Medical researchers have used DNA sequencing to identify a gene variant responsible for causing lupus in a young patient. The development shows that for the first time, it is feasible for researchers to identify the individual causes of lupus in patients by using DNA sequencing, allowing doctors to target specific treatments to individual patients. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects one in 700 Australians, predominantly young and middle aged women. Medical researchers at the Centre for Personalised Immunology, based at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), sequenced the genes of a young girl who suffered a stroke when she was four as a result of her lupus. "We can now target her specific disease, and make treatments that will benefit her throughout her life," said lead researcher Dr Julia Ellyard, from the JCSMR. Researchers identified a variant in the TREX1 gene. This mutation caused the patient's cells to produce a molecule called interferon-alpha. Clinical trials are already underway for drugs to target interferon-alpha in adults. Dr Jeff Chaitow, head of rheumatology, a co-investigator and the patient's treating clinician at Sydney's The Children's Hospital at Westmead, said his young patient, now 10 years old, still needs regular … Continue reading →

Paul Laikind, CEO of ViaCyte, which is making a treatment for diabetes from human embryonic stem cells. San Diego-based ViaCyte has received FDA permission to try its stem cell-based diabetes therapy. The Phase 1/2 combination trial will look for both safety and early signs of efficacy. ViaCyte grows replacement insulin-producing cells from human embryonic stem cells, which are placed in a semipermeable pouch. The pouch will be implanted into patients, allowing insulin and other hormones to enter the patient's bloodstream. The combination product of pouch and cells is called VC-01. ViaCyte says the product has the potential to provide a "virtual cure" for Type 1 diabetes. The company announced last month it had applied to begin the clinical trial. Animal trials have shown that the replacement cells successfully duplicate the function of the insulin-producing beta cells. These cells secrete not only insulin, which lowers blood sugar, but hormones such as glucagon, which raises it. Providing a range of hormones as in the natural pancreas is expected to provide better control of blood sugar than with insulin alone. The green light is not only good news for privately held ViaCyte, but for California's stem cell agency, the California Institute for Regenerative … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 18-Aug-2014 Contact: Casey Bayer c.bayer@neu.edu 617-373-2592 Northeastern University Northeastern University has received a five-year, $1.15 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute to train the next generation of cancer nanomedicine scientists and clinicians through a unique experiential learning program. The centerpiece of the new program, which is called "CaNCURE: Cancer Nanomedicine Co-ops for Undergraduate Research Experiences," is a unique partnership between Northeastern and the Initiative to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. The DF/HCC is the world's largest comprehensive cancer center, bringing together the research efforts of its seven member institutions, comprising Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard School of Public Health. For more than a decade, the IECDamong the nation's first integrated, inter-institutional programs focused on eliminating cancer disparitieshas offered programming to address the complexities of cancer disparities, including training students, enhancing research, and facilitating access to underserved populations. "Nanotechnology is leading to breakthroughs in diagnosis and therapy of many diseases, particularly cancer, leading to the new discipline of cancer nanomedicine," said principal investigator Srinivas Sridhar, Northeastern's Arts and Science Distinguished Professor … Continue reading →