‘Micro’-chemo and cancer pill combo tested in liver cancer patients

A combination of an oral drug, called sorafenib, and a method for injecting microbeads of chemotherapy directly into tumors has been proven safe for liver cancer patients and may improve outcomes for those who have these fast-growing, deadly tumors whose numbers are on the rise in the U.S.

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Cell-specific mechanism-based gene therapy approach to treat retinitis pigmentosa

In a paper published in the October 2011 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, a team of researchers at Columbia University Medical Center led by Stephen Tsang, MD, Ph.D have achieved temporary functional preservation of photoreceptors in a mouse model for retinitis pigmentosa (RP) using novel bipartite gene therapy.

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Glucosamine-like supplement suppresses multiple sclerosis attacks

A glucosamine-like dietary supplement suppresses the damaging autoimmune response seen in multiple sclerosis, according to a UC Irvine study.

UCI’s Dr. Michael Demetriou, Ani Grigorian and others found that oral N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which is similar to but more effective than the widely available glucosamine, inhibited the growth and function of abnormal T-cells that in MS incorrectly direct the immune system to attack and break down central nervous system tissue that insulates nerves.

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Combating mood disorders

Psychiatric ailments such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or anxiety states are often associated with disturbances in the metabolism of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Neurotransmitters are compounds that are released from the synapses at nerve cell endings and activate the firing of neighboring neurons. Thus, as their name suggests, they mediate the transmission of nerve impulses. The serotonin transporter (SERT) is responsible for reuptake of the transmitter into neurons, terminating its action. SERT is a major target for drugs that are used to treat many mood disorders, and the search for new SERT inhibitors is of continuing therapeutic relevance. A research team led by Professor Klaus Wanner of the Department of Pharmacy in the Center for Pharmaceutical Research at Ludwig-Maximilians Univeristät München (LMU) has now developed a novel binding assay, based on the use of mass spectrometry (MS), which promises to simplify the search for potential SERT inhibitors very significantly. The major advantage of the technique is that, unlike conventional binding assays, it avoids the need to use radiolabeled substances. A paper that describes the new assay will appear in the journal ChemMedChem on 4. October. The article has been rated as a “very important paper” and is featured on the cover of the upcoming issue of the journal.

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Cocaine users have 45 percent increased risk of glaucoma

A study of the 5.3 million men and women seen in Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics in a one-year period found that use of cocaine is predictive of open-angle glaucoma, the most common type of glaucoma.

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Powerful antibody-based strategy suggests a new therapeutic approach to diabetes and obesity

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – The work of a team of scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) led by Professor Nicholas Tonks FRS, suggests a way to overcome one of the major technical obstacles preventing a leading therapeutic target for diabetes and obesity from being addressed successfully by novel drugs.

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Scientists discover a ‘master key’ to unlock new treatments for autoimmune disorders

Bethesda, MD—Imagine a single drug that would treat most, if not all, autoimmune disorders, such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and Lupus. That might not be so hard to do thanks to a team of researchers who have discovered a molecule normally used by the body to prevent unnecessary immune reactions. This molecule, pronounced “alpha v beta 6,” normally keeps our immune systems from overreacting when food passes through our bodies, and it may be the key that unlocks entirely new set of treatments for autoimmune disorders. This discovery was recently published in research report appearing the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (https://www.jleukbio.org).

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Single dose of hallucinogen may create lasting personality change

A single high dose of the hallucinogen psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called “magic mushrooms,” was enough to bring about a measureable personality change lasting at least a year in nearly 60 percent of the 51 participants in a new study, according to the Johns Hopkins researchers who conducted it.

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Correcting sickle cell disease with stem cells

Using a patient’s own stem cells, researchers at Johns Hopkins have corrected the genetic alteration that causes sickle cell disease (SCD), a painful, disabling inherited blood disorder that affects mostly African-Americans. The corrected stem cells were coaxed into immature red blood cells in a test tube that then turned on a normal version of the gene.

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A breath-takingly simple test for human exposure to potentially toxic substances

The search for a rapid, non-invasive way to determine whether people have been exposed to potentially toxic substances in their workplaces, homes and elsewhere in the environment has led scientists to a technology that literally takes a person’s breath away. Their report identifying exhaled breath as an ideal indicator of such exposure appears in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology.

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