Insulin could be Alzheimer’s therapy

Study shows suppression of proteins involved in AD pathogenesis

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A low dose of insulin has been found to suppress the expression in the blood of four precursor proteins involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new clinical research by University at Buffalo endocrinologists. The research, published in March online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, suggests that insulin could have a powerful, new role to play in fighting Alzheimer’s disease.

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First vaccine for viral hepatitis C could become a reality

Berlin, Germany, Friday 01 April 2011: Early data from phase I trials of an HCV vaccine presented today at the International Liver CongressTM show encouraging results, with high immunogenicity and good safety profile.1,2

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Progress toward the clinical application of autologous induced pluripotent stem cells and gene repair therapy for treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia

Innovation in science

Study shows, for the first time, the successful reprogramming of diseased human hepatocytes into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).1

Results also found differentiation into mature hepatocytes was more efficient than that with fibroblast-derived iPSCs.

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Probiotic bacteria could help treat Crohn’s disease

New research suggests that infection with a probiotic strain of E. coli bacteria could help treat an reduce the negative effects of another E. coli infection that may be associated with Crohn’s disease. Researchers from the University of Auckland, New Zealand publish their results in the April 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

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Scientists discover new drug target for inflammatory bowel disease: cytokine (IL-23)

New research published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that IL-23 helps regulate intraepithelial lymphocyte and natural killer cell immune responses in inflammatory bowel disease

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New therapeutic target for lung cancer

A new therapeutic target for lung cancer has been discovered by researchers at Seoul National University. It was found that a variant of the protein AIMP2 is highly expressed in lung cancer cells and also that patients demonstrating high expression of this variant show lower survival. The study is published on March 31 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

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Micro-RNA blocks the effect of insulin in obesity

Body weight influences the risk of developing diabetes: between 80 and 90 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. According to scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research in Cologne and the Cologne Cluster of Excellence in Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), short ribonucleic acid molecules, known as micro-RNAs, appear to play an important role in this mechanism. The researchers discovered that the obese mice form increased levels of the regulatory RNA molecule miRNA-143. miRNA-143 inhibits the insulin-stimulated activation of the enzyme AKT. Without active AKT, insulin cannot unfold its blood-sugar-reducing effect and the blood sugar level is thrown out of kilter. This newly discovered mechanism could provide the starting point for the development of new drugs for the treatment of diabetes.

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Study identifies promising target for AIDS vaccine

BOSTON–A section of the AIDS virus’s protein envelope once considered an improbable target for a vaccine now appears to be one of the most promising, new research by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists indicates.

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URI scientist discovers 54 beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup

5 have never been seen in nature before

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 30, 2011 – University of Rhode Island researcher Navindra Seeram has discovered 34 new beneficial compounds in pure maple syrup and confirmed that 20 compounds discovered last year in preliminary research play a key role in human health.

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Attacking bowel cancer on 2 fronts

Stem cells in the intestine, which when they mutate can lead to bowel cancers, might also be grown into transplant tissues to combat the effects of those same cancers, the UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) annual science meeting will hear today.

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