Body

A team of scientists from the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Biological Sciences and Mechanobiology Institute have discovered how a drug-led compound – a compound that is undergoing preclinical trials as a potential drug – can deprive cancer cells of energy and stop them from growing into a tumour. This drug-led compound is named BPTES.

This is the first time a research group has provided evidence showing how a drug-lead compound suppresses tumour formation.

ATS 2012, SAN FRANCISCO – Tuberculosis independently predicts death from lung cancer in the elderly, according to a new study from researchers in Hong Kong.

Folic acid fortification of foods may reduce the incidence of the most common type of kidney cancer and a type of brain tumors in children, finds a new study by Kimberly J. Johnson, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and Amy Linabery, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota.

Incidence reductions were found for Wilms' tumor, a type of kidney cancer, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET), a type of brain cancer.

ARLINGTON, VA (May 14, 2012) - Vaccination studies from Mercer University (Ga.) headline the groundbreaking research being unveiled at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS) National Biotechnology Conference (NBC). The conference takes place Monday, May 21 - Wednesday, May 23 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. Other topics to be discussed include diversity and complexity of vaccine manufacturing, scale-up and tech transfer strategies, applications of multi-scale systems pharmacology, and advances in novel small protein therapeutic modalities.

The histone de-acetylase (HDAC) inhibitor panobinostat is able to target and destroy triple negative breast cancer, reveals a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research. Researchers from Tulane University Health Sciences Center have shown that panobinostat was able to destroy breast cancer cells and reduce tumor growth in mice.

BOSTON – Treatment of early stage prostate cancer can also result in improved quality of life for a subgroup of men who suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), according to an abstract of a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-led study presented to the American Urological Association.

LUTS, which includes problems of frequent or urgent urination, particularly at night, is a common problem that affects approximately 40 percent of men, a percentage that rises with age. It is not a reason to suspect prostate cancer.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) nasal colonization is associated with longer hospital stays and an increase in surgical site infections (SSI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery, according to a new study from Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Temple, TX.

A team of researchers from UCSF and UC San Diego has identified an approved arthritis drug that is effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies, suggesting it could offer a low-dose, low cost treatment for the amoebic infections that cause human dysentery throughout the world.

Based on these results, the team has received Orphan Drug Status for the drug, known as auranofin, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and has applied for approval to start clinical trials to treat both amebiasis and the parasite Giardia in humans.

A new study led by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery identifies the mechanism by which a cell signaling pathway contributes to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition, the study provides evidence that drugs under development for diseases such as cancer could potentially be used to treat RA. Rheumatoid arthritis, a systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease that can be crippling, impacts over a million adults in the United States.

Barcelona, 20 May 2012. The Stem Cells and Cancer Research Group headed by Dr Héctor G. Palmer at the Vall d'Hebrón Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has identified the molecular mechanisms that determine patients' response to certain drugs used in clinical trials for colon cancer treatment. The study led by VHIO also benefited from the collaboration with Professor Alberto Muñoz´s laboratory at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomedicas Alberto Sols, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IIB-CSIC-Madrid).

NEW YORK, CAMBRIDGE, Mass., AND BOSTON (May 20, 2012) -- A collaborative expedition into the deep genetics of prostate cancer has uncovered a distinct subtype of the disease, one that appears to account for up to 15 percent of all cases, say researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

For the first time, scientists at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute have shown that an experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.

The research, which will appear on May 20 in Nature Nanotechnology online, is likely the first to test the safety of quantum dots in primates. The study and information in this press release are embargoed until Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 1 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time.

Madison, Wis. and San Francisco — Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), commonly known as sleep apnea, is associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality, according to a new study.

A combination of three drugs used worldwide as the standard of care for a serious lung disease puts patients in danger of death or hospitalization, and should not be used together to treat the disease, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to the surprising results of a rigorous independent study.