structure and catalytic mechanism of a prototypical kinase enzyme—protein kinase A or PKA—will provide researchers and drug developers with significantly enhanced abilities to understand and treat fatal diseases and neurological disorders such as cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. The discovery was made by an international team of researchers using macromolecular neutron crystallography at the Department of...
Tag: <span>cystic fibrosis</span>
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Discovery could improve cystic fibrosis treatment
Researchers exploring the effects of a long-standing treatment for cystic fibrosis have discovered a potential new target for drugs to treat the disease, which has no cure and typically cuts decades off the lives of patients. Cystic fibrosis affects the lungs and other organs, primarily by making the mucus that lines the lungs viscous, clogging...
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Engineers create an inhalable form of messenger RNA
Patients with lung disease could find relief by breathing in messenger RNA molecules MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Messenger RNA, which can induce cells to produce therapeutic proteins, holds great promise for treating a variety of diseases. The biggest obstacle to this approach so far has been finding safe and efficient ways to deliver mRNA molecules to...
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Blood test could lead to cystic fibrosis treatment tailored to each patient
Researchers at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and colleagues, used a blood test and microarray technology to identify distinct molecular signatures in children with cystic fibrosis. These patterns of gene expression ultimately could help predict disease severity and treatment response, and lead to therapies tailored to each patient‘s precise biology. Findings were published in Physiological Genomics. “Our findings pave the way...
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Scientists identify new cellular target to weaken P. aeruginosa—a severe threat to patients with cystic fibrosis
Scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have identified new means of fighting drug-tolerant bacteria, a growing global threat as menacing as drug-resistant microbes. Little is known about the mechanisms leading to tolerance, a strategy that makes bacteria “indifferent” to antibiotics and almost “un-killable,” which results in chronic infections extremely...
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Researchers discover new type of lung cell, critical insights for cystic fibrosis
Researchers have identified a rare cell type in airway tissue, previously uncharacterized in the scientific literature, that appears to play a key role in the biology of cystic fibrosis. Using new technologies that enable scientists to study gene expression in thousands of individual cells, the team comprehensively analyzed the airway in mice and validated the results...
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Stem cell research for cystic fibrosis leaps forward
The fight against cystic fibrosis (CF) has taken a major step forward, with pioneering research by University of Adelaide scientists showing that cells causing the debilitating genetic disorder could be successfully replaced with healthy ones. IMAGE: GENE THERAPY TREATED AIRWAY STEM CELLS. The research published in the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy applies cell transplantation therapy, normally used in bone marrow transplants to...
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Triclosan, often maligned, may have a good side—treating cystic fibrosis infections
July 11, 2018 by Chris Waters, The Conversation Maybe you’ve had the experience of wading in a stream and struggling to keep your balance on the slick rocks, or forgetting to brush your teeth in the morning and feeling a slimy coating in your mouth. These are examples of bacterial biofilms that are found anywhere a surface is...
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Supplemental antioxidants may reduce exacerbations in cystic fibrosis
AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY July 2, 2018–An antioxidant-enriched vitamin may decrease respiratory exacerbations in people with cystic fibrosis(CF), according to new research published online in April in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In “Effects of an Antioxidant-Enriched Multivitamin in Cystic Fibrosis: Randomized, Controlled, Multicenter Trial,” Scott D. Sagel, MD, PhD, a professor of pediatrics at Children’s...
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Teenage boy dying from cystic fibrosis begs UK health officials to approve the life-extending ‘wonder drug’ that has transformed his life
Benat Broderick argued his life has been transformed since taking Orkambi Ireland’s Health Service Executive approved the use of the drug in April 2017 But UK watchdogs have denied patients access to the £100,000 medication Experts believe using the tablets could stop the illness from becoming severe A 14-year-old boy dying from cystic fibrosis today...