A pilot gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, restoring patients’ ability to make fetal hemoglobin, has produced good results in the first three patients to receive it. Investigators at Boston Children’s Hospital reported the findings of their ongoing clinical trial this week at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting. The three adult […]
Discoveries detail role of stem cell in deadly gastric cancer
A Cornell study provides important new insights into a common and deadly type of gastric cancer. Incidence of this cancer, called gastric squamous-columnar junction (SCJ) cancer, also known as gastroesophageal cancer, rose 2.5 times in the United States between the 1970s and 2000s, while cases of all gastric cancers have decreased by more than 80% […]
Neuroscientists reveal link between cell ‘dark matter’ and chronic nerve pain
A study, which has revealed the link between neuropathic pain and ‘dark matter’ in cells, could pave the way for new treatments for patients suffering with chronic nerve pain. The research by the University of Sheffield has shown for the first time a significant correlation between neuropathic pain and the abundance of specific RNA molecules […]
Uncovering new therapeutic targets for airway inflammation in sickle cell disease
A new study by De, Agrawal, Morrone et al, chal-lenges the common notion that airway inflammation in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is secondary to asthma, even though the two disorders often coexist. In a recent pilot, cross sectional study, both systemic and airway inflammatory markers were compared in patients with sickle cell disease with and […]
Stem cell transplantation: Chance of survival increases with number of procedures
Does the treatment success of a certain procedure depend on the number of cases in a hospital or on how often the doctors working there have already performed this procedure? In Germany, this is the subject of 8 commissions on minimum volumes awarded by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) to the Institute for Quality and […]
Disrupting immune cell behavior may contribute to heart disease and failure, study shows
On an ice hockey team, the players all start off with identical uniforms, skates and a stick. But if you take one of them, add padding, a glove, and a mask; and switch the stick to one with a larger blade, then you get a goalie. Now, the player has morphed—or differentiated—into one with a […]
Can red cell exchange treat advanced sickle cell disease?
Medical advances have dramatically increased the life expectancy of patients with sickle cell disease, but as patients are living longer, they are increasingly experiencing organ damage leading to early death. Now, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, supported by a $19.2 million National Institutes of Health grant, will lead the largest clinical trial […]
Timed release of turmeric stops cancer cell growth
A Washington State University research team has developed a drug delivery system using curcumin, the main ingredient in the spice turmeric, that successfully inhibits bone cancer cells while promoting growth of healthy bone cells. The work could lead to better post-operative treatments for people with osteosarcoma, the second most prevalent cause of cancer death in […]
Our Skulls Might Grow 'Horns' Because Of Our Cell Phone Addiction
Cell phones get blamed for increasing cancer risk, ruining dinner conversations, and now abnormal skull growth, according to a study. Published in the Journal of Anatomy in 2016, the research has recently been resurfaced in several news outlets. X-rays revealed that 41 percent of people between 18 and 30-years-old had bony lumps that look like […]
Newly discovered immune cell linked to type 1 diabetes
In a discovery that might be likened to finding medicine’s version of the Loch Ness monster, a research team from Johns Hopkins Medicine, IBM Research and four collaborating institutions is the first to document the existence of long-doubted “X cell,” a “rogue hybrid” immune system cell that may play a key role in the development […]