The Irish Times - Monday, July 2, 2012 LORNA SIGGINS WORLD leaders in stem-cell technology are due to exchange knowledge of potential treatments at a conference opening in NUI Galway today. Researchers from NUIG, University College Cork and NUI Maynooth will participate in the event, which has been billed as the first major conference on stem-cell therapy in Ireland. Prof Anthony Hollander of the University of Bristol, England who was one of a team which successful created and then transplanted the first tissue-engineered trachea or windpipe is among a number of international speakers presenting findings. The gathering will focus on the realities of stem-cell treatment, Prof Frank Barry, director of NUIGs National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science has said. The therapy is complex and controversial, and sometimes exaggerated claims are made, he said. The researchers are specialists in Mesenchymal, or adult, stem cells, and will be concentrating on what is likely in the future, he added. The list of conditions which could be treated successfully by stem cells is small, but growing, Prof Barry said. Leukaemia and other diseases of the blood appear to respond best. See the rest here: Stem-cell research leaders to meet in NUIG … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/rb2tpq/product_profiles) has announced the addition of the "Product Profiles: Autism Spectrum Disorders - Growing Interest in Underserved Market" report to their offering. This report reviews current brands indicated for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and key drugs in clinical development for the potential treatment of these conditions. Over the past 6 years, three major events have impacted the autism spectrum disorders market. In 2006, Risperdal became the first drug to receive approval from the US FDA for the symptomatic treatment of irritability in children and adolescents with ASDs. Later, in 2009, the FDA approved Abilify for the same indication. In 2008, generic risperidone launched following Risperdal's US patent expiry. Scope: - Overview of marketed and pipeline drugs in clinical development for autism spectrum disorders. - Analysis of the market positioning of each product approved for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. - Assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for marketed and late-stage pipeline candidates. - Summary of the clinical and commercial attractiveness for each of the marketed products. - Insight from key opinion leaders on marketed and pipeline products. Read more from the original source: Research and Markets: Product Profiles: Autism … Continue reading →

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Daphne Watrin d.watrin@iospress.nl 31-206-883-355 IOS Press Amsterdam, NL, July 2, 2012 After stroke, patients often suffer from dysphagia, a swallowing disorder that results in greater healthcare costs and higher rates of complications such as dehydration, malnutrition, and pneumonia. In a new study published in the July issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, researchers have found that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which applies weak electrical currents to the affected area of the brain, can enhance the outcome of swallowing therapy for post-stroke dysphagia. "Our pilot study demonstrated that ten daily sessions of tDCS over the affected esophageal motor cortex of the brain hemisphere affected by the stroke, combined with swallowing training, improved post-stroke dysphagia. We observed long-lasting effects of anodal tDCS over three months," reports lead investigator Nam-Jong Paik, MD, PhD, of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Sixteen patients with acute post-stroke dysphagia were enrolled in the trial. They showed signs of swallowing difficulties such as reduced tongue movements, coughing and choking during eating, and vocal cord palsy. Patients underwent ten 30-minute sessions of swallowing therapy and were randomly assigned … Continue reading →

DETROIT, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --A team of heart doctors at Henry Ford Hospital is the first in Michigan to perform a new catheter-based procedure which limits the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation who cannot take blood-thinning medications. More than three million Americans suffer from the heart rhythm abnormality called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib). This irregular heartbeat predisposes patients to develop blood clots in a heart structure called the left atrial appendage. Clots can travel to the brain, causing a stroke. To prevent clots from forming, patients with A-Fib are often placed on blood thinners such as Coumadin or Pradaxa. However, many patients cannot tolerate blood thinners, due to bleeding complications. "The LARIAT procedure is a major advance in treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation who cannot take blood thinners," says William W. O'Neill, M.D., medical director of the Center for Structural Heart Disease at Henry Ford Hospital. "These patients had no other treatment options and were at increased risk of stroke. Now, we can definitely limit the risk of stroke in these patients." The Henry Ford team, led by Mayra Guerrero, M.D., director of the Structural Heart Disease Fellowship, and Claudio Schuger, M.D., director Cardiac Electrophysiology Service, … Continue reading →

Public release date: 2-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Istanbul, 2 July 2012: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the breast cancer genes BRCA1/2 is now feasible and established, with good success rates for those treated, according to investigators from the reproduction, oncology and genetics centres of the university hospitals of Maastricht and Brussels. The results follow a review of the largest number of PGD treatments for BRCA1/2 in Europe and were presented today at the annual meeting of ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) by Professor Willem Verpoest from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Behind his vote of confidence lie 145 PGD cycles for BRCA1/2 mutations performed in 70 couples at the two centres (a mean of 2.1 cycles per woman). Almost 60% of the mutation carriers were female, two-thirds with a BRCA1 mutation. Just over one quarter (26.2%) of female carriers had undergone a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. Following IVF, 717 embryos were found suitable for genetic analysis, and of these 43.1% were diagnosed as affected by the mutation, with 40.7% unaffected and thus suitable for transfer (the remainder had … Continue reading →

July 2, 2012 Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online At least three genetic mutations found in the human brain have been linked to enlarged brain size (megalencephaly) and a number of disorders, including cancer, epilepsy and autism, according to new research led by Seattle Childrens Research Institute. The mutations were found in the genes AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA. The mutations were also linked to vascular disorders and skin growth disorders, said the researchers. The study, published in the online edition of the journal Nature Genetics on June 24, offers important implications for the future of medicine through the research findings. Study leaders, geneticist William Dobyns, MD, and Jean-Baptiste Rivire, PhD, discovered through their research additional proof that the genetic makeup of a person is not completely determined at the moment of conception. The new evidence ties in with previous research that recognized that genetic changes can occur after conception, although considered quite rare. The researchers also discovered the genetic causes of these human diseases, including developmental disorders, may also directly lead to new possibilities for treatment. AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA are found in all humans, but only when they are mutated do they lead to the diseases and disorders. … Continue reading →

NOTCH1 Signaling Promotes T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Initiating Cell Regeneration Newswise Research suggests that patients with leukemia sometimes relapse because standard chemotherapy fails to kill the self-renewing leukemia initiating cells, often referred to as cancer stem cells. In such cancers, the cells lie dormant for a time, only to later begin cloning, resulting in a return and metastasis of the disease. One such type of cancer is called pediatric T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or T-ALL, often found in children, who have few treatment options beyond chemotherapy. A team of researchers led by Catriona H. M. Jamieson, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Director of Stem Cell Research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center studied these cells in mouse models that had been transplanted with human leukemia cells. They discovered that the leukemia initiating cells which clone, or replicate, themselves most robustly activate the NOTCH1 pathway, usually in the context of a mutation. Earlier studies showed that as many as half of patients with T-ALL have mutations in the NOTCH1 pathway an evolutionarily conserved developmental pathway used during differentiation of many cell and tissue types. The new study shows … Continue reading →