The defect that causes the neurodegenerative disease Huntington’s has been corrected in patients for the first time, the BBC has learned. An experimental drug, injected into spinal fluid, safely lowered levels of toxic proteins in the brain. The research team, at University College London, say there is now hope the deadly disease can be stopped. Experts...
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Discovery of a key molecule for improving cystic fibrosis treatments
Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have identified a promising solution to improving treatments offered to patients with cystic fibrosis. This advancement, published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, could lead to the development of new personalized therapies in the near future. “Adding molecules called quorum-sensing inhibitors to current drugs...
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Role of transcriptional co-factor hints at possible inflammatory bowel disease treatment
Tokyo – Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including the two conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, results in long-term inflammation of the gut and is associated with dysregulation of the immune system. However, it is notoriously difficult to determine the cause of IBD, although genetic and environmental factors are implicated. To better understand disease development, researchers...
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A South American amphibian could potentially hold the key in curing cirrhosis
The unique liver function of a South American amphibian, Siphonops annulatus, could pave the way to finding a cure to the devastating liver condition cirrhosis, a new study published in the prestigious Journal of Anatomy reports. Researchers from the University of Surrey (UK), the Federal University of São Paulo and the Butantan Institute in Brazil used an...
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Mice chow down on a high-fat diet without becoming fat
After eight weeks on a high-fat diet, mice that had been engineered with genes to activate the Hedgehog signaling pathway didn’t gain weight (left), but control animals whose Hedgehog pathways were not activated became obese (right) Not getting fat or developing diabetes while still enjoying a high-fat diet is the dream of many a fast-food...
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Teaching antibiotics to be more effective killers
IMAGE: ALEXANDER MANKIN, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR BIOMOLECULAR SCIENCES IN THE UIC COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. Research from the University of Illinois at Chicago suggests bond duration, not bond tightness, may be the most important differentiator between antibiotics that kill bacteria and antibiotics that only stop bacterial growth....
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Time of day affects severity of autoimmune disease
Insights into how the body clock and time of day influence immune responses are revealed today in a study published in leading international journal Nature Communications. Understanding the effect of the interplay between 24-hour day-night cycles and the immune system may help inform drug-targeting strategies to alleviate autoimmune disease. Circadian rhythms or 24-hour rhythms are generated...
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SALK SCIENTISTS MODIFY CRISPR TO EPIGENETICALLY TREAT DIABETES, KIDNEY DISEASE, MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY
Salk scientists modify CRISPR to epigenetically treat diabetes, kidney disease, muscular dystrophy Approach could also be applied to reversing aging and age-related diseases such as hearing loss and macular degeneration LA JOLLA—Salk scientists have created a new version of the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology that allows them to activate genes without creating breaks in the...
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Bacteria activate their own killer
A new photothermal treatment could help to overcome antibiotic resistance. In this method, an agent transforms near-infrared light into local heating, which kills the pathogens. However, this “transformer” must first be activated, as explained by Chinese scientists in the journal Angewandte Chemie. In this case the target bacteria do this themselves. Other types of bacteria do...
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New gene therapy transplantation technique could improve treatment of neurodegenerative diseases
A reconstruction of a sagittal brain section of a mouse that received transplantation of HSPCs (green) through intra-cerebral ventricle injection. The image shows an abundance of progeny cells from the transplanted HSPCs. A therapeutic technique to transplant blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells directly into the brain could herald a revolution in our approach to treating...