Latest advances in medical research thread

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Key mechanism identified in tumor-cell proliferation in pediatric bone cancers
Key mechanism identified in tumor-cell proliferation in pediatric bone cancers

A particular molecular pathway permits stem cells in pediatric bone cancers to grow rapidly and aggressively, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center.

In normal cell growth, the Hippo pathway, which controls organ size in animals, works as a dam, regulating cell proliferation. What the researchers found is that the transcription factor of a DNA binding protein called sex determining region Y box 2, or Sox2 for short, which normally maintains cell self-renewal, actually releases the floodgates in the Hippo pathway in osteosarcomas and other cancers, permitting the growth of highly aggressive, tumor-forming stem cells.

Results from the study are to be published in the journal Nature Communications online April 2.

 

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Bionic Eye Patient "Thrilled" to Reconnect with Visual World

Allen Zderad thought darkness had invaded his world to stay. He’s among the 1-in-4,000 people who are born with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition. There is no effective treatment or cure. While not all patients will lose their sight entirely, Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist Raymond Iezzi Jr., M.D. says, a “bionic eye” may help some of those who do. For the Mayo Clinic News Network, here’s Dennis Douda with Allen’s story.

Bionic Eye Patient Thrilled to Reconnect with Visual World Mayo Clinic News Network

 

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Robot Matches Open Surgery for Cervical Cancer
Similar cancer outcomes, better safety with robotics
Robot Matches Open Surgery for Cervical Cancer Medpage Today

CHICAGO -- Robotic and open hysterectomy achieved similar disease control and survival in early cervical cancer, but robotic procedures led to significantly fewer complications and blood loss, a retrospective comparison of more than 500 cases showed.

The two procedures had identical 9% recurrence rates after adjustment for a 10-month longer follow-up for the open procedures. Mortality was 3% in patients who underwent robotic radical hysterectomy and 4% in the patients who had open radical hysterectomy.

Stomach Acid May Be Key Player in Bone Health
Stomach acid regulates blood calcium, may be key to bone health.

Stomach Acid May Be Key Player in Bone Health Medpage Today

Mouse studies may help explain the reported increased risk of osteoporosis and related fractures among long-term users of proton pump inhibitors, which are among the most widely used drugs on the planet.

Researchers from the Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, showed that stomach acid helps the intestines absorb and transfer calcium to the skeletal system. By dramatically reducing stomach acid, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) appear to block this pathway, researcher Ricardo Battaglino, PhD, told MedPage Today.

 

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Scientist Provide Rats with Supernatural Sensory System
WallStreet OTC - ‎4 hours ago‎

Researcher Yuji Ikegaya and Hiroaki Norimoto from the University of Tokyo have performed an experiment in which they have provided a series of rats with geomagnetic prosthetics.

 

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http://www.nature.com/news/tumour-mutations-harnessed-to-build-cancer-vaccine-1.17250
Tumour mutations harnessed to build cancer vaccine
Nature.com - ‎Apr 2, 2015‎

The results, published on 2 April in Science, are the latest from mounting efforts to generate personalized cancer therapies.

 

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Nearing “the finish line” on cancer vaccine trial, Maryland firm raises $40 ...
Washington Post - ‎Apr 3, 2015‎

A British investor has injected another $40 million into Northwest Biotherapeutics, fueling the Maryland company's increasingly promising pursuit of new vaccine therapies targeting both operable and inoperable cancers.

 

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Russian scientists create ‘bio-cement’ for human bones


Russian scientists have created a new biological material they called “bone cement”, which after 3D printing into a fracture or a crack, completely dissolves over time, while in its place the human body regenerates the missing part of the bone tissue.

Russian scientists create bio-cement for human bones RT News

 

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Cancer Genes Turned off in Deadly Brain CancerNew therapy approach goes directly to the source of cancer development

CHICAGO --- Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a small RNA molecule called miR-182 that can suppress cancer-causing genes in mice with glioblastoma mulitforme (GBM), a deadly and incurable type of brain tumor. While standard chemotherapy drugs damage DNA to stop cancer cells from reproducing, the new method stops the source that creates those cancer cells: genes that are overexpressing certain proteins. - See more at:

Cancer Genes Turned off in Deadly Brain Cancer Northwestern University News

 

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Shape-shifting nanoprobes report on internal body conditions using magnetic fields
By Colin Jeffrey
April 5, 2015
3 Pictures

Scientists have developed a new type of shape-shifting nanoprobe that can perform high-resolution remote biological sensing not possible with current technology. Around one-tenth the size of a single red blood cell, the nanoprobes are designed to provide accurate feedback on internal body conditions by altering their magnetic fields in response to their environment. The researchers predict wide-spread applications for the nanoprobes in the fields of chemistry, biology, engineering and, one day, to aid physicians in high-accuracy clinical diagnostics.

 

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Skin cell-laced dressing reduces burn healing time by half
By Ben Coxworth
April 7, 2015

In the not-too-distant future, burn victims may be able to recover in the half the time than is possible today. If so, it will be thanks to a biodegradable dressing that applies cultured skin cells directly to the wound site.

 

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New biosensing platform extends reach of disease diagnosis
By Emily Price
April 7, 2015
2 Pictures

Researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have created a cheap and simple biosensing platform that is able to detect the presence of various types of harmful bacteria and viruses in a single drop of blood. When used in conjunction with a smartphone, the system offers the potential of diagnosing diseases in remote locations from anywhere in the world.

 

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Shorter people have bigger risk of heart disease

Short people face a greater lifetime risk of clogged arteries, according to a study out Wednesday that confirmed the long-known link between height and heart disease by examining genetics.

The study is the first to show that the higher risk is primarily due to a variety of genes that influence whether a person is tall or short, and not potentially confounding factors like poverty or poor nutrition.

The research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers examined 180 different genetics variants in a database of nearly 200,000 people with and without coronary heart disease, which is caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries and can lead to heart attack.

It is the most common cause of early death worldwide, killing nearly one in six men and one in 10 women.

Shorter people have bigger risk of heart disease

 

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Graphene and Nanoparticles Might Offer High-Tech Help for Your Choppers

Nanotechnology advances might soon be giving people with an upcoming dental appointment something to smile about. Scientists have published two studies focused on deploying either nanoparticle assemblies or graphene to control the bacteria that attack teeth.

Both materials have shown promise to dramatically slow tooth decay, cavity formation and gum disease, and one even offers a defense against antibiotic resistant bacteria.

The first possibility comes from the University of Rochester and the University of Pennsylvania, where researchers have figured out a way to keep an antibacterial compound on teeth after eating and being washed with saliva.

Txchnologist

 

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First look at 'wasabi receptor' brings insights for pain drug development
8 hours ago

In a feat that would have been unachievable only a few years ago, researchers at UC San Francisco have pulled aside the curtain on a protein informally known as the "wasabi receptor," revealing at near-atomic resolution structures that could be targeted with anti-inflammatory pain drugs.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-wasabi-receptor-insights-pain-drug.html#jCp

 

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Allergy drug inhibits hepatitis C in mice

An over-the-counter drug indicated to treat allergy symptoms limited hepatitis C virus activity in infected mice, according to a National Institutes of Health study. The results suggest that the drug, chlorcyclizine HCl (CCZ), potentially could be used to treat the virus in people. Results were published April 8 in Science Translational Medicine.

Allergy drug inhibits hepatitis C in mice

Love you national institutes of health!!!!

 

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Japanese Ebola test gives results in 11 minutes: researcher

TOKYO (AFP) -

A Japanese research team said on Thursday it had developed a field test for Ebola that gives results in just over 11 minutes -- down from the 90-minute test used now.

The breakthrough by Nagasaki University's Institute of Tropical Medicine will allow medics to move much more quickly in treating people with the haemorrhagic fever, Professor Jiro Yasuda told AFP.

"The result time was unexpectedly short," said Yasuda of the trial conducted in Guinea last month on 100 samples, of which 47 proved positive.

The Guinean government has now asked the institute and its collaboration partner Toshiba to supply equipment to roll out the test, he added.

Flash - Japanese Ebola test gives results in 11 minutes researcher - France 24

 

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MIT's acoustic tumor cell sorting method is now up to 20 times faster
By Chris Wood
April 9, 2015
1 Comment
2 Pictures

A team of researchers from MIT, Pennsylvania State University and Carnegie Mellon University has announced key improvements to its acoustic wave-harnessing cell sorting method unveiled last year. The device, which is intended for use in the detection of cancer cells in the bloodstream, is now able to obtain accurate results from a patient sample in as little as five hours.

 

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Scientists discovered a new way to use sound waves to detect cancer
April 8, 2015 pacosite
Scientists discovered a new way to use sound waves to detect cancer Pacosite s Blog

Scientists discovered a new way to use sound waves to detect cancer Detecting cancer can be difficult. Sometimes, the diagnosis comes too late to be life-saving. But now, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State University say they’ve developed a system that can quickly and accurately detect traces of cancer in blood using sound waves.

 

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People Who Are Obese Are Much Less Likely To Get Dementia With Age
A good reason to keep the chub on

By Alexandra Ossola Posted April 10, 2015

Obesity has been linked to a huge number of health conditions, such as diabetes, various types of cancer, and diseases of the heart and liver. But according to a new study, people who are obese in middle age are significantly less likely to get dementia, a loosely defined condition that includes memory loss and decreased cognitive function in older age. This large-cohort study, published this week in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, overturns previous work that indicated that obesity raised a person’s risk for dementia. But the reason why the obese may stay lucid for longer is still up for debate.

People Who Are Obese Are Much Less Likely To Get Dementia With Age Popular Science

 

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New technique puts two branches of the immune system to work fighting cancer
By Chris Wood
April 14, 2015

A team of MIT researchers has developed a new approach to attacking cancer, creating a method that allows two major branches of the immune system to work together. The new technique, which is known as cancer immunotherapy, has already proved successful in tests on laboratory mice.