Body

Certain genes switch their nuclear position in tumor cells, offering a potential new method of diagnosing cancer, say researchers from the National Cancer Institute. The study by Meaburn et al. will be published online December 7, 2009 (www.jcb.org) and in the December 14, 2009 print issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB).

Infection with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, causes more life-threatening complications than seasonal flu in children with sickle cell disease, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The findings, to be presented on Dec. 7 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, warn parents and caregivers that such children are more likely to need emergency treatment and stays in an intensive-care unit.

NEW ORLEANS ― A first-in-its class oral medication provides significant and durable relief for patients with a rare, debilitating and lethal bone marrow disorder called myelofibrosis, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported today at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Researchers from Yale University and Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., reversed the growth of lung tumors in mice using a naturally occurring tumor suppressor microRNA. The study reveals that a tiny bit of RNA may one day play a big role in cancer treatment, and provides hope for future patients battling one of the most prevalent and difficult to treat cancers.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a technique that is able to determine whether a child has obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or habitual snoring by screening their urine.

Asthmatic smokers may be able to reverse some of the damage to their lungs that exacerbates asthmatic symptoms just by putting down their cigarettes, according to research out of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

The research is published in the December 15 issue of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

NEW ORLEANS—A drug that has become a mainstay of multiple myeloma treatment may outperform alternative therapies in re-establishing the immune system of patients who have received stem cell transplants from unrelated, partially matched donors, according to early clinical trial results to be presented by

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators at the American Society of Hematology's (ASH) annual meeting on Sunday, Dec. 6 (Abstract 48, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Room 243-245, 5:45 pm CT).

A massive, data-crunching computer search program that matches fragments of potential drug molecules to the known shapes of viral surface proteins has identified several FDA-approved drugs that could be the basis for new medicines -- if emerging viruses such as the H5N1(avian flu) or H1N1/09 (swine flu) develop resistance to current antiviral therapies -- according to a presentation at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.

The spread, or metastasis, of individual breast cancer cells from the main tumor into the blood circulation to the lungs and other body tissues and organs is under the control of a growth factor abbreviated TGFb, according to a study with laboratory mice that will be presented at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.

These messenger genes may be a promising target for drugs to block the metastatic breast cancer route, said Erik Sahai, Ph.D., of Cancer Research UK in London.

One of the pioneers in research on sleep:wake circadian genes, Amita Sehgal, Ph.D., has discovered that fruit flies' appetite and consumption are controlled by two rival sets of clocks, one in neurons and the other in the fly fat body, which is analogous to the liver.

These research results, which extend the circadian clock repertoire into metabolism, will be reported at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 49th Annual Meeting, Dec. 5-9, 2009 in San Diego.

Scientists in Cambridge have discovered that the loss of a key segment of DNA can lead to severe childhood obesity. This is the first study to show that this kind of genetic alteration can cause obesity. The results are published today in Nature.

The study, led by Dr Sadaf Farooqi from the University of Cambridge and Dr Matt Hurles from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, looked at 300 children with severe obesity.

LA JOLLA, CA, December 4, 2009 –In an encouraging new development, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has restored partial function to lung cells collected from patients with cystic fibrosis. While there is still much work to be done before the therapy can be tested in humans, the discovery opens the door to a new class of therapies for this and a host of other chronic diseases.

The results were published on December 6, 2009 in an advance, online edition of the high-impact journal Nature Chemical Biology.

To do this test, they trapped between 20 and 100 "donor" male flies—so called because they "donate" the volatile pheromones into the surrounding environment—in a tiny cage surrounded by a fine mesh screen. The screen allowed pheromones to escape, but kept the donor flies inside.

A new study by researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, found a substantial variation in hydroxyurea utilization for pain and other sickle cell disease complications in children. Barriers to its use on the part of both providers and patients were also identified. The study led by Amanda M. Brandow, DO, MS, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College and Children's Research Institute at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, will be presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting Dec. 7, 2009, in New Orleans.

Hamilton, ON. Dec. 6, 2009 — A new study provides welcome news for patients with a common clotting disorder known as venous thromboembolism (VTE).

The condition is estimated to impact 62,000 Canadians and half-a-million Americans every year, and occurs when an abnormal clot forms in a vein and restricts the flow of blood, causing pain and swelling. In some cases, the clot may detach from its point of origin and travel through the heart to the lungs, causing a potentially fatal condition known as a pulmonary embolism.