Medical News Observer

Keep updated with latest medical research news

University of Iowa’s hybridoma bank, a national treasure

The Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank at the UI was created by the National Institutes of Health in 1986 to store and distribute laboratory-produced proteins used for cancer research and other scientific pursuits. University of Iowa biology professor David Soll has run the bank for the past 20 years as an independent nonprofit entity, creating, storing,…
Glioblastoma’s dependence of cholesterol from astrocytes, a possible new therapeutic target

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and The Scripps Research Institute, with colleagues in Los Angeles and Japan, report that depriving deadly brain cancer cells of cholesterol, which they import from neighboring healthy cells, specifically kills tumor cells and caused tumor regression and prolonged survival in…
Research shows link between androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer and dementia

A new retrospective study of patient medical records suggests that men with prostate cancer who are treated with testosterone-lowering drugs are twice as likely to develop dementia within five years as prostate cancer patients whose testosterone levels are not tampered with. The study, by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University…
Researchers find genes behind aggressive ovarian and endometrial carcinosarcomas.

In a major breakthrough for ovarian and uterine cancers, Yale researchers have defined the genetic landscape of rare, highly aggressive tumors called carcinosarcomas (CSs), pointing the way to possible new treatments. The findings are published in the Oct. 10 online early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Panel showing both epithelial and…
Scientists find how cancer cells metabolizes glucose, providing new therapeutic target

Cancer cells have their own unique way of reproducing, involving a shrewd metabolic reprograming that has been observed in virtually all types of cancer but not in normal cells. Now, University of Rochester Medical Center scientists have pinpointed one key source of the problem, which could lead to new treatment opportunities. In an article published…
Researchers identify molecular mechanism behind cancer-promoting gene H-RasV12 in aggressive cancer cells

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have described a previously-unknown molecular mechanism that could lead to the genetic mutations seen in certain types of aggressive cancer cells, involving a cell’s own transcription machinery. Genetic mutations are fundamental to the spread of cancer cells that form malignant tumours in the body. They are often caused by…
Polarized nuclear imaging – a novel imaging method using combined MRI and gamma-ray imaging

A unique new imaging method, called “polarized nuclear imaging” – combining powerful aspects of both magnetic resonance imaging and gamma-ray imaging and developed by two physicists in the University of Virginia‘s departments of Physics and Radiology has potential for new types of high-resolution medical diagnostics as well as industrial and physics research applications. “This method…
Aggresive neuroblastoma cases have high levels of common nerve protein Neuropeptide-Y

A protein produced by nerve cells appears to be elevated in the blood of those with an aggressive form of neuroblastoma. The finding, published online October 12 in the American Journal of Pathology, could potentially lead to a prognostic test for the disease or be used to monitor its progress. Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer…
Transplantation with induced neural stem cells (iNSC) improves stroke recovery in mice

In a study to determine whether induced neural stem cells (iNSCs), a type of somatic cell directly differentiated into neural stem cells, could exert therapeutic effects when transplanted into mice modeled with ischemic stroke, researchers found that the cells promoted survival and functional recovery. Additionally, they discovered that when administered during the acute phase of…
Research finds differences in obesity rates between children/teens with and without autism

Children and teens with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be more likely to be obese and stay obese during adolescence than their peers without ASD, according to a new epidemiological study led by researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine and published online in Childhood Obesity in advance of print. Previous studies have found that…