Clinical gene discovery program solves 30 medical mysteries
A table in a recently published paper tells the story of 30 families who have, sometimes after years of searching, finally received an answer about the condition that has plagued one or more family members. The Brigham Genomic Medicine (BGM) program, an integrated, multi-disciplinary clinical and research program, brings together world-class experts from across
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Study links widely-used drug azathioprine to skin cancers
A drug used to treat inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and vasculitis as well as to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients has been identified as an important contributor to skin cancer development, in a research study carried out at the University of Dundee, Queen Mary University of London and the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
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Cannabis extract helps reset brain function in psychosis
Research from King's College London has found that a single dose of the cannabis extract cannabidiol can help reduce brain function abnormalities seen in people with psychosis. Results from a new MRC-funded trial, published in JAMA Psychiatry, provide the first evidence of how cannabidiol acts in the brain to reduce psychotic symptoms.
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For first time in 40 years, cure for acute leukemia within reach
Acute myeloid leukemia is one of the most aggressive cancers. While other cancers have benefitted from new treatments, there has been no encouraging news for most leukemia patients for the past 40 years. Until now. As published today in the scientific journal Cell, Professor Yinon Ben-Neriah and his research team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)'s Faculty of Medicine have developed a new biological drug with a cure rate of 50% for lab mice with acute leukemia.
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Mushrooms of the Far East hold promise for the anti-cancer therapy
Mushrooms from the Far East area contain the natural chemical compounds, which could be used for the design of the novel drugs with highly specific anti-tumor activities and low-toxicity. These compounds may offer new avenues for oncology, providing us with either stand-alone alternatives to chemotherapy, chemopreventive medicines, or drugs to be used in combination with other therapies.
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The medicine of the future against infection and inflammation?
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, have in collaboration with colleagues in Copenhagen and Singapore, mapped how the body's own peptides act to reduce infection and inflammation by deactivating the toxic substances formed in the process. The study is published in Nature Communications and the researchers believe their discovery could lead to new drugs against infection and inflammation, for example in wound healing.
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Differences in immune responses due to age, sex, and genetics
Over the course of our life, we are continuously exposed to pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, meaning that our immune system is constantly at work. When stimulated by either pathogen or vaccine, the immune system notably mounts what is known as a "humoral response", which corresponds to the production of antibodies that can help fight infections and provide long-term protection.
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