Category: Medical breakthrough
Regeneration of insulin in breakthrough diabetes discovery
A novel study from Monash University in Australia suggests insulin production could be restored in patients with type 1 diabetes, with the help of an existing drug used to treat cancer. The findings of the study could revamp and inform new treatments for diabetes. Insulin is a hormone produced by pancreatic beta cells – the […]
Special blood vessel coating prevents organ rejection
A special polymer used to coat the blood vessels of transplanted organs could one day do away with anti-rejection drugs – patients requiring an organ transplant also need to take certain drugs to prevent their immune system from rejecting the new organ, however the drugs may sometimes cause serious side effects. The protective polymer coating […]
New research seeks to develop low impact treatment vs leukemia
Cancer spreads fairly easily through the body and is treated through chemotherapy sessions, which can be life-changing. Huynh Cao, MD, saw the side effects of chemotherapy on his mother –after her breast cancer diagnosis in 1995. The treatment was difficult on her body, and Cao credits it for causing her subsequent acute leukemia that was […]
South Korea to import 4.8 million doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine
In an effort to prevent further spread of the viral foot-and-mouth disease in South Korea, the country will import 4.8 million doses of vaccine against the disease by the end of the month. Six cases of foot-and-mouth have been found in the latest outbreak since the first case was confirmed a week ago. As of […]
New Zealand team edges closer to allergy-free milk
WELLINGTON, Oct 2 — A team of New Zealand scientists claimed to be a step closer to producing allergy-free milk Tuesday, using a genetically-modified cow for their medical breakthrough. The team at the AgResearch Institute said they had bred the first cow in the world to produce high-protein milk with significantly reduced amounts of a […]
Cancer Drugs Could Be Made More Effective Using Protein That Helps Tumor Blood Vessels Mature
Tumors need blood supply to provide them with nutrients and oxygen so as to survive. Cancer cells stimulate new blood vessel growth—a process called tumor angiogenesis to get that supply. Many attempts have been made to inhibit this process as a means to choke off tumors. But tumor angiogenesis can be sloppy, resulting in immature […]
New Strategy to Reduce Chemotherapy’s Harmful Side Effects
Researchers in Leuven (VIB/KU Leuven) have demonstrated for the first time that their new strategy would reduce the harmful side effects of chemotherapy on healthy organs. They confirmed their hypothesis that normalizing blood vessels by blocking oxygen sensor PHD2 would make chemotherapy more effective. Limited success of chemotherapy The effectiveness of chemotherapy is first and […]
How Oscar Pistorius Runs
There may be one obvious difference between Oscar Pistorius of South Africa and his fellow sprinters at the London Olympics this year. Nicknamed the “Blade Runner,” Pistorius is the first double amputee to qualify for the summer Olympics. He’s competing wearing a pair of carbon fiber prosthetics designed for sprinting. Yet there other interesting differences, […]
Bone marrow transplants: A cure for HIV?
The cure for HIV may be at hand as two HIV-infected men who underwent bone marrow transplant appeared to be cured of the virus. During the 29th AIDS conference, Dr Daniel Kuritzkes, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston presented his study on two patients who have been infected for many […]
A*STAR Scientists discover Mechanism that Controls Obesity & Atherosclerosis
SINGAPORE – A*STAR scientists from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) and the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) have discovered a new signalling pathway that controls both obesity and atherosclerosis. The team demonstrated, for the first time, that mice deficient in the Wip1 gene were resistant to weight gain and atherosclerosis via regulation of […]
