Duke Study Suggests New Class Of Drugs Could Bypass Leptin Loop
...ies at Duke University Medical Center show thatthe protein leptin's role in weight loss has as much to do wit...hard Surwit. Leptin was identified last year as a protein that regulates body weightvia appetite suppression. But the complex circuit by which leptin begins t...Shark-Liver Substance May Slow Growth Of Brain Tumors
...rted that squalamine appears to work by blocking a protein in endothelial cell membranes that is activated by VEGF and other growth factors. The studies' other authors were Darin S. Epstein, B.A., and Eric P. Sinos, M.D., of Hopkins and Delwood Collins, Ph.D., and Jon Williams, Ph.D., of Magainin....Fertilization Protein Structure To AID in Leukemia Treatment
The structure of a protein recently discovered by C. D. Stout at the Scripps ...vealed a previously unknown relationship between a protein in the eggs of a marine mollusk and a protein on the outside of human white blood cells. The work i...ACTG 315 Preliminary Results: Drug Cocktail Restores Partial Immune Function
...asma levelsof TNF- (tumor necrosis factor alpha, a protein that is usuallyvery high in people with HIV) dropped, as the median plasma HIVRNA burden fell by more than 700-fold. The investigators also analyzed therepertoire of T-cells according to a variable region on its receptor,V, which can exist in 24 diff...Duke Study Uses Tiny Temperature Changes To Probe Water-Exclusion At Protein Binding Sites
...form temporary combinations, called complexes,with protein molecules at special protein binding sites. Pharmaceuticalresearchers can elicit biological effects by designing drugs to link up...Mother's Milk: Nutrition And Nurture For Infants -- And The Best Defense Against Disease
...lecule with an antibacterial role islactoferrin, a protein that acts by binding iron in different situations. Insome circumstances, lactoferrin is also able to act as a cytokine. Formula-fed babies are denied many of the immune and other benefits thataccompany breastfeeding, according to physicians a...Common Drug-Capsule Coating Not As Inert As Previously Thought
...forcesbetween two membranes supporting PEG and the protein streptavidin. Theresearchers discovered that PEG ...ein-attractive state, we found the presence of the protein appearedto induce a change in the polymer configuration," Leckband said. "Thissuggests there may be...Targeted Protein Toxin Effective Against Persistent Brain Tumors
... compound created by linking diphtheria toxin to a protein calledtransferrin that targets rapidly growing cells such as tumor cells. Nine ofthe 15 patients who were evaluated after this treatment had reductions in tumorsize, and the tumor disappeared completely in two patients. While these resultsare prom...Researchers Finding May Boost Effectiveness Of Anti-HIV Drugs
A naturally occurring protein may provide a safe harbor to the virusthat causes ...IV drugs with medication to block theaction of the protein protecting the virus. That strategy might also reduce the cost of the now-very-expensivether...American Heart Association Comment: Lancet (Jan. 24, 1998) Report
...s index, blood pressure,cholesterol, fibrinogen (a protein that helps form clots) and factor VIIcoagulation activity (an indication of the viscosity of the blood). The study found that compared to placebo, warfarin reduced heart attack by 21percent and heart attack deaths by 39 percent; low-dose aspirin redu...Organ Rejection Drug Also Shows Promise For The Treatment Of Kidney Disease
... MMF treatment significantly reduced the amount of protein leaking from thekidneys,relieving the discomfort f...MMF can work with lowerdoses ofsteroids to control protein leaks and it sometimes can work alone, avoidingprolonged exposureto steroids and other drugs." ...Chemist Turns To Self-Assembly To Create New Drugs
...ds bestmatches the prospective drug's DNA, RNA, or protein targets,which cause disease. The very best match elbows out all theothers to latch onto the target molecule. "With our technique, we try to find molecules to bindreceptors in much the same way nature has for millions of years,"says Miller, an as...Snipping Inflammation In The Bud; New Agents May Provide Relief
...d pain. The cells stick together with the aid of a protein called L-selectin that, withmany other proteins, p...e by binding to thecarbohydrate groups attached to protein molecules on the surface of an opposingcell," said Kiessling. "The many copies of L-selectin on the ...Study Finds Aspirin Does Not Prevent High-Risk Cases Of Preeclampsia
...ke without warning,causing high blood pressure and protein in the urine. In turn, preeclampsiamay progress to eclampsia--hypertension and generalized convulsions--which maybe fatal. The trial, reported in the March 12 New England Journal of Medicine, wasconducted by researchers at the National Ins...Tighter Chemical Binding = Better Meds
...his knowledge of thethree-dimensional structure of protein molecules, Jorgensen consults withmajor pharmaceut... a three-dimensional picture of a drugbound to its protein target -- usually generated through a process calledX-ray crystallography -- then modifies the compo...First Trimester Screening For Down Syndrome Possible, NICHD-Funded Study Finds
... free beta subunit of hCG; andpregnancy-associated protein A. Smaller studies conducted previously have show...rmal chromosomecount. Conversely, blood levels of protein A are lower than normal in thepresence of a fetus with Down syndrome. For the women taking ...New Research In Battling Alzheimer's Impact On Memory
...amino acids, aso-called beta-peptide, is the major protein component that eventuallyaggregates and precipitates as plaque -- an insoluble amyloid deposit -- in thebrains of Alzheimer's patients. The Case Western Reserve team has used nuclearmagnetic resonance (NMR) and a technique called circular dichroism...Neurotransmitter-Induced Electrical Activity Identified As Key Regulator Of Synaptogenesis
... glycine receptor-associated cytoplasmic protein gephyrin at developing postsynaptic sites ...xpression of this peripheral membrane protein is essential for the formation of postsynaptic glycine receptor aggregates. It remained...Wistar Scientist Awarded American Cancer Society Grant For Study Of Tumor Suppressor Proteins
...nce of this genetic alteration is that the P16INK4 protein does notinterfere as it should with tumor growth. ...ent of tumors," explains Dr.Marmorstein, "the CDK4 protein is an excellent target for anti-cancertherapies." His laboratory's findings on the structural prope......opeptide (NTx) is material in type-1 collagen--the protein ofconnective and other tissue--that is released when cells called osteoclastsfunction in the breakdown and resorption of bone tissue. It is a marker of boneresorption. These investigators wanted to determine whether NTx might act as amarker for bon...