Enzyme May Hold Key to Successfully Treating Pancreatic Cancer with Targeted Immunotherapy,

sea-maid submitted, created time 4 weeks 1 day (www.sciencedaily.com)

An enzyme that is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer cells may hold the key to successfully treating the disease with targeted immunotherapy, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University reported at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Southern Surgical Association.

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Gene Mutation Is Tied to Fast Fat Breakdown

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 weeks 6 days (lumponablog.com)

For the sake of heart disease research, 809 members of the Old Order Amish community agreed to go to a clinic in Lancaster, Pa., near their homes, and drink a rich milkshake that was made mostly of heavy cream. Over the next six hours, a group of investigators took samples of their blood, determining how much fat was churning through their bloodstreams

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RNA Interference Can Facilitate Vaccine Development

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 weeks 6 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

Pharmaceutical companies and universities are racing to develop drugs that use the gene silencing mechanism known as RNA interference to treat a host of diseases. Now, a new study opens up an entirely new possibility for this powerful tool: Researchers at the University of Georgia have demonstrated for the first time that RNA interference can be used as a tool in the development of vaccines.

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Nanotubes Sniff Out Cancer Agents in Living Cells

piggy submitted, created time 3 weeks 2 days (www.sciencedaily.com)

MIT engineers have developed carbon nanotubes into sensors for cancer drugs and other DNA-damaging agents inside living cells.

The sensors, made of carbon nanotubes wrapped in DNA, can detect chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin as well as environmental toxins and free radicals that damage DNA.

"We've made a sensor that can be placed in living cells, healthy or malignant, and actually detect several different classes of molecules that damage DNA," said Michael Strano, associate professor of chemical engineering and senior author of a paper on the work appearing in the Dec

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Is Morphine a Guy Drug?

piggy submitted, created time 2 weeks 22 hours (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Men get more relief than women do from painkillers like morphine, according to some studies. New research with rats hints at a possible explanation: Male rats have more receptors for the drug in a brain region involved in pain processing. Although it's not yet clear whether the same is true in humans, researchers say the study underscores the need for more research on the sex-specific effects of pain drugs

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Two-drug combination puts sleeping sickness to bed

Darkfrog submitted, created time 4 weeks 1 day (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

A 280-patient trial has shown that treating human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, with only fourteen infusions of eflornithine paired with ten days' treatment with oral nifurtomox is at least as effective as the more grueling fifty-six-infusion eflornithine regimen or the more dangerous melarsoprol regimen. In addition, the two-drug approach showed fewer side effects and seems less likely to breed resistant parasites

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Synthetic Molecules Prevent HIV Virus From Reproducing within the Body, Study Suggests

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 weeks 1 day (www.sciencedaily.com)

Evolving HIV viral strains and the adverse side effects associated with long-term exposure to current treatments propel scientists to continue exploring alternative HIV treatments. In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher has identified broad-spectrum aptamers. Aptamers are synthetic molecules that prevent the HIV virus from reproducing. In lab tests, aptamers known as RT5, RT6, RT47 and some variants of those were recently identified to be broad-spectrum, which would allow them to treat many subtypes of HIV-1.

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Multiple Doses of Steroids Don't Help Preemies

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 weeks 6 days (health.yahoo.com)

Pregnant women at risk of preterm delivery who are given multiple doses of steroids to help their fetus tend to give birth to low birth-weight babies with smaller head circumference, a new study found.

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Aging gets with the program

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 weeks 6 days (www.sciencenews.org)

A study on yeast organisms reveals checkpoints in the aging process: the buildup of certain lipids and fatty acids, and the health of the cell's powerhouses. Drugs could target these checkpoints.

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Antioxidants Offer Pain Relief in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 days 7 hours (www.docguide.com)

Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), according to a study published in the January issue of the journal Gastroenterology.

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Common Oral Osteoporosis Drugs Linked to Serious Jaw Necrosis

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 days 7 hours (www.sciencedaily.com)

Researchers at the University Of Southern California, School Of Dentistry release results of clinical data that links oral bisphosphonates to increased jaw necrosis. The study is among the first to acknowledge that even short-term use of common oral osteoporosis drugs may leave the jaw vulnerable to devastating necrosis, according to a new report.

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Drug shields mice from chronic lung disease

sea-maid submitted, created time 2 weeks 1 day (cn.reuters.com)

An experimental drug protected mice exposed to tobacco smoke from developing chronic lung disease, raising hope for a treatment in humans, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

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Cancer drug effectively treats transplant rejections

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 week 4 days (esciencenews.com)

University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have discovered a new therapy for transplant patients, targeting the antibody-producing plasma cells that can cause organ rejection.

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Is bismuth a safe medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease?

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 week 1 day (www.eurekalert.org)

Bismuth compounds have been used for centuries in medicine. The discovery of H. pylori in 1983 led to renewed interest in bismuth compounds, because these were found to successfully treat the infection in combination with antibiotics. However, in the 1970s bismuth salts, used at high doses for prolonged periods, were found to lead to neurotoxicity. However, there has been no summary of evidence for the toxicity of bismuth when used for short periods as part of H. pylori eradication therapy and some researchers think it might have applications in treating ulcers.

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Study raises hope for obesity treatment

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 day 10 hours (news.yahoo.com)

U.S. researchers may have found an obesity treatment that unlocks the fat-fighting promise of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone once hailed as the answer to the battle of the bulge.

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