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Physicists push new Parkinson's treatment toward clinical trials

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

The most effective way to tackle debilitating diseases is to punch them at the start and keep them from growing. Research at Michigan State University, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, shows that a small "molecular tweezer" keeps proteins from clumping, or aggregating, the first step of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease. The results are pushing the promising molecule toward clinical trials and actually becoming a new drug, said Lisa Lapidus, MSU associate professor of physics and astronomy and co-author of the paper. "By the time patients show symptoms and go to a doctor, aggregation already has a stronghold in their brains," she said. "In the lab, however, we can see the first steps, at the very place where the drugs could be the most effective. This could be a strong model for fighting Parkinson's and other diseases that involve neurotoxic aggregation." Lapidus' lab uses lasers to study the speed of protein reconfiguration before aggregation, a technique Lapidus pioneered. Proteins are chains of amino acids that do most of the work in cells. Scientists understand protein structure, but they don't know how they are built -- a process known as folding. Lapidus' lab … Continue reading →

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Commonly available blood-pressure drug prevents epilepsy after brain injury

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

BERKELEY Between 10 and 20 percent of all cases of epilepsy result from severe head injury, but a new drug promises to prevent post-traumatic seizures and may forestall further brain damage caused by seizures in those who already have epilepsy. A team of researchers from UC Berkeley, Ben-Gurion University in Israel and Charit-University Medicine in Germany reports in the current issue of the journal Annals of Neurology that a commonly used hypertension drug prevents a majority of cases of post-traumatic epilepsy in a rodent model of the disease. If independent experiments now underway in rats confirm this finding, human clinical trials could start within a few years. When the blood-brain barrier is disrupted by a severe head injury, the blood protein albumin leaks into the brain and activates the TGF-beta receptor on astrocytes (tan cells), which triggers a cascade of events leading to inflammation. The net result can be hyperexcitable neurons (yellow) and epileptic seizures. Kaufer, Friedman and colleagues discovered this cause and effect and identified a drug that blocks the TGF-beta receptor, preventing seizures in rats. (Image by Greg Chin, Vlad Senatorov & Oscar Vasquez, UC Berkeley) This is the first-ever approach in which epilepsy development is stopped, as … Continue reading →

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Opexa Therapeutics to Attend the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

Opexa is sponsoring a booth at the AAN at which the leadership team will be present to discuss Tcelna, its lead therapy, which is currently in development for the treatment of Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SPMS). Presentations and discussions on the Abili-T clinical trial, mechanism of action of Tcelna and key points of differentiation will be discussed. Opexa is also planning to hold a meeting of Abili-T clinical trial investigators to review the status of the ongoing Phase IIb Abili-T trial in SPMS. This is a planned meeting and will include neurologists and study coordinators from several of the clinical sites. Additionally, Opexa is hosting a reception for investors and analysts to discuss SPMS, and how a targeted, personalized therapy may be effective in addressing this unmet medical need. Two key opinion leaders, Professor Hans-Peter Hartung and Dr. Ed Fox, will provide an overview of the status of SPMS and the potential of Opexas T-cell immunotherapy in treating this population of MS patients. Opexa is currently conducting the Abili-T trial, a Phase IIb study of Tcelna in SPMS patients. The trial is expected to enroll 180 patients at approximately 35 leading clinical sites in the U.S. and Canada, with each … Continue reading →

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CentraState to host Walk MS

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

Participants in the annual Walk MS event will raise money to assist more than 13,000 New Jersey residents who are living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Walk MS will kick off in New Jersey on April 27 at 10 a.m. at sites throughout the state, including the CentraState Medical Center Wellness Center, 901 W. Main St., Freehold Township. Registration begins at 9 a.m. According to a press release, much progress has been made in the area of MS research from a wider variety of treatment options to slow down the progression of the disease to new programs available for MS patients to manage symptoms and everyday living, to the availability of MS housing and MS centers dedicated to the disease in New Jersey. Monmouth County participants will also have the option to run a 5K this year at the Walk MS site at Thompson Park, 805 Newman Springs Road (Route 520), Lincroft. All funds raised from the event will support MS research programs and fund local programs and services for all those who are impacted by the disease, according to the press release. All ages are welcome to register online at http://walknjm.nationalmssociety.org. Read more from the original source: CentraState to host … Continue reading →

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Multiple Sclerosis Society walk set for Suisun City

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Northern California Chapter, will hold its 3rd annual Walk MS on April 26 at the Suisun City Waterfront Plaza. Registration and check-in begins at 8 a.m. with the walking starting at 9 a.m. There is no fee to participate. Walk options include a one-mile and 5K route. Participants can walk individually or as a team and can look forward to food and festivities. Walk MS is the signature fundraising event of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Hundreds of walkers are expected to participate and contribute to the region's fundraising goal of $1.7 million. Funds raised support direct services and life-changing programs for the more than 84,000 people affected by MS in Northern California as well as groundbreaking research to stop progression, restore lost function and end forever this chronic disease of the central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with the disease. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one … Continue reading →

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Stem-cell research shows promise in restoring sight

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

Stem-cell research has always been looked at as either a path towards human cloning or a way to potentially re-create human tissue and now it appears the latter is finally starting to see some progress. Researchers, according to The Washington Post, have found a way to make adult stem-cells grow into tissue with some urging by scientists. This means that people suffering from diabetes could possibly have insulin-producing cells, made by scientists. People with macular degeneration would never go blind and entire organs could possibly be matched to patients in order to replace diseased ones. According to Nature World News, the research is approaching human trials as far as treating blindness with stem-cells. So far the results have been extremely encouraging. One patient, who had been judged legally blind, gained full eyesight again. This is done with three drops of retinal pigment epithelium cells underneath the retina, which is detached for the procedure. Though stem-cell research controversy seemed to be so last decade as people worried about cloning, scientists are certainly stirring up some controversy with new treatment, but may also change many lives. See the article here: Stem-cell research shows promise in restoring sight … Continue reading →

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Stem cells created (cloned) from adult cells for the first time

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

A quality sword requires toughness on the inside and hardness on the outside. That way it can keep a sharp edge yet bend instead of shatter. Getting these properties requires blanking the metal back to a virgin state, adding the right molecular alloying ingredients, and then controlling the rate of the natural processes that occur as its final structure crystallizes out. Using that general method, researchers have just succeeded in returning adult somatic (body) cells to a virgin stem cell state which can then be made into nearly any tissue. The key word here is adult. Last year, researchers from Oregon perfected a process to therapeutically clone human embryos. Basically that means producing cells that are genetically identical to a donor for the purpose of treating disease. We described the critical details of the technique, known as somatic-cell nuclear transfer, in an earlier post. In a nutshell, the nucleus from the cell to be cloned is fused with an egg that has its own nucleus removed. Caffeine is used to stall various autonomous developmental programs during a fusion process that has been initiated with an electric pulse. The new hybrid cell that results has full stem cell character which can … Continue reading →

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Irish cell therapy firm in E6m research

Posted: Published on April 23rd, 2014

Tuesday, April 22 11:57:06 Orbsen Therapeutics, a spin-out from NUI Galway's Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI), is to partner with the University of Birmingham in a E6 million EU FP7 funded MERLIN project to fight liver disease. The EU FP7-funded project known by the acronym "MERLIN" (MEsynchymal stem cells to Reduce Liver INflammation) is led by Professor Phil Newsome, Clinical Director of the Birmingham University Stem Cell Centre. MERLIN will advance Orbsen's proprietary cell therapy to a Phase 2a clinical trial in patients with inflammatory liver disease. This MERLIN project will evaluate the Orbsen cell therapy in 4 different research laboratories across Europe and the project will culminate in a Phase 2a clinical trial of the therapy in the crippling inflammatory liver disease, Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis. This is Orbsen's fourth success in attracting FP7 funding (the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research), making them one of Ireland's most successful private companies in this funding programme and now connects Orbsen to 23 global collaborators. Other successful cell therapy projects for Orbsen include PURSTEM (completed), REDDSTAR (ongoing) and DeCIDE (ongoing). Orbsen Therapeutics Ltd. is a privately-held company founded in 2006 as a spin-out from Ireland's Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) in NUI Galway. As … Continue reading →

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‘Our two little miracles’ – Cambridge mum tells how IVF has given her the family she’d always dreamed of

Posted: Published on April 22nd, 2014

Cambridge News Follow us on Wednesday 23 Apr 2014 1:18 AM Written byLYDIA FALLON 2 Images Ian and Danielle Liht are quite the little charmers. Happily toddling around their Cambridge home all bright eyes and cheeky smiles the 17-month-old twins are impossibly cute. Currently going through an adventurous stage according to their mum Jessica, their new favourite game is climbing; their little faces lighting up in pure joy as they clamber up on to the table, one after the other. They always have to copy what the other one is doing, Jessica laughs, scooping them up on to her knee for cuddles. If one of them is doing something, the other one wants to do it too! They are both completely different though, she adds. Dani is very feisty and clear, she knows what she wants, and Ian is more cuddly and chilled out. Gazing at them adoringly, Jessica, 36, is the epitome of a besotted mummy, but after waiting nearly seven years for these kinds of moments, thats really no surprise. When I got to bring them home for the first time it was an amazing feeling, an indescribable feeling of completeness and pure joy, Jessica smiles, wiping away … Continue reading →

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Software Identifies Gene Mutations in 3 Undiagnosed Children

Posted: Published on April 22nd, 2014

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise (SALT LAKE CITY)A computational tool developed at the University of Utah (U of U) has successfully identified diseases with unknown gene mutations in three separate cases, U of U researchers and their colleagues report in a new study in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The software, Phevor (Phenotype Driven Variant Ontological Re-ranking tool), identifies undiagnosed illnesses and unknown gene mutations by analyzing the exomes, or areas of DNA where proteins that code for genes are made, in individual patients and small families. Sequencing the genomes of individuals or small families often produces false predictions of mutations that cause diseases. But the study, conducted through the new USTAR Center for Genetic Discovery at the U of U, shows that Phevors unique approach allows it to identify disease-causing genes more precisely than other computational tools. Mark Yandell, Ph.D, professor of human genetics, led the research. He was joined by co-authors Martin Reese, Ph.D., of Omicia Inc., an Oakland, Calif., genome interpretation software company, Stephen L. Guthery, M.D., professor of pediatrics who saw two of the cases in clinic, a colleague at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and other U of U … Continue reading →

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