Comb

Combination therapy boosts effectiveness of telomere-directed cancer cell death

Sometimes apotential target for a drug seems very promising on paper; things areoften very different in reality. Its the case of telomerase inhibitorsto treat cancer; they are supposed to strip the "immortal" (able todivide indefinitely) aspect of cancer cells. Yet, something in the cellseems to block their function, preventing them to inhibit completelythe...

Live Recombinant Adenovirus Vaccine Technique Explored

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are exploring ways to develop new vaccines for a variety of illnesses using genetically modified adenoviruses, a common cause of respiratory infections. Oral adenovirus vaccines have long been proven to be safe and effective. The researchers believe their process for constructing a replicating live recombinant adenovirus could lea...

Molecular machine may lead to new drugs to combat human diseases

The crystallized form of a molecular machine that can cut and paste genetic material is revealing possible new paths for treating diseases such as some forms of cancer and opportunistic infections that plague HIV patients. Purdue University researchers froze one of these molecular machines, which are chemical complexes known as a Group I intron, at mid-point in its work cycle. When frozen...

A bacterial genome reveals new targets to combat infectious disease

More than a billion people are at risk for infection with filarial nematodes, parasites that cause elephantiasis, African river blindness, and other debilitating diseases in more than 150 million people worldwide. The nematodes themselves play host to bacteria that live within their cells, but in this case, the relationship is classic mutualism, with each benefiting from the other. Indeed, the Wo...

DNA Recombination and Repair—A New Twist to RecA Function

Molecular motors harness the energy of ATP (or GTP, a related energy currency) and transform it into mechanical force. Well-known examples of motors include myosin and dynein, proteins that use ATP to ferry intracellular cargo along fibers made of actin or tubulin proteins. The ATP-dependent assembly of actin or tubulin fibers itself can work as a motor: for instance, the march of white blood cel...

Harmful Bacterium Commonly Found in Poultry May Survive Refrigeration and Frozen Storage Combined

Glia appear essential for 'hair cells'responsible for hearing and balance. Traditionally viewed as supportingactors, cells known as glia may be essential for the normal developmentof nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance, according to newUniversity of Utah research. The study is reported in the January 6,2005 issue of Neuron and is co-authored by scientists at the Universityof Was...

Light therapy may combat fungal infections, new evidence suggests

A newly discovered mechanism by which an infectious fungus perceives light also plays an important role in its virulence, according to Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators at Duke University Medical Center. The findings suggest that changes in light following fungal invasion of the human body may be an important and previously overlooked cue that sparks infection, the researchers said.</...

Bevacizumab Combined With Chemotherapy Improves Progression-Free Survival for Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer

Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic breast cancer ?cancer that has spread from the breast to other parts of the body ?show that those patients who received bevacizumab (Avastin? in combination with standard chemotherapy had a longer time period before their cancer progressed than patients who received the same...

New polysaccharide may help combat multidrug resistance in cancer

In a recent study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists report that a molecule previously thought to play a purely structural and inert role in cells is actually involved in multidrug resistance in cancer. Using antagonists for this molecule, the researchers were able to sensitize drug resistant breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drug treatment. The research ap...

Wake Forest scientists find new combination vaccine effective against plague

Plague, a bacterium that ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages and is today one of the most feared potential agents of bio-terrorism, may have met its match, according to Wake Forest University School of Medicine scientists. Steven B. Mizel, Ph.D., principal investigator, told the American Gastroenterological Association meeting in Chicago that when mice immunized with a new combination vaccin...

Recombinant DNA technology may enable oral, rather than injectable, delivery of protein drugs

Transferrin, a plasma protein found in blood, can be fused with large, protein-based drugs such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to create a new oral compound that is capable of surviving the journey through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and then able to cross over into the bloodstream to be used by the body, according to research from the University of Southern California Schoo...

Combination therapy leads to partial recovery from spinal cord injury in rats

Combining partially differentiated stem cells with gene therapy can promote the growth of new "insulation" around nerve fibers in the damaged spinal cords of rats, a new study shows. The treatment, which mimics the activity of two nerve growth factors, also improves the animals' motor function and electrical conduction from the brain to the leg muscles. The finding may eventually lead to new ways...

Male Combat Veterans Rank High In Heart Disease Risk

Men who fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are more likely to be heavy drinkers, heavy smokers and obese than men who are non-combat veterans or non-veterans, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association's 45th annual Conference of Cardiovascular Disease, Epidemiology and Prevention. "Combat veterans were four times more likely to be heavy drin...

Hepatitis C responds best to combo of ribavirin and interferon, study concludes

A combination of the drugs ribavirin and interferon is more effective in treating hepatitis C than using interferon alone, but it also increases the risk of side effects, according to a new systematic review of recent evidence. "Adding ribavirin to any type of interferon should be considered the treatment of choice for patients with hepatitis C," conclude Jesper Brok, M.D., and colleagues...

Storing carbon to combat global warming may cause other environmental problems, study suggests

Growing tree plantations to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to mitigate global warming -- so called "carbon sequestration" -- could trigger environmental changes that outweigh some of the benefits, a multi-institutional team led by Duke University suggested in a new report. Those effects include water and nutrient depletion and increased soil salinity and acidity, said the researchers.<...

AIDS expert says global strategy needed to combat feminization of HIV/AIDS

Thomas C. Quinn, M.D., a Johns Hopkins physician and scientist, who has spent the best part of the last 25 years leading major efforts to combat HIV and AIDS throughout the world, is calling for global strategies and resources to confront the rapid "feminization" of the AIDS pandemic. Quinn, a professor of infectious diseases at Hopkins and a senior investigator at the National Institute o...

Breakthrough in micro-device fabrication combines biology and synthetic chemistry

Nanostructured micro-devices may be mass produced at a lower cost, and with a wider variety of shapes and compositions than ever before, for dramatic improvements in device performance by utilizing very small biologically produced structures. These entirely new biologically-enabled approaches are detailed in the current issue of the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, published o...

Researcher at UGA College of Veterinary Medicine identifies new way of combating viral diseases

Four seemingly unrelated viral diseases may some day be defeated by a single treatment, according to a recent collaborative study involving researchers at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine. Their study focuses on viruses responsible for HIV, measles, Ebola and Marburg and includes investigators from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Centers for Disease C...

New U. of Colorado at Boulder flu chip may help combat future epidemics, pandemics

A novel "Flu Chip" developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder that can determine the genetic signatures of specific influenza strains from patient samples within hours may help world health officials combat coming epidemics and pandemics. Tests last month on the new technology by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta showed the CU-Boulder Flu Chip can determine...

Study shows combination of immune substances to be safe

New research has shown that the immune-stimulating hormone known as interleukin-12 (IL-12) can safely be administered with interferon, another immune-system protein, as an experimental therapy for some cancers. Normally, interferon is used alone to stimulate the immune system to attack certain cancers. This strategy, a form of immunotherapy, is sometimes used to treat melanoma, advanced k...

Asleep in the deep: Model helps assess ocean-injection strategy for combating greenhouse effect

In searching for ways to counteract the greenhouse effect, some scientists have proposed capturing the culprit---carbon dioxide---as it is emitted from power plants, then liquefying the gas and injecting it into the ocean. But there are pitfalls in that plan. The carbon dioxide can rise toward the surface, turn into gas bubbles and vent to the atmosphere, defeating the purpose of the whol...

Combination therapy improves AIDS-related lymphoma outcome

Combining aggressive HIV therapy and chemotherapy significantly improves the survival rates of HIV-positive men and women treated for lymphoma, according to a new study. ), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, t...

Pair of studies offer new clues to combat antibiotic resistance

In the continuing battle against antibiotic resistance, two new studies shed light on the complex defense mechanisms pathogenic bacteria use to evade antibiotic attack, an understanding of which could lead to new, more effective antibiotics to help save lives and combat the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The studies, both of which target chemical components in the protective membrane s...

Team discovers possible 'universal strategy' to combat addiction

An international research team led by the University of Saskatchewan has discovered a signaling pathway in the brain involved in drug addiction, together with a method for blocking its action, that may point to a single treatment strategy for most addictions. The team, led by Xia Zhang, associate p...

Retinol for combating leukemia cells

Some ten years ago the Department of Cell Biology and Histology at the University of the Basque Country initiated research into how cell death was boosted by means of retinoids. It was thought that this potential could be used in the fight against cancer cells. Vitamin A, also known as retinol, is present in milk, liver, egg yolk, butter and other foodstuffs and as carotene in vegetables...

Hopkins researchers discover genetic switch that turns off an oxygen-poor cell's combustion engine

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a previously unrecognized role played by the gene HIF-1 as it helps cell survive when a lack of oxygen decreases production of an energy-rich molecule called ATP and increases production of toxic molecules. ATP supplies energy the cell needs to perform each of its many chemical reactions and tasks, and in this way acts as the "currency" for the cell's en...

Novel therapy combinations gain ground in treating hepatitis

According to recent estimates, hepatitis has become a worldwide health problem, affecting millions of people in the U.S. and abroad. Researchers are experimenting with combinations of anti-inflammatory medicines like interferons to improve hepatitis symptoms. In research presented today at Digestive Disease Week® 2006 (DDW), new combinations of therapies are making significant progress to impro...

Combating anthrax: Results of study published this month as researchers look for a better vaccine

A new study published this month by a Saint Louis University vaccine researcher scrutinizes what in the future could be an alternative to the presently available anthrax vaccine. In its first human testing, the vaccine was given to...

Recombination protein dynamics observed with single monomer resolution

Using a sensitive, single-molecule measurement technique, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have observed the life cycle of RecA, a protein that plays a major role in repairing damaged DNA. RecA is a DN...

Combined treatment extends life expectancy for lung cancer patients

Combining thermal ablation with radiation therapy extends average life expectancy and decreases recurrences of tumors in patients who have early stages of inoperable lung cancer, according to researchers at Rhode Island Hospital. In a retrospective study looking at patients over seven years, the median survival rate at three years increased from 20 months after radiation alone to 42 month...

Combination therapy with a monocloncal antibody and a vaccine leads to tumor rejection

Effector T cells (Teff cells) are involved in activating and directing other immune cells, while regulatory T cells (Tregs) act to curb the over-aggressive responses of the T cell population. Researchers continue to work on devising ways to mobilize anti-tumor Teff cells in order to better shape the immune response to tumors. Previously, James Allison and colleagues from Memorial Sloan-Ket...

New strategy developed to combat West Nile Virus

The spread of West Nile Virus appears to be triggered by a complex interaction of mosquitoes, nesting birds and specific weather patterns, scientists say, which leads to "amplification" of the virus within mosquito populations. Researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Florida have identified how those factors mesh to create heightened risk of the West Nile Virus in so...

Combination therapy shows promising results in patients with advanced lung cancer

An early phase study pairing an experimental targeted therapy with a common anti-inflammatory produced promising results in patients with advanced lung cancer, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center reported. Pairing the targeted therapy Tarceva with the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex increased response rates in lung cancer patients by about three-fold, said Dr. Karen Reckamp, an as...

Vaccine combined with short-term postexposure antibiotics protects monkeys from inhalational anthrax

Anthrax vaccine administered in combination with a short course of antibiotics completely protected nonhuman primates from inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of the disease, according to scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). In a collaborative study involving USAMRIID and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases...

High HPV concentrations combined with smoking significantly raise risks of cervical cancer

Cigarette smoking and concurrent infection with high levels of the virus associated with cervical cancer can increase cancer risk by as much as 27 times, according to a study published in the November 2006 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Anthony Gunnell, a medical biostatistician and epidemiologist and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm reviewe...

New study suggests promising drug combinations for sleeping sickness

Results from a clinical trial evaluating new drug combinations for sleeping sickness, carried out by the international humanitarian medical aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and its research arm, Epicentre, have now been published in the journal PLoS Clinical Trials. African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness affects many tens of thousands of people each year in sub-Sahara...

Statin plus cancer drug deliver combo punch to brain cancer cells

Building on newly discovered genetic threads in the rich tapestry of biochemical signals that cause cancer, a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center team has dramatically killed brain cancer cells by blocking those signals with a statin and an experimental antitumor drug. The unlikely pairing of cholesterol-lowering lovastatin and cyclopamine killed 63 percent of medulloblastoma cells grown in...

Chemo combination improves survival in asbestos-related cancer

People with mesothelioma ?a form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure ?have a higher survival rate when treated with a combination of two cancer drugs, a large multicenter study finds. In the study, p...

Radiation therapy combo cures prostate cancer long-term

Seventy-four percent of men treated with a combination of radiation seed implants and external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer are cured of their disease 15 years following their treatment, according to a study released today in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO. This study was conducted by the physicians at the Seattl...

York mathematician probes geometric route to combat viruses

A mathematician at the University of York has been awarded a Research Leadership Award of more than £700,000 by the Leverhulme Trust to study the geometry of viruses. Viruses have highly sy...