Evaluation of targeted therapy in ovarian cancer

Molecular imaging technique shows promise for monitoring early response to treatment for cisplatin-resistant ovarian tumors

Reston, Va.— Research reported in the October issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine (JNM) shows that a molecular imaging technique may prove useful in early assessment of treatment response for cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer.

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Parkinson’s disease: Excess of special protein identified as key to symptoms and possible new target for treatment with widely used anti-cancer drug imatinib

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that the over-activation of a single protein may shut down the brain-protecting effects of a molecule and facilitate the most common form of Parkinson’s disease. The finding of this mechanism could lead to important new targets for drugs already known to inhibit it, thus controlling symptoms of the disorder, which affects about 1 million older Americans.

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Johns Hopkins researchers turn off severe food allergies in mice

New study suggests immune system can be trained to tolerate peanuts, milk, more

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a way to turn off the immune system’s allergic reaction to certain food proteins in mice, a discovery that could have implications for the millions of people who suffer severe reactions to foods, such as peanuts and milk.

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Research identifies a new bacterial foe in cystic fibrosis

Exacerbations in cystic fibrosis (CF) may be linked to chronic infection with a bacterium called Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, which was previously thought to simply colonize the CF lung. The finding that chronic infection with S. maltophilia is independently linked with an increased risk of exacerbations gives clinicians and researchers a new potential measure of the health status of CF patients, as well as a new potential target in fighting their disease.

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Researchers engineer adult stem cells that do not age

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Scarless brain surgery is new option for patients

The procedure is performed through the eye socket, thereby eliminating removal of the top of the skull to reach the brain

Surgeons at UW Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle and at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine have determined that transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery (TONES) is a safe, effective option for treating a variety of advanced brain diseases and traumatic injuries. This groundbreaking, minimally invasive surgery is performed through the eye socket, thus eliminating the removal of the top of the skull to reach the brain. The findings were published in the September issue of Neurosurgery.

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Researchers advance biosynthesis of potent anti-cancer drug Taxol

New engineering approach unlocks metabolic pathway to yield new levels of taxadiene in E. coli

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass.–Researchers from Tufts University School of Engineering and MIT have reported a new way to biosynthesize important precursors to the potent anti-cancer compound Taxol in an engineered strain of E. coli bacteria.

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West Nile mosquito’s DNA decoded

Gene sequence of Culex quinquefasciatus will be used in quest to understand disease transmission

GALVESTON, Texas — An international research team has determined the DNA sequence of the mosquito species whose bite transmits West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus and the microscopic worm responsible for elephantiasis.

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‘Great strides’ in treatment of stroke, headache, epilepsy

MAYWOOD, Il. — The latest advances in treating neurologic disorders such as stroke, headache, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and sleep disorders are detailed in a special issue of the journal Neurologic Clinics.

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Chromosomal break gives scientists a break in finding new puberty gene

A break in the two chromosomes has given scientists a break in finding a new gene involved in puberty, Medical College of Georgia researchers report.

It’s also helped clear up why some patients with delayed puberty have no sense of smell, said Dr. Lawrence C. Layman, chief of the MCG Section of Reproductive Endocrinology, Infertility and Genetics.

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