Researchers look at novel approaches to heart disease and inflammation

LIAI hopes modulating inflammation can take a bite out of heart disease

While cholesterol-lowering drugs and new technologies have significantly advanced the nation’s battle against heart disease, it continues to rank as the No. 1 killer of U.S. men and women. But if researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) have their way, the body’s immune system will become an important player in reducing heart disease.

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Glucosamine and chondroitin don’t seem to slow osteoarthritis

Two hugely popular supplements used to fight arthritis and joint pain, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, do not seem to work any better than placebo to slow the loss of knee cartilage in osteoarthritis, researchers reported on Monday.

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MIT paves way to ‘artificial nose’

Engineers mass-produce smell receptors in lab

MIT biological engineers have found a way to mass-produce smell receptors in the laboratory, an advance that paves the way for “artificial noses” to be created and used in a variety of settings.

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New study proves that pain is not a symptom of arthritis, pain causes arthritis

New treatments will seek to interrupt ‘crosstalk’ between joints and the spinal cord
Pain is more than a symptom of osteoarthritis, it is an inherent and damaging part of the disease itself, according to a study published today in journal Arthritis and Rheumatism. More specifically, the study revealed that pain signals originating in arthritic joints, and the biochemical processing of those signals as they reach the spinal cord, worsen and expand arthritis. In addition, researchers found that nerve pathways carrying pain signals transfer inflammation from arthritic joints to the spine and back again, causing disease at both ends.

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Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

New field of metabolomics yields exciting antiviral treatment approach

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

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Horny goat weed could be better than Viagra

The soft green heart-shaped leaf of the horny goat weed could hold the key to a new drug for treating erectile dysfunction. Researchers say the Viagra alternative could be as effective as the famous blue pill, but have fewer side-effects.

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Scientists unmask key HIV protein, open door for more powerful AIDS drugs

New U-M discoveries on how HIV evades immune system could one day eliminate the need to take antiviral drugs for a lifetime

University of Michigan scientists have provided the most detailed picture yet of a key HIV accessory protein that foils the body’s normal immune response. Based on the findings, which appear online in the journal PLoS Pathogens, the team is searching for new drugs that may someday allow infected people to be cured and no longer need today’s AIDS drugs for a lifetime.

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New safer way to make stem cells reported

Harvard scientists yesterday reported a new way to turn adult cells into stem cells, without using harmful viruses that can cause cancer.

Using a type of virus employed in gene therapy to deliver genes to mouse cells, researchers were able to transform adult cells into embryonic-like stem cells – capable of developing into any cell in the body. That virus had not previously been used in stem cell production.

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A promising approach in the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer

Many gastrointestinal tumors, including pancreatic cancer, have been shown to overexpress the EGFR. The overexpression of EGFR correlates with rapidly progressive disease and poor prognosis. Targeting EGFR pathway as a potential therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer has been developed. Erlotinib is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that efficiently blocks EGFR. Preliminary results of phase III trial in pancreatic cancer revealed an improvement in survival with the addition of erlotinib. Treatment with anti-EGFR agents is used as a potential therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer, but the mechanisms are not yet precisely understood.

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Mayo Clinic discovery may help diabetic gastric problem

Mayo Clinic researchers have found what may provide a solution to one of the more troubling complications of diabetes — delayed gastric emptying or gastroparesis. The researchers showed in animal models that a red blood cell derivative increases production of a key molecule, normalizing the digestive process. The findings appear in the current online issue of the journal Gastroenterology (http://www.gastrojournal.org/).

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