Curing Death by Curing Aging - July 2009 Archives

Nanoparticle-delivered 'suicide' genes slowed ovarian tumor growth (7/31/2009)

Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. ...> Full Article

A crystal ball for brain cancer? (7/31/2009)

New UCLA method predicts which brain tumors will respond to drug ...> Full Article

New drug for children with high-risk leukemia (7/31/2009)

Tel Aviv University discovers novel alternative to traumatic chemotherapy ...> Full Article

Tiny early stage ovarian tumors define early detection challenge (7/30/2009)

A new study shows that most early stage ovarian tumors exist for years at a size that is a thousand times smaller than existing tests can detect reliably. The findings also point to a roughly four-year window of opportunity for detection, during which most tumors are big enough to be seen with a microscope but have not yet spread. ...> Full Article

'Corrective genes' closer thanks to enzyme modification (7/30/2009)

Scientists from the Universite de Montreal and McGill University have re-engineered a human enzyme, a protein that accelerates chemical reactions within the human body, to become highly resistant to harmful agents such as chemotherapy, according to a new study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. ...> Full Article

First genetically-engineered malaria vaccine to enter human trials (7/30/2009)

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have created a weakened strain of the malaria parasite that will be used as a live vaccine against the disease. The vaccine, developed in collaboration with researchers from the US, Japan and Canada, will be trialled in humans from early next year. ...> Full Article

Heart failure: Women different than men (7/29/2009)

Striking differences in the risk factors for developing heart failure (HF) and patient prognosis exist between men and women. Men and women may also respond differently to treatment, raising concerns about whether current practices provide the best care and reinforcing the urgency for sex-specific clinical trials for HF, according to a review article published in the Aug. 4, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. ...> Full Article

High blood pressure may lead to 'silent' strokes (7/29/2009)

"Silent" strokes, which are strokes that don't result in any noticeable symptoms but cause brain damage, are common in people over 60, and especially in those with high blood pressure, according to a study published in the July 28, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...> Full Article

Limited data suggest possible association between Agent Orange exposure (7/28/2009)

A new report from the Institute of Medicine finds suggestive but limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange. ...> Full Article

Researchers capture bacterial infection on film (7/28/2009)

Researchers have developed a new technique that allows them for the first time to make a movie of bacteria infecting their living host. ...> Full Article

Leukemia cells evade immune system by mimicking normal cells, studies show (7/27/2009)

Human leukemia stem cells escape detection by co-opting a protective molecular badge used by normal blood stem cells to migrate safely within the body, according to a pair of studies by researchers at Stanford University Medical School. ...> Full Article

Study provides documentation that tumor 'stem-like cells' exist in benign tumors (7/27/2009)

Cancer stem-like cells have been implicated in the genesis of a variety of malignant cancers. Research scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have isolated stem-like cells in benign (pituitary) tumors and used these "mother" cells to generate new tumors in laboratory mice. Targeting the cells of origin is seen as a possible strategy in the fight against malignant and benign tumors. ...> Full Article

Laser microsurgery for tongue cancer is as effective as invasive open surgery according to new study (7/27/2009)

Transoral (through-the-mouth) laser surgery to remove cancer at the base of the tongue is as effective as more invasive open surgery, and may improve quality of life according to a new study by Rush University Medical Center. The study is published in the July issue of the scientific journal Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. ...> Full Article

Researchers discover new molecular pathway for targeting cancer, disease (7/27/2009)

A UCLA study has identified a way to turn off a key signaling pathway involved in physiological processes that can also stimulate the development of cancer and other diseases. The findings may lead to new treatments and targeted drugs using this approach. ...> Full Article

Injection reverses heart-attack damage (7/26/2009)

Growth factor enhances heart regeneration, improves heart function without need for cardiac stem cells ...> Full Article

Bcl6 gene sculpts helper T cell to boost antibody production (7/26/2009)

Expression of a single gene programs an immune system helper T cell that fuels rapid growth and diversification of antibodies in a cellular structure implicated in autoimmune diseases and development of B cell lymphoma, scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported today in Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science. ...> Full Article

Advancing therapy for Parkinson's, other diseases (7/25/2009)

By miniaturizing a device that monitors the delivery of healthy cells, researchers at US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a powerful instrument for physicians to use in treating patients with Parkinson's syndrome, brain tumors and other diseases. ...> Full Article

Bad mitochondria may actually be good for you (7/25/2009)

Mice with a defective mitochondrial protein called MCLK1 produce elevated amounts of reactive oxygen when young; that should spell disaster, yet according to a study in this week's JBC these mice actually age at a slower rate and live longer than normal mice. ...> Full Article

Ovary removal may increase lung cancer risk (7/24/2009)

Women who have premature menopause because of medical interventions are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer. The startling link was made by epidemiologists from the University of Montreal, the Research Center of the University of Montreal Hospital Center and the INRS -- Institut Armand-Frappier. ...> Full Article

Critical link in cell death pathway revealed (7/24/2009)

The role of a protein called XIAP in the regulation of cell death has been identified by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers and has led them to recommend caution when drugs called IAP inhibitors are used to treat cancer patients with underlying liver conditions. ...> Full Article

Human cells secrete cancer-killing protein, UK study finds (7/24/2009)

The tumor-suppressor protein Par-4 is secreted by human and rodent cells and activates a novel extrinsic pathway involving cell surface GRP78 receptor for induction of apoptosis, researchers at the University of Kentucky led by Vivek Rangnekar announced in Cell. ...> Full Article

Evaluating more lymph nodes may not improve identification of late-stage colorectal cancer (7/24/2009)

Surgically removing and evaluating an increasing number of lymph nodes does not appear to identify a greater number of patients with stage III colorectal cancer, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...> Full Article

Heart disease: Research off the beating patch (7/23/2009)

A new 3-D scaffold of living, beating heart cells is a promising step forward on the quest for viable strategies of transplanting cells into diseased hearts ...> Full Article

Gene linked to increasingly common type of blood cancer (7/23/2009)

Carriers have nearly twice the risk of developing follicular lymphoma, according to cancer's first genome-wide association study. ...> Full Article

Researchers identify genes linked to chemoresistance (7/22/2009)

Two genes may contribute to chemotherapy resistance in drugs like 5-fluorouracil, which is used in liver cancer treatment, according to Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers. ...> Full Article

Estrogen can reduce stroke damage by inactivating protein (7/22/2009)

Estrogen can halt stroke damage by inactivating a tumor-suppressing protein known to prevent many cancers, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. ...> Full Article

Transplanted neurons develop disease-like pathology in Huntington's patients (7/21/2009)

The results of a recent study published in PNAS question the long-term effects of transplanted cells in the brains of patients suffering from Huntington's disease. This study, conducted jointly by Dr. Francesca Cicchetti of University of Laval in Quebec, Canada, Dr. Thomas B. Freeman of the University of South Florida, USA, and colleagues provides the first demonstration that transplanted cells fail to offer a long-term replacement for degenerating neurons in patients with Huntington's disease. ...> Full Article

Team gains insight into HIV vaccine failure (7/21/2009)

A team of researchers from the Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania reports new evidence refuting a popular hypothesis about the highly publicized failure in 2007 of the Merck STEP HIV vaccine study that cast doubt on the feasibility of HIV-1 vaccines. The findings were published online July 20 in Nature Medicine. ...> Full Article

Circulating blood cells are important predictors of cancer spread in children (7/20/2009)

Endothelial progenitor cells may play a role in the start and progression of metastatic disease in children with cancer, according to study results published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. ...> Full Article

New information about DNA repair mechanism could lead to better cancer drugs (7/18/2009)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shed new light on a process that fixes breaks in the genetic material of the body's cells. Their findings could lead to ways of enhancing chemotherapy drugs that destroy cancer cells by damaging their DNA. ...> Full Article

Researchers map how staph infections alter immune system (7/16/2009)

Infectious disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have mapped the gene profiles of children with severe Staphylococcus aureus infections, providing crucial insight into how the human immune system is programmed to respond to this pathogen and opening new doors for improved therapeutic interventions. ...> Full Article

Researchers gain insight into mechanism underlying Huntington's (7/16/2009)

Novel DNA repair pathway identified, targeting TNR hairpin removal ...> Full Article

New technique could save cancer patients' fertility (7/16/2009)

Researchers grow immature human egg cells to nearly mature egg in laboratory ...> Full Article

Study provides important insight into apoptosis or programmed cell death (7/15/2009)

A team of Nanyang Technological University professors have made an important contribution to the understanding of apoptosis or programmed cell death, a process that cells go through when they die ...> Full Article

DNA-damaged cells communicate with neighbors to let them know they're in trouble (7/15/2009)

When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging. ...> Full Article

Asian spice could reduce breast cancer risk in women exposed to hormone replacement therapy (7/14/2009)

Previous studies have found that post-menopausal women who have taken a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy have increased their risk of developing progestin-accelerated breast tumors. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that curcumin, a popular Indian spice derived from the turmeric root, could reduce the cancer risk for women after exposure to hormone replacement therapy. ...> Full Article

New lung cancer staging system revealed (7/14/2009)

For the first time in more than 10 years, the universally accepted lung cancer staging system has been revised to more accurately reflect the prognosis for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The new staging system for lung cancer is based on the largest database of any cancer type and more clearly defines the prognosis for patients with NSCLC through the addition of many new patient subgroups and reclassification of some previous subgroups. ...> Full Article

Scientists link elevated insulin to increased breast cancer risk (7/13/2009)

Elevated insulin levels in the blood appear to raise the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. ...> Full Article

Reduced diet thwarts aging, disease in monkeys (7/13/2009)

The bottom-line message from a decades-long study of monkeys on a restricted diet is simple: Consuming fewer calories leads to a longer, healthier life. ...> Full Article

Systems biology recommended as a clinical approach to cancer (7/12/2009)

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and the Wake Forest University School of Medicine are advocating the use of systems biology as an innovative clinical approach to cancer. This approach could result in the development of improved diagnostic tools and treatment options, as well as potential new drug targets to help combat the many potentially fatal types of the disease. ...> Full Article

One secret to how TB sticks with you (7/12/2009)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world's most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, a report in the July 10 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers new insight into the bugs' talent for meager living. ...> Full Article

Is obesity an oral bacterial disease? (7/12/2009)

In this climate of concern over the increasing prevalence of overweight conditions in our society, investigators have focused on the possible role of oral bacteria as a potential direct contributor to obesity. ...> Full Article

Easter Island compound extends lifespan of old mice (7/11/2009)

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and two collaborating centers report that rapamycin, a compound first discovered in soil of Easter Island, extended the expected lifespan of middle-aged mice by 28 percent to 38 percent. In human terms, this would be greater than the predicted increase in extra years of life if cancer and heart disease were both cured and prevented. ...> Full Article

Plastics chemical retards growth, function of adult reproductive cells (7/11/2009)

Bisphenol A, a chemical widely used in plastics and known to cause reproductive problems in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to it, also has been found to retard the growth of follicles of adult mice and hinder their production of steroid hormones, researchers report. Their study is the first to show that chronic exposure to low doses of BPA can impair the growth and function of adult reproductive cells. ...> Full Article

Two dietary oils, two sets of benefits for older women with diabetes (7/10/2009)

A study comparing how two common dietary oil supplements affect body composition suggests that both oils, by themselves, can lower body fat in obese postmenopausal women with Type 2 diabetes. The two oils compared were safflower oil, a common cooking oil, and conjugated linoleic acid, a compound naturally found in some meat and dairy products that has been associated with weight loss in previous studies. ...> Full Article

'Normal' cells far from cancer give nanosignals of trouble (7/10/2009)

A new Northwestern University-led study of human colon, pancreatic and lung cells is the first to report that cancer cells and their non-cancerous cell neighbors, although quite different under the microscope, share very similar structural abnormalities on the nanoscale level. The most striking findings were that these nanoscale alterations occurred at some distance from the tumor and, importantly, could be identified by assessing more easily accessible tissue, such as the cheek for lung cancer detection. ...> Full Article

Researchers create prostate cancer 'homing device' for drug delivery (7/10/2009)

A new prostate cancer "homing device" could improve detection and allow for the first targeted treatment of the disease. A team of Purdue University researchers has synthesized a molecule that finds and penetrates prostate cancer cells and has created imaging agents and therapeutic drugs that can link to the molecule and be carried with it as cargo. ...> Full Article

Hitting cell hot spot could help thwart Parkinson's disease (7/10/2009)

The latest work to 'turn off the taps' in the brain and stop a chemical being released in excess amounts -- which can lead to Parkinson's Disease -- will be presented at the British Pharmacological Society's Summer Meeting in Edinburgh today. ...> Full Article

Scientists identify cholesterol-regulating genes (7/9/2009)

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases. ...> Full Article

Ready for relapse: Molecule helps breast cancer cells to survive in the bone marrow (7/9/2009)

Patients who survive an initial diagnosis of breast cancer often succumb to the disease years later when the cancer shows up in a different part of the body. Now, scientists have identified key signals that support the long term survival of breast cancer cells after they have spread to the bone marrow. ...> Full Article

Protein can help cells or cause cancer, Purdue researcher finds (7/9/2009)

A Purdue University scientist has discovered a key process in cell growth that can lead to the formation of tumors. Xiaoqi Liu, an assistant professor of biochemistry, found that an overabundance of the polo-like kinase 1, or Plk1, molecule during cell growth, as well as a shortage of the p53 molecule, will lead to tumor formation. ...> Full Article

Researcher's discovery points to a new treatment avenue for acute myeloid leukemia (7/8/2009)

Dr. John Dick, senior scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of Princess Margaret Hospital, co-led a multinational team that has developed the first leukemia therapy that targets a protein, CD123, on the surface of cancer stem cells that drive acute myeloid leukemia, which is an aggressive disease with a poor outcome. ...> Full Article

Moles and melanoma - researchers find genetic links to skin cancer (7/8/2009)

Research shows the genetic connection between moles and melanoma -- and why the more moles a person has, the more susceptible they are to the disease ...> Full Article

Research reveals what drives lung cancer's spread (7/7/2009)

A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reveals the genetic underpinnings of what causes lung cancer to quickly metastasize, or spread, to the brain and the bone -- the two most prominent sites of lung cancer relapse. The study will be published online in the journal Cell on July 2. ...> Full Article

DNA variations linked to brain tumors (7/7/2009)

Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco have found a connection between DNA alterations on human chromosome 9 and aggressive brain cancer known as glioblastoma. ...> Full Article

New targeted therapy finds and eliminates deadly leukemia stem cells (7/6/2009)

New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia, a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukemia. ...> Full Article

Scientists solve mystery about why HIV patients are more susceptible to TB infection (7/6/2009)

Harvard scientists took an important first-step toward the development of new treatments to help people with HIV battle Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In a report appearing in the July 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology they describe how HIV interferes with the cellular and molecular mechanisms used by the lungs to fight TB infection. This information is crucial for researchers developing new treatments. ...> Full Article

Biological warfare in bacteria offers hope for new antibiotics (7/6/2009)

Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics. Researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded £3.3 million ($5.4 million) from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to find out how a family of proteins known as colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them. ...> Full Article

Team finds that gastrin plays significant role in helicobacter-induced stomach cancer (7/5/2009)

A group led by Columbia University Medical Center's Timothy Wang, M.D., has studied the role of Helicobacter infection in the development of stomach cancer, and found that the hormone gastrin, which stimulates secretion of gastric acid, plays a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer, may have distinct effects on carcinogenesis in different parts of the stomach. ...> Full Article

Researchers testing virus-gene therapy combination against melanoma (7/5/2009)

Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center are injecting a modified herpes virus into melanoma tumors, hoping to kill the cancer cells while also bolstering the body's immune defenses against the disease. ...> Full Article

Researchers uncover approach for possibly eradicating HIV infection (7/4/2009)

Researchers have uncovered a possible method for eradicating HIV infection in the human body. The researchers have also revealed new information which demonstrates how HIV persists in the body -- even in patients receiving drug treatments -- and how the virus continues to replicate itself in individuals undergoing treatment. ...> Full Article

Interferon alpha can delay full onset of type I diabetes (7/4/2009)

A low dose of oral interferon alpha shows promise in preserving beta cell function for patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, according to researchers at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. The results of the Phase II trial are published today in Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association. ...> Full Article

Genetically engineered mice yield clues to 'knocking out' cancer (7/4/2009)

Researchers from NIST, Oregon Health and Science University and the New York University School of Medicine have demonstrated that deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumors, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. The work may lead to the development of new measurement methods and reference materials for accurate and reproducible assessments of DNA damage and repair. ...> Full Article

Daily sex helps to reduce sperm DNA damage and improve fertility (7/3/2009)

Daily sex (or ejaculating daily) for seven days improves men's sperm quality by reducing the amount of DNA damage, according to an Australian study presented to the ESHRE conference. ...> Full Article

Scientists tackle viral mysteries (7/3/2009)

A recent study led by Blossom Damania, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, focuses on the intersection of these two scientific puzzles, resulting in new discoveries about how one herpes virus known to cause cancer may reactivate when the infected cell senses another type of virus entering it. ...> Full Article

Novel epigenetic markers of melanoma may herald new treatments for patients (7/2/2009)

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, diagnosed in more than 50,000 new patients in the United States annually. As incidences continue to rise, the race is on to find the genetic and cellular changes driving melanoma, and to devise new means of detection and treatment. In a study published online in Genome Research, scientists have found new epigenetic markers that will help develop more effective treatment strategies to fight this disease. ...> Full Article

Researchers describe the 90-year evolution of swine flu (7/2/2009)

The current H1N1 swine flu strain has genetic roots in an illness that sickened pigs at the 1918 Cedar Rapids Swine Show in Iowa, report experts at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their paper, published online today and slated for the July 16 print issue, describes H1N1's nearly century-long and often convoluted journey, which may include the accidental resurrection of an extinct strain. ...> Full Article

ICSI or IVF: Babies born from frozen embryos do just as well (7/1/2009)

Analysis of the longest running ICSI program in the United States has found reassuring evidence that babies born from frozen embryos fertilized via ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) do just as well as those born from frozen embryos fertilized via standard IVF treatment. ...> Full Article

Researchers pinpoint a new enemy for tumor-suppressor p53 (7/1/2009)

Researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have identified a protein that marks the tumor suppressor p53 for destruction, providing a potential new avenue for restoring p53 in cancer cells. ...> Full Article

Selenium intake may worsen prostate cancer in some, study reports (7/1/2009)

Higher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease. A higher risk of more-aggressive prostate cancer was seen in men with a certain genetic variant. In those subjects, having a high level of selenium in the blood was associated with a two-fold greater risk of poorer outcomes than men with the lowest amounts of selenium. ...> Full Article

New tool finds best heart disease and stroke treatments for patients with diabetes (7/1/2009)

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Mayo Clinic have developed a computer model that medical doctors can use to determine the best time to begin using statin therapy in diabetes patients to help prevent heart disease and stroke. ...> Full Article