ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2012) McGill researchers have identified a small region in the genome that conclusively plays a role in the development of psychiatric disease and obesity. The key lies in the genomic deletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, a nervous system growth factor that plays a critical role in brain development. To determine the role of BDNF in humans, Prof. Carl Ernst, from McGill's Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, screened over 35,000 people referred for genetic screening at clinics and over 30,000 control subjects in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Overall, five individuals were identified with BDNF deletions, all of whom were obese, had a mild-moderate intellectual impairment, and had a mood disorder. Children had anxiety disorders, aggressive disorders, or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while post-pubescent subjects had anxiety and major depressive disorders. Subjects gradually gained weight as they aged, suggesting that obesity is a long-term process when BDNF is deleted. "Scientists have been trying to find a region of the genome which plays a role in human psychopathology, searching for answers anywhere in our DNA that may give us a clue to the genetic causes of these types of disorders," says Prof. Ernst, who is also … Continue reading →

TAMPA A new cocktail of cancer-fighting drugs can help patients with advanced melanoma, a Moffitt Cancer Center researcher has reported in a study to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The new research builds on recent advances in therapies for advanced melanoma that center on targeting its genetic fingerprint. Until recently, the deadly skin cancer was considered nearly untreatable in its later stages. Drugs now are available that can block a mutation in a gene called BRAF, which fuels the cancer. The mutation is present in about half of melanoma cases. If caught early, lesions can be removed surgically, but doctors traditionally had few options once melanoma spreads throughout the body. Dr. Jeffrey Weber, director of Moffitt's Melanoma Research Center of Excellence, was among the leaders of a national team that sought better results by combining drug therapies to inhibit the BRAF mutation and overcome the tumor's ability to grow resistant to the drugs. The results of their complex study, involving about 250 patients, are now available online and will publish in print in the Nov. 15 edition of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found they could improve the outcome for patients through a … Continue reading →

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have conducted a stem cell transplant on a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient. They believe this is the first recorded case of an autologous stem cell therapy where the donor and recipient are the same person for MS in the country. Six months after the transplant, doctors say the spread of MS, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, appears to have been contained but the therapy cannot be declared a success until the patient is monitored for at least a year. International trials have demonstrated that this transplant can restrict the spread of the disease in advanced patients, and may even reverse symptoms in early stages in some patients. Thirty-two-year-old Rohit Yadav, a commerce graduate from Delhi University, was diagnosed with the neurological disorder in 2010. In March this year, after trying all possible conventional treatment options, doctors at AIIMS finally decided on stem cell therapy. Dr Kameshwar Prasad, professor of neurology who has been monitoring Yadav, said: The primary purpose of autologous stem cell transplant is to control the spread of lesions. We extract the patients own stem cells, treat and inject the stem cells back. … Continue reading →

Two scientists who each made a major discovery four decades apart share the science world's prestigious award On Monday, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to two biologists for their breakthroughs in the field of stem-cell research two discoveries that happened 44 years apart. The honors go to Britain's Sir John B. Gurdon and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka for their pioneering work with the life-shaping cells, which can be reprogrammed to create any kind of tissue in the body. Here, a concise guide to Gurdon and Yamanaka's contributions to the field of medicine: What were they awarded the prize for? Both discoveries "concern the manipulation of living cells," says Nicholas Wade at The New York Times, which lies "at the heart of the techniques for cloning animals" and curing a wide variety of diseases, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The "primitive cells" are incredibly malleable, and can be programmed to mature into other tissues, including skin, vital organs, and more. Where do stem cells typically come from? Embryonic stem cells are usually taken from early-stage human embryos, with the embryos being destroyed in the process. That's why stem-cell research is fraught with religious and moral issues, with critics often arguing that … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry Article Date: 08 Oct 2012 - 10:00 PDT Current ratings for: Nobel Prize For British And Japanese Stem Cell Scientists The Nobel Assembly described their findings as a revolution in our understanding of how organisms and cells develop. Gurdon and Yamanaka discovered that mature, specialize cells may be reprogrammed so that they revert back into immature cells that have the potential of developing into all tissues of the body. The specialization of cells is reversible - in 1962, John Gurdon discovered that a cell's specialization can be reversed. In a famous experiment, he took out the nucleus of a frog's egg cell and replaced it with the nucleus from a mature intestinal cell. The egg with the gut cell nucleus eventually developed into a healthy tadpole. The mature cells' DNA still carried all the data required to developed into all cells in the frog. Reprogramming intact mature cells into immature stem cells - in 2006, Yamanaka discovered how an intact mature cell in a mouse could be reprogrammed so that it turned into an immature stem cell. With the introduction of just a few genes he managed … Continue reading →

The techniques pioneered by the winners of this years Nobel Prize in medicine, John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, have already allowed scientists to generate stem cells and clone animals. But it is the potential these discoveries hold that truly boggles the mind. If stem cells the primitive cells that develop into tissue like skin, blood, nerves, muscle and bone can be harnessed, the belief is they can be used as a repair kit for the body. In theory, a few skin cells could be harvested to rebuild a spinal cord damaged by trauma, to replace brain cells destroyed by dementia, to rebuild heart muscle damaged by a heart attack or to grow a new limb ravaged by diabetes. It is the stuff of science fiction, so close we can taste it. But these dreams of miracle cures must be tempered with a strong dose of realism. Despite billions of dollars in investment in research, from government agencies and biotech companies, there is little evidence that stem cell therapies work. Yes, some hearing has been restored in gerbils and there have been modest improvements in paralyzed lab rats using stem cell treatments, but these are baby steps. In humans, the … Continue reading →