GBP Health / Biotech News 12-06-2011

Public Release: 6-Dec-2011
Stem cell research in the UK reaches significant milestone
Stem cell scientists at King's College London will today announce they have submitted to the UK Stem Cell Bank their first clinical grade human embryonic stem cell lines that are free from animal-derived products, known as 'xeno-free' stem cells.
Medical Research Council

Contact: Katherine Barnes
katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk
44-020-784-83076
King's College London

Public Release: 6-Dec-2011
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
Mammography screening reduced risk for death from breast cancer by half
Those who attended three screenings before diagnosis had lower mortality. Strongest reduction seen in women aged between 70 and 75 years old. Stage IV tumors were most prevalent among those never screened.

Public Release: 5-Dec-2011
Nature Nanotechnology
'Label-free' imaging tool tracks nanotubes in cells, blood for biomedical research
Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine.
National Science Foundation

Public Release: 4-Dec-2011
Nature Genetics
BGI reports study results on frequent mutation of genes encoding UMPP components in kidney cancer
BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, announced that a study on frequent mutation of genes encoding ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway components in clear cell renal cell carcinoma is published online today in Nature Genetics.

Contact: Jia Liu
liujia@genomics.cn
BGI Shenzhen

Public Release: 30-Nov-2011
Molecular Therapy
Clinical trial for muscular dystrophy demonstrates safety of customized gene therapy
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown that it is safe to cut and paste together different viruses in an effort to create the ultimate vehicle for gene therapy. In a phase I clinical trial, the investigators found no side effects from using a "chimeric" virus to deliver replacement genes for an essential muscle protein in patients with muscular dystrophy.
National Institutes of Health, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystropy Cooperative Research Center, NIH/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Public Release: 30-Nov-2011
FASEB Journal
The newest of the new in gene therapy: 'Tag and target and exchange'
New research in the FASEB Journal demonstrates how a combination of two techniques improves the efficiency of experimental gene therapies, while reducing side effects. Scientists combined techniques involving site-specific recombinases that facilitate the exchange of genetic material between DNA strands, to guide where new genetic material is inserted into a cell's DNA. This approach to gene therapy represents an important advance, and has the potential to correct root causes of numerous illnesses.

Public Release: 30-Nov-2011
Nature
New potential therapeutic target identified for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Researchers from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, have discovered a new potential therapeutic target for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, the most aggressive and common type of lymphoma in adults. The new study, published in the Nov. 23 issue of Nature, reveals the underlying molecular mechanism contributing to the development of lymphomagenesis.
National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Lymphoma Research Foundation

Source - Science Daily: 

            Promising Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Targets Immune Cells to Increase Neuroprotection, Study Shows

            December 6, 2011 — Laquinimod is an orally available synthetic compound that has been successfully evaluated in phase II/III clinical studies for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The mechanism ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206082914.htm

                Blood Protein EPO Involved in Origin and Spread of Cancer

December 6, 2011 — Researchers have demonstrated that a growth hormone, PDGF-BB, and the blood protein EPO are involved in the development of cancer tumors and that they combine to help the tumors proliferate in the ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205102319.htm

               Neurotransmitter Dopamine Might Improve the Treatment of Cancer, New Study Suggests

December 6, 2011 — A new study found that injections of the neurotransmitter dopamine can

Improve blood flow to tumors and delivery of an anticancer drug, doubling the amount of drug

reaching tumors and increasing its ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111205165907.htm

                Preclinical Effectiveness of TB Drug Target Validated

December 5, 2011 — Scientists evaluating new drug targets against tuberculosis recently

validated the preclinical effectiveness of a target that could rapidly eliminate infections and

potentially shorten treatment ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111129151544.htm

             Substance in Cancer Medicine Could Prevent Heart Attacks, Preliminary Research      

   Suggests

December 5, 2011 — A substance in medicines for cancer and epilepsy could also prevent

heart attacks, according to researchers, who have been using it to stimulate the body's own

defense system against blood ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111123132816.htm

                 Natural Dye Obtained from Lichens May Combat Alzheimer's Disease

December 4, 2011 — A red dye from lichens that has been used for centuries to color fabrics

and food and a related substance appear to reduce the abundance of small toxic protein

aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111202155519.htm

                Scalable Amounts of Liver and Pancreas Precursor Cells Created Using New Stem Cell Production Method

December 4, 2011 — Scientists in Canada have overcome a key research hurdle to developing

regenerative treatments for diabetes and liver disease with a technique to produce medically

useful amounts of endoderm cells ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111202155525.htm

                 Tumor-Targeting Compound Points the Way to New Personalized Cancer Treatments

            December 3, 2011 — One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs

            Often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet     

            research into development of ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111201163558.htm

              Adult Stem Cells Use Special Pathways to Repair Damaged Muscle, Researchers Find

December 1, 2011 — Researchers recently found how even distant satellite cells could help

with the repair, and are now learning how the stem cells travel within the tissue. This

knowledge could ultimately help doctors ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111201163624.htm

Health Highlights: Dec. 6, 2011

·          Former NFL Players Sue League Over Use of Pain Drug

·          Stronger Graduated License Laws Could Save Lives: Report

·          Japanese Baby Formula Recalled Due to Radiation

Gene Mutation Helps Clear Fats From Blood, Study Finds
But it is unknown if the beneficial effect actually cuts heart risks, researchers say

Targeted Drugs, Lung CT Screening Top Cancer Advances in 2011
Report from leading oncologists' group finds strides were made against tough-to-treat tumors

Medivation surges on prostate cancer drug data - AP - Thu Nov 3
Medivation Inc. stock more than doubled in value Thursday after the biotechnology company said a clinical trial of its experimental prostate cancer pill is ending earlier than expected because the study showed the drug worked.

Innovative gene therapy protects mice from HIV infection
Their study, published in the journal Nature, uses gene therapy to stimulate production of antibodies against the virus. It may bring us a step closer to protecting humans against HIV infection. Nobel laureate Dr David Baltimore and his team at the ...

Instead of an HIV Vaccine, What About HIV Gene Therapy?
Why would gene therapy be effective? If I'm not wrong, HIV's surface proteins change shape every now and then. Doesn't this make targeting them via antibodies especially tough? This is awesome! Even though it might be hard to get the gene therapy done ...

Enrollment complete in Ceregene's CERE-120 Phase 2b trial for Parkinson's
Ceregene, Inc. reported today that it has completed enrollment in its Phase 2b trial of CERE-120, a gene therapy product expressing the neurturin (NRTN) gene for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. This Phase 2b study enrolled 51 patients at 11 ...

Neurotransmitter Might Improve The Treatment Of Cancer

Doses of a neurotransmitter might offer a way to boost the effectiveness of anticancer drugs and radiation therapy, according to a new study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Using animal models of human breast and prostate cancers, the researchers found that injections of the neurotransmitter dopamine can improve blood flow to tumors and improve delivery of an anticancer drug, doubling the drug's concentration in tumors and increasing its effectiveness. The increased blood flow also raised tumor oxygen levels, a condition that typically improves the effectiveness of both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/238679.php

'Encouraging' Skin Cancer Discovery

SCIENTISTS in Glasgow have made an important discovery in the fight against malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Unlike most other cancers, malignant melanoma is disproportionately higher in younger people than in other age groups. More than two young adults (aged 15-34) in the UK are diagnosed with the disease every day.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/238671.php

High Level Of Waste In Health Spending, Says Medicare And Medicaid Boss

Dr. Donald M. Berwick, head of Medicare and Medicaid until last Thursday, stated that up to 30% of spending on health is wasted with absolutely no benefit to beneficiaries (patients). He added that his agency's cumbersome and archaic regulations are partly to blame. He claims too many resources and too much time is dedicated to things that do not help patients one bit; something doctors are fully aware of too.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238654.php

Tumor-Targeting Compound Points The Way To New Personalized Cancer Treatments

One major obstacle in the fight against cancer is that anticancer drugs often affect normal cells in addition to tumor cells, resulting in significant side effects. Yet research into development of less harmful treatments geared toward the targeting of specific cancer-causing mechanisms is hampered by lack of knowledge of the molecular pathways that drive cancers in individual patients.   "A major goal of cancer research is to replace chemotherapy with drugs that correct specific molecular pathways disrupted by cancer," says Dr. Ari Melnick, one of the study's lead investigators and director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical and Physical Sciences and associate professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. "But looking for mutations isn't always the way to find the most important factors that are keeping cancer cells alive."

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/238569.php

Fluorescent Protein Lights Up the Inner Workings of the Brain

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/39249/?mod=chfeatured

Disease in a Dish

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/39194/?mod=chfeatured

Fluorescent Spray Could Help Surgeons Identify Cancer Quickly

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/39192/?mod=chfeatured