Drug Week articles from September 2003

Drug Week archives from September 2003

Newly discovered inhibitors of bacterial lactamases may prevent resistance.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The most important antibiotics in general use today are the b-lactam family of products, but the medical community faces a serious problem with these antibiotics: the increasing development of drug...

Compound that acts on peripheral receptors may be promising treatment.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Results of a new study in mice and rats show that a compound that acts on a specific type of cell receptor found only outside the central nervous system decreases the animals' pain responses. But the...

Patient enrollment completed in phase IIb CART-2 study with AGI-1067.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AtheroGenics, Inc., (AGIX) has recently completed enrollment in a phase IIb clinical trial evaluating its proprietary v-protectant drug candidate, AGI-1067, as a treatment for atherosclerosis and...

Trial tests treatment for postmenopausal cancer patients who relapse.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AstraZeneca announced that patient recruitment has begun on an important new trial involving its novel estrogen receptor antagonist, "Faslodex" (fulvestrant). The trial, called EFECT, is designed...

PEDF could potentially treat a variety of angiogenesis-related disorders.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PEDF could potentially treat a variety of angiogenesis-related disorders. According to a study from the United States, "blood vessel growth and stability are under the exquisite control of a network...

Cancer research center reports that retinoids kill childhood brain tumor cells.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Previous U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use of retinoids to treat a form of childhood cancer, neuroblastoma, will mean clinical trials in pediatric medulloblastoma patients will...

Antidepressant reduces clotting factors after heart attack.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Treating depression in heart attack or chest pain patients reduces the chance of forming dangerous blood clots that can lead to a new heart attack, researchers report. "This study is the first to...

Bcl-2 down-regulation is a novel mechanism of paclitaxel resistance.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bcl-2 down-regulation is a novel mechanism of paclitaxel resistance. "Taxanes act by inhibiting microtubule dynamics; in this study, we have investigated mitochondria as an additional target of...

Targeting TNF pathway along with ATRA may represent route to treat leukemias.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Targeting TNF pathway along with ATRA may represent route to treat leukemias. According to a study from Canada, "The nuclear receptor ligand all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) causes dramatic terminal...

Polysaccharide extracts from different algae produce different immune effects.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Polysaccharide extracts from different microalgae produce differing immune effects, but both act as anti-inflammatory agents. According to published research from Spain, "Crude polysaccharide...

Mast cell product-antagonizing is short-term treatment, long-term solutions needed.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Allergic rhinitis treatment has been short term, based on mast cell product reduction; soon longterm therapy may be possible. "Mast cells not only function as effector cells, but also influence...

Rhinitis immunotherapy using specific subcutaneous allergen is better than drugs.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Allergic rhinitis may be treated and reduced by subcutaneous allergen specific immunotherapy, instead of drugs. According to recent research from Denmark, "Allergen-specific immunotherapy in the...

Latex allergy may create cross-reactive fruit allergies; kiwi is highest risk.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients with allergy to latex should be warned of possible crossreactivity with some fruits; kiwi, banana, avocado being the greatest risk. "Since the first case reported in 1927, latex allergy has...

Protein digestibility related to allergenicity.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Protein digestibility is related to allergenicity, according to a report in a recent issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. "In January 2001 a Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the...

Regulation of glucose by HIF-1 protects neurons from amyloid beta peptide.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The regulation of glucose metabolism by HIF-1 mediates a neuroprotective response to amyloid beta peptide. According to recent research from the United States, "It is frequently argued that both...

Catalytic antioxidant, AEOL 10150, selected for development as ALS treatment.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Incara Pharmaceuticals Corp. (INCR) announced the selection of its catalytic antioxidant, AEOL 10150, for late-stage preclinical development to support an investigational new drug (IND) application for...

Progress reported on Cellegesic phase III trial.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cellegy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (CLGY) announced that it has made considerable progress with a new 150-patient phase III clinical trial with Cellegesic (nitroglycerin ointment) for the treatment of pain...

Ranexa advisory committee meeting canceled.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CV Therapeutics (CVTX) announced that it had reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to cancel the review of Ranexa (ranolazine) by the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory...

Research hampered by shortage of monkeys.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A nationwide shortage of rhesus macaque monkeys is hampering efforts to create cures from new information such as the human genome sequence, organ transplant techniques, and the use of stem cells to...

Genes showing differential expression in anorexia mutant mouse identified.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genes showing differential expression in the anorexia mutant mouse model have been identified. According to published research from South Korea, "Differential display (DID) PCR was applied to...

Novel 1,3,4-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives stifle tumor growth mechanisms.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel 1,3,4-trisubstituted pyrazole derivatives stifle tumor growth mechanisms. According to recent research published in the journal Chemical & Pharmaceutical Bulletin, "several...

Immature dendritic cells have a receptor for human mannan-binding lectin.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Monocytes and dendritic cells produce mannan-binding lectins, and immature dendritic cells have an upregulated receptor for some. "Mannan-binding lectin (MBL) is a collectin synthesized by the...

Resistance may occur in bacteria if innate antibiotic proteins are used.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- There may be a risk involved in use of innate antibiotic molecules against bacterial infection. According to a study from Canada, "A remarkable range of novel antibiotics is attracting increasing...

N- and C-terminal modifications of negamycin affect antibacterial activity.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- N- and C-terminal modifications of negamycin affected the drug's antibacterial activity. "Negamycin 1 is a bactericidal antibiotic with activity against Gram-negative bacteria, and served as a...

Swiss pharmaceutical group announces European drug submission for palonosetron.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Helsinn Healthcare, SA, a privately owned Swiss pharmaceutical group, announced the submission of their European drug application for palonosetron through the centralized procedure that will lead to the...

Gallerimycin, a moth-derived antifungal peptide, isn't active against yeast.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new antifungal discovered in wax moth, gallerimycin, is not active against yeast. According to published research from Germany, "A novel defensin-like peptide was identified in the greater wax...

TSLC1 gene in human lung cancer is probably a cell adhesion molecule.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The mouse ortholog of TSLC1, a tumor suppressor gene in human lung cancer, is found to be a cell adhesion molecule that may be expressed more to slow metastasis. According to recent research from...

Vancomycin-resistant infections are low among liver transplant candidates.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vancomycin-resistant infections are low among liver transplant candidates. "The orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) population has been particularly affected by the increase in vancomycin-resistant...

Egr-1 inhibition reverses the transformation of prostate cancer cells.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Egr-1 inhibition reverses the transformation of prostate cancer cells. According to recent research published in the journal Oncogene, "transcription factor early growth response-1 (Egr-1) is a...

New MAST technology has universal applications for tracking desired mRNA sites.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New MAST technology has universal applications for tracking desired mRNA sites. "A solution-based method, mRNA accessible site tagging (MAST), has been developed to map the accessible sites of any...

Novel DSTP derivative inhibits growth of HIV and herpesviruses.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel DSTP derivative strongly inhibits the cellular activity of HIV and a variety of herpesviruses. According to a study from Germany, "N,N'-bisheteryl derivatives of dispirotripiperazine (DSTP)...

Several factors contribute to treatment failure in chronic hepatitis C.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several factors contribute to treatment failure in chronic hepatitis C. "The treatment of chronic hepatitis C is currently based on a combination of pegylated interferon (IFN)-alpha and ribavirin....

Airway epithelium is in constant repair; allergens create cyclic Th2 response.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Asthmatic airway epithelium is in constant repair mode, and a cycle of Th2 responses due to contact with environmental allergens. "Epithelial cells in the airway wall actively interact with...

Disodium chromoglycate doesn't help kids with asthma.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- After 35 years of use, advice has changed and doctors are no longer recommended to prescribe disodium cromogycate (DSCG) to children with asthma. New research, just published in The Cochrane...

Food allergy may be a source to consider for asthma of unknown origin.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although rare, foods may be a source to investigate in asthma of unknown origin; blinded food challenges can prove it. According to a study from the United States, "Food allergy may present with a...

Labeling changes required for drug products that contain salmeterol.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the addition of new safety information and warnings to the labeling for drug products that contain salmeterol, a long-acting bronchodilator used...

Patent awarded for therapeutic uses of interleukin-9 receptor protein.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genaera Corp. (GENR) announced issuance by the United States Patent and Trademark Office of patent number 6,602,850 covering the use of certain soluble human interleukin-9 (IL-9) receptor protein...

Revotar reports positive results with small molecule selectin antagonist.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Encysive Pharmaceuticals (ENCY) announced its majority-owned German affiliate, Revotar Biopharmaceuticals, AG, reported positive results with bimosiamose in a 12-patient, double-blind, cross-over,...

Study of glucocorticoid-receptor interactions may lead to new anti-asthma agents.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Studies on the binding of glucocorticoids to the receptor and subsequent activity may lead to new and better anti-asthma agents. "Glucocorticoids are widely used to treat inflammatory and immune...

Nramp gene determines efficacy of mycobacteria-based asthma treatment.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The human Nramp gene determines the efficacy of mycobacteria-based asthma treatment. "Genes controlling antibacterial resistance may be important in the hygiene hypothesis, which states that lack of...

FDA approves skin emulsion.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sinclair Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration registration (510k) for Atopiclair as the first prescription emulsion designed to relieve the symptoms of atopic dermatitis,...

First patient dosed in phase III atrial arrhythmia studies.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cardiome Pharma Corp. announced that it has commenced patient dosing in its initial phase III efficacy study of RSD1235 for the acute treatment of atrial fibrillation. The initial study, called ACT...

Some MG seronegative patients may be MuSK antibody positive.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MG seronegative patients may be atypical and some can be identified by MuSK antibody positivity. "Serum antibodies to muscle specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MuSK) were detected in 12/32 patients...

Systemic lupus erythematosus is more prevalent than was previously thought.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lupus is more prevalent than previously thought, but many testing positive for the disease have milder cases. "Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most diverse of the autoimmune diseases...

Targeted DNA vaccine may reverse disease.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stanford University Medical Center researchers have developed a way to tailor therapies to combat the specific inappropriate responses of autoimmune diseases in mice. The researchers also have shown...

Proteinases secreted by Bacillus intermedius during sporulation studied.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Proteinases secreted by Bacillus intermedius in the late stages of sporulation have been investigated. According to published research from Russia, "In the late stages of sporulation, cells of...

FDA approves Photofrin for the ablation of high-grade dysplasia.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Axcan Pharma, Inc., announced that it has received approval from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of Photofrin photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the ablation of high-grade dysplasia...

Breast cancer, metastasis, growth reduced with i.v. bee venom therapy in murine model.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a mouse breast cancer model, intravenous but not intradermal bee venom reduced metastasis to lung. According to published research from Croatia, "The possible tumor growth-inhibiting and...

Drug may eliminate transfusions in patients with blood disorder.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The use of hydroxyurea may eliminate the need for future blood transfusions in children with beta-thalassemia major, an inherited blood disorder, according to a new study. Beta-thalassemia occurs...

Symptoms, cirrhosis disease progression are known; cause and cure remain elusive.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some of the symptoms and disease progression are known for primary biliary cirrhosis, but the cause and cure, other than liver transplant, remain elusive. According to published research from the...

New screening for CAR reveals transfection efficiency in cancer cells.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to published research from the United States, "virus uptake is the first rate-limiting step for the successful gene delivery of any virus-based gene therapy. For adenovirus-based gene therapy,...

FDA license granted for new HIV test kit.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., (BIO, BIO.B) has received a license from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its HIV-1/HIV-2 PLUS O EIA test kit used for diagnostic testing and the screening of blood...

Antithymocyte globulin lowers GVHD, worsens T-cell deficiency.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antithymocyte globulin therapy in bone marrow transplant recipients lowers incidence of graft versus host disease, but extends the time of severe T cell deficiency. "The effect of antithymocyte...

Collagen-hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate microspheres deliver rhTGF-beta 1.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Collagen-hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate microspheres deliver rhTGF-beta 1 for bone regeneration. "The purpose of this study is to evaluate the carrier capability of...

Zoledronic acid will improve patients' quality of life.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Zoledronic acid will improve patients' quality of life. "The two main therapeutic applications of bisphosphonates are tumor bone disease and osteoporosis," researchers in Belgium report. "They...

Seropositive schizophrenic patients respond to cerebrospinal fluid filtration.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Therapy resistant schizophrenia or affective spectrum psychosis patients positive for Borna disease virus antibodies do respond to cerebrospinal fluid filtration. "According to previous...

Company plans to increase sales of I-Plant prostate cancer seed.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Implant Sciences (IMX) announced that they will initiate a direct marketing and sales program to sell their I-Plant Seed brachytherapy seeds for use in the treatment of prostate cancer. This...

Welsh study set to accelerate search for new treatment.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Artificially creating brain cancer cells by manipulating normal brain cells in the lab could pave the way to new treatments for the disease, a Cancer Research UK study reveals. Using human brain...

Research: GliaSite RTS is a safe and effective treatment for brain tumors.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Proxima Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of site-specific radiation therapy systems for brain and breast cancer, announced publication of data from a multicenter study of its GliaSite Radiation Therapy...

Duke University's hyperthermia treatment acquired.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Celsion Corporation has obtained exclusive rights to an advanced phased array radio frequency (RF) heating system designed specifically for use with chemotherapeutic drugs for the treatment of locally...

First component of rolling NDA submitted for RSR13.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Allos Therapeutics, Inc., (ALTH) announced that it has begun submission of a new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the company's investigational radiation...

Cytokine imbalances mark the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cytokine imbalances mark the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. According to published research from Poland, "the serum concentration of two proangiogenic cytokines: basic fibroblast...

Antibody scFv fragments may be a nuclear delivery system in cancer cells.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antibody scFv fragments may be a nuclear delivery system in cancer cells. "scFv fragments of a monoclonal antibody that penetrates living cells and localizes in nuclei were designed as fusion...

Diabody-based gene therapy represents a new strategy for cancer therapy.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diabody-based gene therapy represents a new strategy for cancer therapy. "Infiltrating T cells are found in many malignancies, but they appear to be mostly anergic and do not attack the tumor,...

Carboxymethyl benzylamide dextran limits carcinomas in nude mice.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Carboxymethyl benzylamide dextran limits carcinomas in nude mice. "Vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF) expression is elevated in a wide variety of solid tumors. Inhibition of VEGF activity...

G-CSF raises GVHD but not mortality risk in matched sibling stem cell graft recipients.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Posttransplant G-CSF treatment raises the risk of GVHD - but not overall mortality - in recipients of matched sibling stem cell grafts. According to published research from Sweden, "the effect of...

ImClone, Bristol-Myers file application to approve Erbitux.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ImClone Systems, Inc., and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. say they have refiled an application with federal regulators to market Erbitux, the cancer drug at the center of an insider trading scandal. If...

Isolated limb perfusion is feasible for treating cancer and other diseases.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isolated limb perfusion is feasible for treating cancer and other diseases. "Isolated limb perfusion with melphalan is the treatment of choice for multiple (small) melanoma-in-transit metastases....

Mitochondrial genes linked to tumor cell radiation resistance.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A pair of mitochondrial genes have been linked to radiation resistance in malignant cells. "To identify genes that are differentially expressed in a methotrexate (MTX)-resistant cell strain...

PEDF gene transfer suppresses angiogenesis and tumor growth.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PEDF gene transfer suppresses angiogenesis and tumor growth. According to recent research from Spain, "pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) was identified from retinal pigment epithelial cells...

The gef gene blocks the growth of breast cancer cells.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The gef gene blocks the growth of breast cancer cells. According to recent research from Spain, "the gef gene has cell-killing functions in Escherichia coli. To evaluate the feasibility of using...

Vascular integrins are targets for cancer containment.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vascular integrins are targets for cancer containment. According to a study from Switzerland, "new blood vessel formation, a process referred to as angiogenesis, is essential for embryonic...

Antibody fragments fused to IL-12 and to TNF-alpha exert anti-tumor effect.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The combination of a tumor-targeting antibody fragment fused to interleukin 12 and to tumor necrosis factor alpha exerts a synergistic effect against tumors. "The potent antitumor activity of...

Current developments in cancer vaccines and cellular immunotherapy reviewed.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Investigators have published a review on the current developments in cancer vaccines and cellular immunotherapy. "This article reviews the immunologic basis of clinical trials that test means of...

IL-6 fused to antibody increases immune response against ovarian cancer.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interleukin-6 fused to an anti-idiotype antibody in a vaccine increases the specific humoral immune response against CA125+ (MUC-16) ovarian cancer "Anti-idiotypic (Id) monoclonal antibodies can...

MUC1-derived glycopeptides are strong antigens for breast cancer vaccines.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MUC1-derived glycopeptide libraries with improved MHC anchors are strong antigens and prime mouse T cells for proliferative responses to lysates of human breast cancer tissue According to recent...

Peptide vaccine with adjuvant and CTLA-4 blockade elicits antitumor response.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A protective antitumor immune response was elicited by cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitope peptide vaccination combined with CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide adjuvant and a CTLA-4 blockade. "Although peptide...

Natural hormone could reverse heart damage.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- By altering the signaling pathway of the natural hormone leptin, Johns Hopkins researchers say doctors may one day be able to minimize or even reverse a dangerous enlarged heart condition linked to...

Ex vivo gene transfer improves cardiac function in a swine ischemia model.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ex vivo gene transfer improves cardiac function in a swine ischemia model. "We previously reported adenovirus-mediated ex vivo gene transfer of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) as a new...

Exogenous SERCA gene expression depends on CAR levels in cardiac myocytes.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Exogenous SERCA gene expression depends on CAR levels in cardiac myocytes. "We demonstrate that the efficiency of adenovirus-assisted exogenous Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) and reporter (EGFP) gene...

Premenopausal women have good outcomes after heart attacks with PTCA.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Premenopausal women have good outcomes after heart attacks with PTCA. "Prospective, systematic studies of the pathophysiology and prognosis of premenopausal women vs. young men who suffer an acute...

Papillomavirus E7 protein blocks pCAF's acetyltransferase, a p53 coactivator.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Papillomavirus E7 proteins react with pCAF's acetyltransferase domain, normally a coactivator of the p53 transcription factor. According to a study from Canada, "Most cervical carcinomas express...

Circulating VEGF levels change in response to therapy for metastatic cancer.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Circulating VEGF levels change in response to therapy for metastatic cancer. According to recent research published in the International Journal of Biological Markers, "abnormally high blood levels...

Peak heart rate low in obese girls.
September 5, 2003... 2003 SEP 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Peak heart rate was low in obese girls, results similar to those found in adults. "The purpose of this study was to compare heart rate peak in obese (n=43) and normal weight (n=45) female youth,"...