Mechanism in Medical News

St. Jude Scientists Discover a New Mechanism Controlling Neuronal Migration

Understanding how neurons migrate to their proper place during brain development will offer insights into how malfunctions in the machinery cause epilepsy and mental retardation MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The molecular machinery that helps brain cells migra...

Dynamic molecular mechanism to keep brain activity stable

In the brain, many types of synaptic proteins are spatio-temporally regulated to maintain synaptic activity at a constant level. Here, the Japanese research group led by Professor Masaki Fukata, Drs. Yuko Fukata and Jun Noritake in National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, found that t...

Light Sciences Oncology Announces Results of Study on Immunotherapeutic Mechanism of Aptocine(TM), a Novel Light-Activated Drug Therapy for Cancer

Preclinical Study is Subject of Upcoming ASCO Presentation BELLEVUE, Wash., May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Light Sciences Oncology, Inc. (LSO) today announced that a new preclinical study has yielded evidence that the company's novel light-activated drug Aptocine(TM) (formerly Litx(TM)) may enhance a...

Mayo researchers discover mechanism of cell type-specific signaling in tumor development

ROCHESTER, Minn. Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered the mechanisms behind two key checkpoints in cell growth and development factors that may ultimately allow investigators to benchmark progression of tumor cells or stop them from further development. The findings appear in the current onli...

Yale researchers discover mechanism for

Two-year-olds with autism lack an important building block of social interaction that prompts newborn babies to pay attention to other people. Instead, these children pay attention to physical relationships between movement and sound and miss critical social information. Researchers at the Yale Sc...

URI scientists reveal mechanism that regulates cancer-causing gene

KINGSTON, R.I. March 26, 2009 Two University of Rhode Island scientists have revealed how a cancer causing protein is regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) -- a type of stress signal. Their findings provide new insight into how this protein normally behaves in human cells and may help in t...

Clues Found to Brain Mechanism Behind Migraines

Study in mice pinpoints role of gene mutation in triggering certain headaches WEDNESDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists believe they may have found the biological trigger to a particular type of migraine headache. In the March 12 issue of Neuron , an Italian university s...

Molecule tracking reveals mechanism of chromosome separation in dividing cells

University of Washington (UW) researchers are helping to write the operating manual for the nano-scale machine that separates chromosomes before cell division. The apparatus is called a spindle because it looks like a tiny wool-spinner with thin strands of microtubules or spindle fibers sticking o...

University of Ottawa Heart Institute Scientists Unlock Mechanism That Turns on Weight-Loss Gene

OTTAWA , Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ - A University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) research team has unlocked the mechanism that turns on a weight-loss gene in muscle. A new UOHI study shows that the mechanism - a DNA sequence variant identified as rs2419621 - increases the activity levels of ACSL5,...

Researchers Identify Novel Mechanism That Make Cancer Tumors Grow

Scientists at the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR) have uncovered a new pathway that could explain how blood vessels form within tumors. LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IMBCR researchers uncovered a new way that cancers orchestrate the production of their...

OHSU School of Dentistry uncovers mechanism for dental pain

PORTLAND, Ore. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's School of Dentistry ( www.ohsu.edu/sod ) have discovered a novel function of the peptide known as Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in the development of the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve provides the signaling pathway for period...

Toxicity mechanism identified for Parkinson's disease

Neurologists have observed for decades that Lewy bodies, clumps of aggregated proteins inside cells, appear in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The presence of Lewy bodies suggests underlying problems in protein recycling and waste disposal, ...

What is the mechanism of the chronic radiation enteritis?

The use of radiation therapy to treat cancer inevitably involves exposure of normal tissues. Although the benefits of this treatment have been well established, a number of patients experience distressing complications as a result injury to normal tissue These side effects related to inflammatory ...

Scientists at CSHL uncover new RNA processing mechanism and a new class of small RNAs

A very small fraction of our genetic material--about 2%-- performs the crucial task scientists once thought was the sole purpose of the genome: to serve as a blueprint for the production of proteins, the molecules that make cells work and sustain life. This 2% of human DNA is converted into interm...

Portuguese scientists discover new mechanism that regulates formation of blood vessels

Researchers in one of the external groups of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Cincia (IGC), in Portugal, have discovered a novel mechanism which regulates the process whereby new blood vessels are formed and wounds heal, including chronic wounds, such as those found in diabetic patients and those suffe...

USC researchers identify key mechanism that regulates the development of stem cells into neurons

Los Angeles, Calif. Nov. 10, 2008Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a novel mechanism in the regulation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Researchers found that the protein receptor Ryk has a key role in the differentiation of neural stem cells, ...

PET scans help identify mechanism underlying seasonal mood changes

Brain scans taken at different times of year suggest that the actions of the serotonin transporterinvolved in regulating the mood-altering neurotransmitter serotoninvary by season, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals. ...

NIH scientists find a novel mechanism that controls the development of autoimmunity

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found a mechanism in the immune systems of mice that can lead to the development of autoimmune disease when turned off. The findings shed light on the processes that lead to the development of autoimmunity and could also have implications ...

Researchers find differences in swallowing mechanism of Rett syndrome patients

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have found that the reflux and swallowing problems that are common symptoms in patients with Rett syndrome and other neurological impairments, may be caused by a different mechanism than they are in healthy individuals. The finding leave...

Brain Mechanism Can Turn Off Trauma of Bad Memories

Molecules that eliminate fear factor could lead to new panic disorder drugs WEDNESDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News -- The brain mechanism that turns off traumatic feelings associated with bad memories has been identified by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, who said thei...

Discovery of gene mechanism could bring about new ways to treat metastatic cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered how a gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), induces a bystander effect that kills cancer cells not directly receiving mda-7/IL-24 without harming healthy ones, a discov...

Pourquié Lab uncovers mechanism contributing to appropriate formation of the spine

The Stowers Institute's Pourqui Lab has shed light on the mechanism causing animals to develop the appropriate number of vertebrae. Vertebrae are formed from their embryonic precursors, called somites. The number of somites is consistent within a species, but varies significantly across specie...

New study reveals brain cell mechanism of alcohol dependence

A study released today reveals a cellular mechanism involved in alcohol dependence. The study, in the May 28 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, shows that gabapentin, a drug used to treat chronic pain and epilepsy, reduces alcohol intake in alcohol-dependent rats by normalizing chemical communi...

Key step in the 'puncture' mechanism of cell death revealed

A team of medical researchers led by Dr Ruth Kluck at Melbournes Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) has discovered a key step in the mechanism by which cells destroy themselves. In this process, called apoptosis, certain proteins cause the cell to self-destruct by puncturing its power plant. H...

Discovery of a novel mechanism for the development of colon cancer

Recent work from the Finnish Academy Center of Excellence on Cancer Biology at the University of Helsinki, Finland, has shed light on the mechanisms of colon tumor development and may help to design better treatment for this disease. Colon cancer is one of the most common malignancies in Wester...

New findings: The anti-fibrotic mechanism of plant extract Cpd 861

In human hepatic stellate cells, the key cells involved in both the synthesis and degradation of matrix proteins (mainly collagens) in the liver, the plant extract Cpd 861 can regulate the expression levels of collagen synthesis and degradation-related genes, thus demonstrating an antifibrotic eff...

Scientists discover a mechanism that can send cells on the road to cancer

Using a common virus as a tool for investigating abnormal cell proliferation, a team led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has succeeded in clarifying an intricate series of biochemical steps that shed light on a way that cancer can begin. The teams findings are the latest i...

Mosquito mating mechanism could lead to new attack on dengue and yellow fever

Cornell researchers have identified a mating mechanism that possibly could be adapted to prevent female mosquitoes from spreading the viruses that cause dengue fever, second only to malaria as the most virulent mosquito-borne disease in the tropical world. Specifically, they have discovered 63 ...

Researchers Define Mechanism of Methamphetamine Addiction

Changes in brain's dopamine levels could point to more effective treatments of drug abuse WEDNESDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- Long-term changes in the brain's dopamine-releasing machinery may explain why methamphetamine addiction is so strong, U.S. researchers say. Dopamine is on...

Study identifies mechanism underlying multidrug resistance in fungi

A team of researchers led by Anders Nr, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center has identified a mechanism controlling multidrug resistance in fungi. This discovery could help advance treatments for opportunistic fungal infections that frequently plague individuals with comp...

Novel mechanism found that may boost impaired function of leukemia protein

NEW YORK, February 29, 2008 A new study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reports on a novel mechanism that can enhance the function of a protein that is frequently impaired in patients with acute forms of leukemia. The protein, called AML1, plays a critical rol...

Oregon researchers discover a mechanism leading to cleft palate

By creating a genetic mutation in zebrafish, University of Oregon scientists say they've discovered a previously unknown mechanism for cleft palate, a common birth defect in humans that has challenged medical professionals for centuries. Many molecular pathways in zebrafish are present in human...

Quality control mechanism tags defective sperm cells inside the body

COLUMBIA, Mo. Defective sperm cells do not pass through the body unnoticed. A new University of Missouri study provides evidence that the body recognizes and tags defective sperm cells while they undergo maturation in the epididymis, a sperm storage gland attached to the testis. According to resea...

St. Jude Finds Mechanism for Faulty Protein Disposal

Discovery shows how a group of molecules pulls certain types of defective proteins out of the cell's protein factory, a finding that could help development of new cancer drugs MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A discovery by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientist...

St. Jude finds mechanism for faulty protein disposal

A discovery by St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital scientists offers new insights into how myeloma cells dispose of defective or excess proteins and could lead to new cancer treatments. The researchers identified key cellular components that carry out protein disposal, a finding that helps to...

Research suggests mechanism for acne drug's link to depression

New research has found that a drug used to treat severe forms of acne reduces the availability of the chemical serotonin, low levels of which have been linked to aggression and clinical depression. In a study published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, scientists reveal a potent...

UCSD study reveals the regulatory mechanism of key enzyme

Research conducted at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has shed new light on the structure and function of one of the key proteins in all mammalian cells, protein kinase A (PKA), an enzyme which plays an essential role in memory formation, communication between ner...

Ancient mechanism for coping with stresses also gives cancer a boost

An ancient mechanism for coping with environmental stresses, including heat and toxic exposures, also helps cancerous tumors survive, reveals a new report in the Sept. 21, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press. The findings could lead to a new way to treat cancer and may also have impli...

UCSD study reveals the regulatory mechanism of key enzyme

Research conducted at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine has shed new light on the structure and function of one of the key proteins in all mammalian cells, protein kinase A (PKA), an enzyme which plays an essential role in memory formation, communication between ner...

Researchers uncover novel mechanism that balances the sizes of functional areas in the brain

LA JOLLA, CA In the cerebral cortex, the brains powerful central processing unit responsible for higher functions, specialized subdivisions known as areas are laid out like a map, but little is known about the genetic forces that shape the geography of our brains. In this weeks advance online...