New 'systems genetics' study identifies possible target for epilepsy treatment
A single gene that coordinates a network of about 400 genes involved in epilepsy could be a target for new treatments, according to research. Epilepsy is a common and serious disease that affects around 50 million people worldwide. The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population.It is known that epilepsy has a strong genetic component, but the risk is related to multiple factors that are 'spread' over hundreds of genes. Identifying how these genes are co-ordinated in the brain is important in the search for new anti-epilepsy medications. This requires approaches that can analyse how multiple genes work in concert to cause disease.
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World leaders gathering at Davos face calls for bold action to turn the tide on cancer
World leaders will face calls for bold action to respond to the rising human and economic toll of cancer when they meet in Davos at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF). Two sessions have been scheduled where international political, civic and business leaders have the chance to discuss how they can work with the cancer community to turn the tide on cancer: Cancer Pathway to a Cure - What are the breakthroughs in cancer prevention and therapy? - an interactive dinner session on Friday January 23rd; Globalization of Non-Communicable Diseases, a working session on the morning of Saturday January 24th.
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Newly discovered antibiotic kills pathogens without resistance
For years, pathogens' resistance to antibiotics has put them one step ahead of researchers, which is causing a public health crisis, according to University Distinguished Professor Kim Lewis. But in new research, Lewis and his colleagues present a newly discovered antibiotic that eliminates pathogens without encountering any detectable resistance - a finding that challenges long-held scientific beliefs and holds great promise for treating chronic infections like tuberculosis and those caused by MRSA. The research was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
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'Trojan horse' proteins used to target hard-to-reach cancers
Scientists at Brunel University London have found a way of targeting hard-to-reach cancers and degenerative diseases using nanoparticles, but without causing the damaging side effects the treatment normally brings. In a huge step forward in the use of nanomedicine, the research helped discover proteins in the blood that disguise nanoparticles so they are absorbed into cells without causing inflammation and destroying healthy cells. Two studies, Complement activation by carbon nanotubes and its influence on the phagocytosis and cytokine response by macrophages and Complement deposition on nanoparticles can modulate immune responses by macrophage, B and T cells, found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) triggered a chain reaction in the complement system, which is part of the innate immune system and is responsible for clearing pathogens and toxins.
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Rule of 3: Hormone triplet offers hope for obesity and diabetes
Recently, the researchers had constructed several single molecules with dual hormone action. Now, for the first time, the researchers succeeded in designing a substance that combines three metabolically active hormone components (GLP-1, GIP and glucagon) and offers unmatched potency to fight metabolic diseases in pre-clinical trials. The team headed by physician scientist Matthias Tschöp (Helmholtz Diabetes Center at HMGU and Metabolic Diseases Chair at TUM) and peptide chemist Richard DiMarchi (Indiana University) has been cooperating for almost a decade to invent improved therapeutics for type 2 diabetes and obesity. One of their novel approaches is to design molecules that combine the effects of specific metabolic hormones.
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The intestinal immune system controls the body weight
A group of UCL researchers (Louvain Drug Research Institute) identified an unsuspected mechanism impacting the development of obesity and diabetes type 2 after following a diet with a high dose of fat nutrition. The team of Professor Patrice D. Cani - in direct collaboration with two French teams, a Swedish expert as well as other UCL-researchers (LDRI and Ludwig Institute) - made an important discovery related to the essential role of the intestinal immune system regarding the control of the energy metabolism.
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Secret of tetanus toxicity offers new way to treat motor neuron disease
The way that tetanus neurotoxin enters nerve cells has been discovered by UCL scientists, who showed that this process can be blocked, offering a potential therapeutic intervention for tetanus. This newly-discovered pathway could be exploited to deliver therapies to the nervous system, opening up a whole new way to treat neurological disorders such as motor neuron disease and peripheral neuropathies. The research in mice, published in Science and funded by the Medical Research Council, shows that proteins called nidogens that coat cell surfaces are key to tetanus neurotoxin entering the nervous system. Tetanus neurotoxin sticks to nidogens on nerve cell surfaces, and is then 'shuttled' into these nerve cells where it spreads and causes damage across the nervous system.
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