U-M scientists say fused genes trigger the development of prostate cancer
... cancer-causing genes and is the first step in the progression of tissue changes leading to prostate cancer." Because this particular gene fusion occurs only in prostate cancer, a diagnostic test to detect, in blood or urine, the fused genes or their protein products would be specific for prostate cancer and far...Hepatitis C complicated by morphine withdrawal
...he effects of drug abuse, specifically opiates, on progression of the disease. The discovery of such an association would impact treatment of both HCV infection and drug abuse. Dr. Wen-Zhe Ho has been interested in such interplay for some time. His laboratory has previously shown using cell culture that morp...New ECCO studies highlight promising potential of cancer immunotherapy
...e LMI vaccine was found to prolong time to disease progression to 12.2 months. A significant increase when compared to the standard therapy of renal cancer (high dose interleukin-2) which produced a median progression-free survival of 3.1 months1. Using indicators of median overall survival, patients treated wit...Calls for improved screening of colorectal cancer in Europe's aging population at ECCO 13
...wo regimens, as well as response rates and time to progression will be available later in the year. "Colorectal cancer imposes a significant burden of disease and all steps to improve and hone treatment regimens are an important undertaking," noted Dr Ake Berglund from Uppsala University, Sweden. "At ECCO we ha...Compound in wine reduces levels of Alzheimer's disease-causing peptides
...with small amounts of resveratrol to slow down the progression of the neurodegenerative process in humans." Following up on their studies, Marambaud and his colleagues are trying to figure out how resveratrol exerts its effects in order to develop similar compounds to use in fighting Alzheimer's disease. "Our lo...ECCO 13 - Sunitinib prolongs survival in GIST patients after imatinib mesylate failure
...monstrate a 4-fold increase in the average time to progression (TTP) with sunitinib treatment, as compared to placebo. The estimated median TTP was 6.3 months with sunitinib, versus 1.5 months for placebo. Overall survival (OS) has also been estimated to be significantly greater with sunitinib therapy, although ...Inherent vascular repair key to atherosclerosis
DURHAM, N.C. The progression of the artery-clogging disease atherosclerosis is ...y said their finding represents the first time the progression of any chronic disease has been linked to a deficiency in the body's repair machinery. Atheroscleros...Ketogenic diet prevents seizures by enhancing brain energy production, increasing neuron stability
...ing to some animal studies they also may limit the progression of epilepsy. The Emory research team studied the link between diet and epileptic seizures on the behavioral, cellular and genetic level. They found, as had others, that in rats fed the KD the resistance to seizures develops slowly, over one to two w...The tumor suppressor protein phosphatase 2A offsets the BCR/ABL oncogenic kinase
...t is intimately linked with cancer development and progression in specific forms of leukemia. The study, publishe...ular mechanisms that are involved in induction and progression of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and suggests a new strategy that may be an effective therapy ...Exercise plus gene therapy shows promise for treating Lou Gehrig's disease
... may help us find new therapies that slow down the progression of ALS," Kaspar said. The disease affects about 30,000 people in the United States, with roughly 5,000 new cases reported each year. Average life expectancy is five years from the onset of the disease. The cause of ALS is unknown in all but 2 percent......tor receptor, is implicated in the development and progression of a number of solid tumors and is the target for ...a frequency of one every 1,000 bases) with time to progression and overall survival that may suggest an inherited genetic contribution to the response to gefitinib...Centocor & Schering-Plough next generation biologic promising in Phase 2 rheumatoid arthritis trial
...ars of disease onset when the rate of radiographic progression of the disease can be "reset." 1,2,3 Radiographi...ollege of Rheumatology suggests control of disease progression should start early to limit joint damage in RA.3 RA is associated with substantial disability and e...Active psoriatic arthritis patients on REMICADE achieve major clinical response in arthritis
...tment with REMICADE resulted in significantly less progression of structural damage, compared with patients receiving placebo, as measured by the change in baseline in van der Heijde-Sharp (vdH-S) score in which higher scores indicate greater structural damage, while lower scores indicate less structural damage....Scientists engineer mice to mimic Alzheimer's therapy
...heory that lowering production of Abeta could halt progression of disease and perhaps reverse symptoms. In the first experiments to test the idea in a mouse model, scientists engineered 25 mice to carry two artificial genes, one designed to continuously produce Abeta in their brains and the other to turn off Ab...Researchers find pathways linking caloric restriction to aging process
...hose mice compared to others, and also look at the progression of age-related conditions in the mutants to see if reducing TOR signaling affects those diseases. The other signaling protein the researchers found in the yeast study, Sch9, is the yeast version of another signaling protein called AKT, which is foun...Zinc supplements safe for HIV-infected children
...t was not known if zinc would speed up HIV disease progression in children by increasing their viral load. Zinc supplementation is known to decrease the frequency of diarrhea and pneumonia in uninfected children. The study is published in the November 26, 2005, issue of The Lancet. "We set out to look at the saf...New cell transplantation technique restores insulin production in diabetics
...store insulin production, essentially stopping the progression of the disease. The study included 13 patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. Fifteen islet cell transplants were completed-two patients underwent two procedures to achieve correct needle placement. "We used a steroid-free protocol to suppre...Atherosclerosis studied at the cellular level
...lar mechanisms that accelerate the development and progression of atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of cardiovascular disease and stroke. These studies have provided important clues as to how changes in cell function contribute to this progressive and life threatening disease. Dr. Austin, a professor in t...Other highlights in the December 7 JNCI
...levels of TGF-beta have been associated with tumor progression and spread. However, TGF-beta and related proteins cannot send signals without the help of Smad proteins, several of which have been known to inhibit TGF-beta signaling. Haruhito Azuma, M.D., Kohei Miyazono, M.D., and colleagues at the Osaka Medic...Data in New England Journal of Medicine show benefits of REMICADE in ulcerative colitis patients
...and, if conventional treatments do not control the progression of the disease, many patients may have to face surgical removal of the colon. "Achieving and maintaining improvements over time are challenging goals in the treatment of ulcerative colitis, particularly in patients that do not respond to convention...