Daniel F. Hayes, M.D. Even 20 years after a diagnosis, women with a type of breast cancer fueled by estrogen still face a substantial risk of cancer returning or spreading, according to a new analysis from an international team of investigators published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Standard treatment for estrogen receptor-positive, or...
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New way to shut down cancer cells’ ability to consume glucose
Cancer cells consume exorbitant amounts of glucose, a key source of energy, and shutting down this glucose consumption has long been considered a logical therapeutic strategy. However, good pharmacological targets to stop cancers’ ability to uptake and metabolize glucose are missing. In a new study published in Cell Reports, a team of University of Colorado Cancer...
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Cancer immunotherapy uses melanin against melanoma
Researchers have developed a melanin-enhanced cancer immunotherapy technique that can also serve as a vaccine, based on early experiments done in a mouse model. The technique is applied via a transdermal patch (shown here) and is made more …more Researchers have developed a melanin-enhanced cancer immunotherapy technique that can also serve as a vaccine, based...
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Epigenetic editing reveals surprising insights into early breast cancer development
Micrograph showing a lymph node invaded by ductal breast carcinoma, with extension of the tumour beyond the lymph node. Changing the epigenetic code of a single gene is enough to cause a healthy breast cell to begin a chain reaction and become abnormal, according to research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The...
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Human amnion cells reverse acute and chronic pulmonary damage in experimental neonatal lung injury
Abstract Background Despite advances in neonatal care, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains a significant contributor to infant mortality and morbidity. While human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) have shown promise in small and large animal models of BPD, there is scarce information on long-term benefit and clinically relevant questions surrounding administration strategy remain unanswered. In assessing the...
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Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise for Common Cause of Blindness
Two studies show cell-based treatment is safe in patients with dry macular degeneration, with one showing improved vision NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Results from two early clinical trials show that it may be possible to use human embryonic stem cells as treatment for the dry form of macular degeneration, according to presentations given today at...
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Understanding the Berlin patient’s unexpected cure
PORTLAND, Ore. — A decade ago, the medical world was shocked when a patient in Berlin, Germany, had been declared free of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat cancer. Doctors have repeatedly tried to replicate the result, but this HIV cure has evaded other patients so far. Dr. Jonah Sacha and colleagues...
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Induced pluripotent stem cells show astrocyte-neuron impact on brain pathology in autism
Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and University of California, San Diego have revealed for the first time that abnormalities in the supporting cells of the brain, called astrocytes, may contribute to the cause of the disorder. The findings, published...
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Researchers report findings on the effects of fat on stem cells
From left, Ilya Levental, Joseph Lorent, Allison Skinkle and Kandice Levental at the Laboratory of Membrane Biology at UTHealth’s McGovern Medical School. Skinkle, a Rice senior, began working in the lab as a freshman. You really are what you eat—especially when it comes to fats, according to a study this week in the journal Science...
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Study led by MIT Portugal faculty and alumni finds how to increase the survival time of stem cells
A team of researchers from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Coimbra, led by Dr. Lino Ferreira, MIT Portugal Program Faculty and researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) in collaboration with Langer Lab at MIT (USA), has developed a new technology, which is promising to understand and treat ischemic...