because they are key to enabling bacteria to cause disease. Toxins typically go after molecules that are either scarce or
shows that one toxin linked to cholera and other diseases, which hones in on a popular and plentiful protein target,
and is an important player in the body's response to an infectious disease. In particular, actin is a molecular motor that enables immune cells to chase
cholera (Vibrio cholera), septicemia or gastroenteritis from eating infected raw oysters (Vibrio vulnificus) and gastric illnesses that threaten people with weakened immune systems (Aeromonas hydrophila.
and also diabetes. Leptin on its own and in an unmodified state isn't ideal as a therapy
"This work may help to provide much-needed insight into demyelinating diseases such Krabbe Leukodystrophy, MS,
and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.""In Krabbe's, for example, the problem is not just that there isn't sufficient myelin,
and look to continue their work with the hope of better understanding this critical connection between neuronal cellsossibly leading to a druggable target for demyelinating diseases."
"This research has profound implications for glial disease like Krabbe's, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, peripheral neuropathies or Multiple sclerosis,
"Similarly, neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's disease or Lou Gehrig's, that were considered unique diseases of neurons in the past,
are considered now diseases of cellular communications between neurons and glial cells
#Protein Based Sensors Expand Synthetic biology Repertoire Engineering proteins to detect specific DNA, RNA, or peptide sequences may not be a new idea,
while treating diseases using this system is likely many years away, it could be used much sooner as a research tool.
#At home Molecular Diagnostics could become Reality with New Test Design Does being able to test for allergies, STD,
or even cancer in minutes from the comfort and privacy of your home sound like science fiction?
This design allows the assay to detect a wide range of protein markers associated with various disease states."
allowing us to build inexpensive devices that could detect dozens of disease markers in less than five minutes in the doctor's office or even at home,"concluded Dr. Vallée-Bélisle a
Beyond the clinical applications, Dr. Bernier's findings could enable the modeling of human retinal degenerative diseases through the use of induced pluripotent stem cells,
#Malaria Protein as a Cancer drug Delivery Tool The devastating global effects of malaria have been documented widely,
but the presentation of the disease during pregnancy is particular troubling and confounding to researchers.
Women living in endemic areas face a much greater risk of contracting malaria when they are associated pregnant,
While an average adult residing within a malaria endemic region possesses some immunity to the parasite, pregnancy causes complications that leave women and fetuses extremely vulnerable.
Surprisingly, this same residue has been seen to cluster on the surface of various cancers. Now a collaborative team of researchers from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN), University of Copenhagen, University of British columbia (UBC), Vancouver Coastal Health and the BC Cancer Agency, found that the malaria protein,
called VAR2CSA, could be used to target anticancer drugs and carry them to tumors expressing the specific carbohydrate residue."
"Based on our clinical data, we helped validate that this could be applied to melanoma and lung cancers,"explained co-author Nhan Tran, Ph d.,associate professor in TGEN's Cancer and Cell biology Division."
"This specific type of developmental proteinncofetal chondroitin sulfates expressed in the placenta, and is expressed also in lung cancer and melanoma."
"The findings from this study were published recently in Cancer cell through an article entitled argeting Human Cancer by a Glycosaminoglycan Binding Malaria Protein."
"Scientists have spent decades trying to find biochemical similarities between placenta tissue and cancer, but we just didn't have the technology to find it,"noted project leader Mads Daugaard, Ph d.,assistant professor of urologic science at UBC and a senior research scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, part of the Vancouver Coastal
Health Research Institute.""When my colleagues discovered how malaria uses VAR2CSA to embed itself in the placenta,
we immediately saw its potential to deliver cancer drugs in a precise, controlled way to tumors."
"The researchers created a recombinant VAR2CSA protein that was fused with either diphtheria toxin or conjugated to hemiasterlin (a microtubule inhibitor) and saw strong inhibition of tumor cell growth and metastasis in vivo."
"This is an extraordinary finding that paves the way for targeting sugar molecules in pediatric and adulthood human cancer,
and our groups are vigorously pursuing this possibility together, "said co-senior investigator Poul Sorensen, M d.,Ph d.,UBC professor of pathology and laboratory medicine.
The researchers were excited by their findings and are currently working with pharmaceutical companies to develop the compound for clinical trial in humans."
"There is some irony that a disease as destructive as malaria might be exploited to treat another dreaded disease,"stated lead author Ali Salanti, Ph d.,professor of immunology and microbiology in the Centre for Medical Parasitology, at the University
of Copenhagen o
#New chip could turn phone cameras into high-res 3d scanners As if smartphones can't already do enough,
#New biosensing platform extends reach of disease diagnosis 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
the system offers the potential of diagnosing diseases in remote locations from anywhere in the world.
long-term it could have a tremendous impact on the diagnosis and monitoring of infectious diseases worldwide, especially in low and middle-income countries.
and water contaminants Sensors that identify infectious disease and food contaminants may soon be printed on paper using ordinary office inkjet printers.
and scientists in the field quickly detect certain types of cancer or bacterial and respiratory infections or monitor toxin levels in water.
which is a marker for cancer, "Brennan explained.""We can print the letter'A'for ATP and'P'for PDGF,
they say that it could find hundreds of possible applications in fields where quick answers about the presence of pathogens could save lives.
#MIT's acoustic tumor cell sorting method is now up to 20 times faster A team of researchers from MIT,
The team also tested the improved method on blood samples obtained from three breast cancer patients, isolating one, eight and 59 tumor cells.
for both basic research into the complex topic of circulating tumor cells and for clinical assessment of different types of cancer,"said Carnegie mellon president Subra Suresh.
With the speed improvements in mind, the method is now approaching a state viable for widespread medical use.
#Modified Salmonella eats away at cancer, without a side order of food poisoning Though generally a bacteria we'd associate with a severe bout of food poisoning,
But now, researchers have developed genetically modified salmonella that turns toxic only after it enters a tumor.
A team of researchers from Germany's Helmholtz Center for Infection Research and Arizona State university worked with a strain known as Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium.
This strain has been demonstrated to colonize tumors and attack the cancer cells. It was the group's thinking that altering part of the bacteria's outer membrane called the lipopolysaccharide structure (LPS) could serve to improve its safety.
This is because LPS is one of the primary causes for sepsis, a condition that sees inflammation spread throughout the body that can lead to organ failure and death.
They then tested variants of the newly modified Salmonella strains both in the lab with human cancer cells and in mice with tumors.
and shrinking the tumors when injected into the mice, without the typical negative impacts on the surrounding healthy cells.
when it arrives at the tumor is attributed to how Salmonella develops in different environments. In regular cells, Salmonella will divide only once or twice each day,
while inside a tumor it divides hourly.""This transition from a benign, invasive Salmonella that doesn't hurt normal cells to the toxic type occurs very rapidly (time wise) in the tumor due to the very rapid growth
and cell division that occurs when Salmonella enters a tumor, "says Dr. Roy Curtiss, one of the study's researchers and Professor of Microbiology at Arizona State university.
Curtiss says that when the technique finds it way into human trials, it will most likely be used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
"Knothe Tate has used already the system to demonstrate a link in osteoarthritic guinea pigs between disease status and molecular transport through blood, muscle, and bone.
what works with food also works with other things, like creating new pharmaceuticals and cancer-fighting proteins.
#ARC vibrating pen steadies the ship for people with Parkinson's disease The development of tight, cramped cursive as a result of degenerating motor control is a common symptom of Parkinson's disease.
Known as micrographia, this condition can often lead people to put down their pens forever, but a team of British engineers say there might yet be hope for sufferer's of this dispiriting ailment.
but its large form is intended to make it easier to handle for people with Parkinson's disease. Packed inside are high frequency vibration motors
we'd expect these machines'performance to hit some roadblocks under stress. Still, with prices starting at just US$169 for the 11-inch model and $199 for the 14-inch, the race to the bottom is alive and well.
#New blood clot-busting nanocapsule promises immediate care for heart attacks When blood clots form in the aftermath of a heart attack or stroke,
medications can be deployed to break them apart, but delivery is tricky. Getting the medicine to the clot takes some guesswork
and Diabetes Institute and the University of Melbourne looks to use its powers for good. It sees an already approved clot-busting medication called urokinase (upa) loaded into a newly-developed type of nanocapsule.
It could be given in a heart attack straight away, in the ambulance as soon as there are symptoms.""Tissue plasminogen activator (tpa) is another common form of blood-clot medication.
The repeated deformation exerts a strong mechanical stress that, over time, damages the electrode contacts
and more When it comes to human phobias, snakes are frequently found toward the top of the list.
or other speech disorders communicate, "says Dr. Atul Gaur, a consultant anesthetist who is collaborating with the Loughborough team."
"In an intensive care setting, the technology has the potential to be used to make an early diagnosis of locked-in syndrome (LIS),
however a DARPA press release states that he was left paralyzed due to severe spinal injuries. In the past, test subjects have been able to manipulate prostheses via thought alone
and those suffering from paralysis have access to mind control prostheses that allow individuals to feel once more e
#Tadpole-like endoscope swims through gastrointestinal tract in search of cancer Endoscopes are essential tools for the medical examination of many organs of the human body,
With cancers of the gastrointestinal (GI TRACT such as esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, and colon cancer, being some of the most commmon of all cancers in the world,
a range of procedures are necessary to physically examine all parts of the GI for maximum diagnostic effect.
Of these, gastroscopy is used to help diagnose esophageal and stomach cancer, whilst intestinal and coleorectal cancers can be determined with the use of capsule endoscopy and colonoscopy, respectively.
Unfortunately, all of these procedures are costly to perform and can place a great deal of stress on someone who may already be quite ill.
The new Tadpole Endoscope (TE on the other hand, is a relatively noninvasive device that is simply swallowed like a large pill
and then remotely guided around inside the patient's stomach by a doctor. Created by engineers from the Institute of Precision Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong kong,
and function after a heart attack Though sufferers of heart attacks may survive the initial event, they cause permanent damage to the organ in the form of scar tissue,
which affects its ability to pump blood. Scientists around the world are working on this problem, with hydrogels,
In pigs that had suffered from a heart attack, blood pumped out of the left ventricle was reduced from the normal 50 percent to 30 percent.
#3d printed guide aids in complex nerve regeneration Complex nerve injuries are a challenging problem for the medical fraternity,
quadriplegia and other forms of paralysis may one day be found. In this vein, US researchers have created the first-ever 3d printed guide specifically designed to assist in the regrowth of the sensory and motor functions of complex nerves.
Hundreds of thousands of people each year are afflicted with a crippling nerve injury or disease that leaves them partially or wholly paralyzed.
"This represents an important proof of concept of the 3d printing of custom nerve guides for the regeneration of complex nerve injuries,
or cadavers could be used as proxies to create 3d printed guides for patients suffering from nerve injury.
including following tumor removal, spinal fusion surgery or fractures. Normally, bone grafts involve using bone from another part of the patient's body,
because internal hardware can pose a challenge with respect to being a potential site for infection, and can complicate MRI
points out that while the teeth could prevent oral infections, such as endocarditis, and preserve dental implants, it could also wipe out helpful bacteria that help protect a person from harmful pathogens.
As of now the material is still a prototype and according to the researchers further testing will be required before human trials can be conducted.
#5-yr Study Reveals Why Ovarian Cancer Recurs and How to Stop It Scientists have discovered finally why ovarian cancer frequently comes back after patients receive chemotherapynd theye also found a way to potentially eliminate the recurrence rate for half of patients who have the disease.
A five-year study at the University of California at Los angeles found that coupling chemotherapy with an experimental drug called Birinapant greatly improved survivability in laboratory tissue.
At the core of the problem is the way doctors test for ovarian cancer. One of the things they look for is called a protein CA125.
Chemotherapy targets cells containing the protein and that knocks out the cancer. The UCLA researchers found other cells
allowing ovarian cancer to recur in more than 80%of people treated with chemotherapy alone. e found that these cells were like little time bombs,
and then later initiating tumor growth, Dr. Sanaz Memarzadeh, a senior author of the study said.
the combined treatment attacks the cancer on both fronts. Ebola Suit-Liberia-USAID-CC-Morganawingard-adjusted The researchers plan clinical trials on actual patients next.
Not everyone with ovarian cancer would benefit from this particular combination of therapies. The good news is these two types of cells are present in about 50%of ovarian cancer patients who would be candidates for this dual treatment.
Researchers are looking at other biomarkers to see if theye been missing still other hidden cancer ime bombs. og-nose-cancer-Photo-credit-Itsgreg-CC-750px The study was funded by grants from 10 foundations
and government agencies and was published on August 3 in the journal Nature h
#Teenage Girl Turns Plastic Trash Into Million-Dollar Biofuel An Egyptian teenager has discovered an inexpensive way to turn plastic trash into fuel
How We Might Starve Tumors by Cutting off Food supply In their hunger to find ways to cure cancer,
scientists may have found a method to starve tumors to death. Cancer cells must find nutrients to grow.
and their research suggests it may be possible to starve tumors by targeting it. e found that aggressive cancer cells manufacture more PAT4,
They found that cancers with low PAT4 levels grew more slowly while patients that showed higher levels had more trouble fighting tumors and a higher chance of remission.
They also discovered that if doctors can reduce the PAT4 levels, it will slow tumor growth.
Now that theye identified a mechanism that allows tumors to grow the researchers believe they can find a way to use it as part of a combination treatment that will lead to a higher survival rate for patients.
They believe it can be incorporated into other, traditional cancer treatments to fight the disease more effectively.
The research, published today in the science journal Oncogene, was funded by Cancer Research UK, the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological sciences Research Council h
#Solar Tracking: A Key Technology for Unlocking the Full Potential of Utility-Scale PV Quotes for large solar photovoltaic projects in sunny parts of the United states are coming in at an astounding 4. 5 to 5. 5
Indeed, the so-called"patient-centered medication safeguard"could be a valuable tool for providers who deal with the millions of patients who take multiple medications each day to manage conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, COPD, heart disease and diabetes.
#Our osetta Stonegene Could Unlock The Secrets Of Schizophrenia Schizophrenia affects around 1%of the global population
and can cause paranoia, hallucinations and a breakdown in patients'thought processes, with a huge impact on their ability to carry out everyday tasks.
Around 50%of people who suffer with the condition attempt suicide. There are currently relatively few treatments for the condition
My colleagues and I recently discovered that one specific gene may allow us to decode the function of all genes involved in the disease.
when treatments may be most effective in preventing schizophrenia manifesting in the first place. Mental health conditions are among the most challenging medical problems we face as scientists,
Origins Of Genetic disease Gene mutations are present in all the cells in the body and can be examined by taking a blood sample.
But despite knowing about hundreds of mutations associated with schizophrenia, we are relatively in the dark about
One gene we do have some certainty about is known as isrupted in schizophrenia gene 1 (DISC1.
when mutated, can give rise to a number of mental health conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major clinical depression and autism.
While schizophrenia may be inherited, the probability of inheritance from a mutation carried by one parent alone is relatively low.
Targeting Schizophrenia Vulnerable Period Different parts of the brain may mature at different times but most cortical areas go through a similar sequence of development.
So how can studying DISC1 help us decode what is going wrong with other genes in schizophrenia?
or at least many of the genes identified as risk factors in schizophrenia. DISC1 mutations have also been linked to autism
and Asperger syndrome, suggesting that the developmental effects of DISC1 could also be important for understanding these mental health conditions.
The interaction between gene mutations and brain development may have made it difficult to understand how the long list of risk factors can cause problems in the adult brain.
what the other genes involved in schizophrenia are doing (or doing wrong) during development to give rise to the debilitating condition of schizophrenia o
#Scientists Control Brain cells Using Sound waves The ability to control brain cells with sound waves sounds like science fiction, right?
of which is engineering personalized tissue in this case, printing a personalized nerve scaffold for your post-injury healing.
If so, the treatment has the potential to aid more than 200,000 people a year who experience some sort of nerve injury or disease.
because nerves do not regenerate much after injury if growth happens at all, it is usually slow and limited.
"This represents an important proof of concept of the 3d printing of custom nerve guides for the regeneration of complex nerve injuries,
According to the researchers, thousands of men and even young boys rendered infertile by cancer and other diseases could benefit. his breakthrough opens the way for therapeutic avenues that have been awaited eagerly by clinicians for many years,
said CNRS in a statement. ndeed, no treatment is currently available to preserve the fertility of young,
Yet more than 15,000 young cancer patients are affected throughout the world. Nor is there any solution for the 120,000 adult men who suffer from infertility that cannot be treated using existing technologies.
Yet, according to the Global Burden of Disease study published in the Lancet, of the top ten health risks most are related lifestyle and within our power to change.
) Chronic Disease And Disability A surprising fact is that, nowadays, fewer than 4%of people are completely free of any health problem,
with more people living with chronic and under-reported illnesses. The number of years lived with disability have increased in almost every country, attributable to the growth of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, back pain, mental health disorders, dementia, road injuries, HIV
/AIDS and malaria. This has increased also the demand for care. A comparison of years of life lost between regions of the UK, the EU15 group of countries
plus Australia, Canada, Norway and the US, shows that England worst affected region the northwest (with northeast England close behind) is similar to Scotland, Northern ireland and the US.
Globally, the leading ten risks are smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes alcohol use, high cholesterol, kidney disease, low physical activity, diets low in fruits
when fighting for funding to tackle a single disease in isolation is no longer effective. Health problems tend to cluster from childhood to adulthood
and then around the end of life They also share both biological and environmental risks.
The main risk factors leading to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and heavy alcohol consumption might result from family problems, social inequality or poverty, beliefs or customs of particular subcultures
and activation of the virus. Research published today in PLOS Pathogens shows the HDAC inhibitor,
romidepsin-a drug currently being used to treat cancer-to be the most potent, and thus successful, inhibitor trialled so far.
which play an important part in fighting infection. e know that the HIV reservoir needs to be controlled to some extent by T cell responses,
#Drug Treats Protein That May Cause Alzheimer's disease The drug salsalate has been found to prevent and even reverse the development of tau protein tangles in mice with a condition similar to Alzheimer's disease.
While so far the success is only in animals, salsalate has a head start on other potential treatments as it has passed already the safety trials required to be used to treat arthritis.
As society ages, Alzheimer's disease the most common cause for dementia looms ever larger as a prime source of suffering.
Drugs with promise have been identified but progress has been slowed in part by debates over the disease's main culprit.
Debate rages between those who blame the formation of tau protein tangles within neurons, and those who believe a buildup of beta amyloid plaques are the main cause.
and other researchers argue Alzheimer's is actually a complex of diseases with different causes but similar symptoms.
even though it was administered after disease onset, indicating that it may be an effective treatment option.""When salsalate was given to mice,
Salsalate, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, does carry risks, particularly an increased danger of heart attacks and strokes. However, these have been assessed as low enough to justify the drug's use against pain from both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
and to be explored to counteract insulin resistance in TYPE II DIABETES. Tau buildup is observed also in rarer conditions,
including progressive supranuclear palsy and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The same mouse model is used to study Alzheimer's and FTD,
while theye losing weight or reducing their risk or diabetes or heart disease. ealth is not only a physical condition,
like the Virscan blood test, can tell you any infection youe ever had. However, a brand-new test developed by researchers at Washington University in St louis can now detect virtually any virus known to affect humans and animals.
Virocap has the capacity to detect a vast array of viruses, from the big, bad scary ones such as Ebola or SARS, to the everyday rhinoviruses and noroviruses that cause colds and gastrointestinal flu.
Researchers tested Virocap on the blood and stool samples of a small group of children with unexplained fevers.
Clinicians might find a virus they never thought could be causing a disease. When we did a study of kids with fever, for example,
one patient in that study had a virus we never would have looked for in the blood.
People with unexplained fevers are prescribed also often antibiotics if a virus can be detected. Wylie says Virocap could potentially cut down on the overuse of antibiotics.
It may also help researchers understand why some people carry around viruses asymptomatically. e found on average that people carried about 5. 5 different viral genera that could cause disease in certain people,
while they go about their daily lives. ay you have diabetic patients and want to be able to monitor changes in specific blood vessels continuously for 24 hours a day,
But once that happens, such devices could help revolutionize medicine by providing an unprecedented amount of data for understanding health conditions such as diabetes, the hardening of arteries,
#FDA approves first 3d printed drug Aprecia Pharmaceuticals owns Spritam (levetiracetam), a solid oral pill to treat epileptic seizures.
Levetiracetam is prescribed already widely for epilepsy. Aprecia said the new delivery formulation is designed to help patients who struggle with current dosage forms,
#Immune cell binding nanoparticle could lead to new sepsis treatment A nanoparticle that binds to immune cells in the body has been shown to tune down inflammation and offer a potential first-of-a-kind treatment for sepsis.
Sepsis is the single most frequent cause of death in hospitalised patients, causing 8 million deaths each year.
Supportive care is given, underlying infections treated, but there is no effective treatment. Researchers sprinkled a plastic nanoparticle with sialic acid ligands that modulated macrophage immune cells.
This produced a therapeutic response in mouse models of sepsis, in human lung cells and an ex vivo human lung model.
Sepsis occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight an infection trigger an inflammatory cascade that can damage organs. e saw increased survival in mice
and senior author of a new study in Science Translational Medicine. ou need to get macrophages under control quickly in sepsis.
and are important in regulation of immune responses in diseases like inflammation, molecular biologist James Paulson at the Scripps Research Institute in the US told this publication. he authors exploit Siglec function by attaching sialic acids to nanoparticles that exploit the function of Siglecs and control inflammation,
Cutting off the cycle of inflammation could allow sepsis but also a frequent complication called ARDS to be treated.
Up to 25%of patients with severe sepsis develop ARDS and up to half of these patients will die.
and its efficacy in sepsis models was shown in collaboration with Trinity college Dublin, Ireland t
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