VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers find new agent inhibits Leukemia cell survival
A team of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has discovered an entirely new mechanism of action for a novel pharmacological agent currently in clinical trials in patients the kinase inhibitor BAY 43-9006 which was designed to disrupt the survival pathways of tumor cells. ... ..."This agent was originally designed to inhibit the Raf-1 pathway, which is frequentl...Americans' support for embryonic stem cell research declines, VCU Life Sciences survey shows
... The number of Americans that supports embryonic stem cell research was 54 percent in the new survey, down from 58 percent in the 2005 survey. The poll found that in tandem with the 54 percent of Americans who support embryonic stem cell research, 37 percent...VCU study shows Levitra may protect the heart
The widely used erectile dysfunction drug Levitra is now the second drug in its class found to protect the heart against tissue damage following acute heart attack, according to a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers....... "Our findings further support the concept that the novel class of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, or PDE-5 inhibitors, including Levitra and Viagra, may h...VCU researchers find risk factors for depression may be largely the same in men and women
Men and women may share more similarities than previously thought when it comes to the risk factors for major depression, according to a new study by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers. ... ...In the January issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers reported that although there is a wide range of risk factors for depression that can act at different stages of development,...VCU study suggests that heritability of major depression is higher in women than in men
Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that genes contribute more strongly to the risk of depression in women than in men, and that there may be some genetic factors that are operating uniquely in one sex and not in the other. ...... In the January issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers reported that heritability of depression is higher in women approximately 4...VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers identify a new class of anti-cancer drugs based on platinum
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center have created a new platinum-based, anti-cancer agent able to overcome acquired drug resistance by first modifying the way it is absorbed into cancer cells and then attacking the DNA of those cancer cells. ...... The findings may help researchers design a new generation of anti-cancer drugs that selectively target cancer cells,...VCU researchers design new receptor and enhance bioassay to advance drug discovery process
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 29, 2005) Virginia Commonwealth University chemists have created a new molecular receptor for a fluorescent dye used to track a drug candidate's activity inside cell membranes. ...... These findings may help researchers more efficiently design, evaluate and test new drugs like antibiotics and therapeutics for genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and Bartter's syndrome,...VCU research: Magnetic nanoparticles for potential cancer treatment
RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 29, 2005) Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have created highly magnetized nanoparticles based on metallic iron that could one day be used in a non-invasive therapy for cancer in which treatment would begin at the time of detection....... "We envision a potential for these materials to combine both detection and treatment into a single process," said Everett E. Car...VCU study shows hormone-like molecule kills cells that cause inflammation in allergic disease
RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 24, 2005) - Virginia Commonwealth University immunologists studying mast cells, known to play a central role in asthma and allergic disease, have identified a hormone-like molecule that can kill these cells by programming them to die in studies with mice. ... ...The findings move researchers another step closer to understanding the life cycle of mast cells, and may help resear...VCU Massey Cancer Center study shows enzyme linked to spread of breast cancer cells
RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 19, 2005) Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have found a new signaling component that influences movement of human breast cancer cells toward epidermal growth factor....... In the August issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers showed that epidermal growth factor, which plays a critical role in breast cancer progression,...VCU study shows big-brained people are smarter
RICHMOND, Va. (June 17, 2005) People with bigger brains are smarter than their smaller-brained counterparts, according to a study conducted by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher published in the journal "Intelligence." ......The study, published on line June 16, could settle a long-standing scientific debate about the relationship between brain size and intelligence. Ever since German...VCU research shows Viagra prevents anti-cancer drug induced heart damage
RICHMOND, Va. (April 5, 2005) Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have found that the popular impotence drug Viagra prevents damage to the heart from a potent chemotherapeutic agent frequently used in the treatment of breast cancer, leukemia and sarcomas. ...... , researchers demonstrated for the first time that administration of clinically relevant doses of Viagra, generically known as...VCU researchers identify networks of genes responding to alcohol in the brain
RICHMOND, Va. (March 2, 2005) Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified several genetic changes in the brains of mice caused by ethanol, which may help researchers better understand how and why people become addicted to alcohol.... ...In the March issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers reported significant differences in the gene expression patterns regulated by alc...VCU research shows erectile dysfunction drug reduces death of heart cells in heart attack model
RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 31, 2005) Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have shown that a widely used drug for treating erectile dysfunction, Viagra, reduces the death of heart cells under heart attack-like conditions in a laboratory model. ......The results are a key finding that may help researchers develop a new treatment for patients with heart failure where the loss of cells is primarily...