Mayo Clinic researchers identify molecule that lays groundwork for development of pancreatic cancer

A research team led by investigators from Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Oslo, Norway, have identified a molecule that pushes normal pancreatic cells to transform their shape, laying the groundwork for development of pancreatic cancer -- one of the most difficult tumors to treat.

Their findings, reported in Nature Communications, suggest that inhibiting the gene, protein kinase D1 (PKD1), and its protein could halt progression and spread of this form of pancreatic cancer, and possibly even reverse the transformation.

"As soon as pancreatic cancer develops, it begins to spread, and PKD1 is key to both processes. Given this finding, we are busy developing a PKD1 inhibitor that we can test further," says the study's co-lead investigator, Peter Storz, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at Mayo Clinic.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150220/ncomms7200/full/ncomms7200.html

Mayo Clinic researchers identify molecule that lays groundwork for development of pancreatic cancer

Lenvatinib trial offers hope for thyroid cancer patients

A new targeted therapy called lenvatinib has been shown to improve progression-free survival among patients with advanced thyroid cancer that is not responsive to iodine-131.

In a clinical trial of almost 400 patients from 21 different countries, patients who took lenvatinib survived for a median of 18.3 months without displaying any signs of disease progression, while those who were given placebo only had a median progression-free survival of 3.6 months.

"The median progression-free survival in the placebo group in this study was shorter than the 8 months expected, indicating that these patients had aggressive thyroid cancer," write the authors of the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Given the results of this trial, lenvatinib may become the standard treatment for patients resistant to idoine-131, says lead author Martin Schlumberger from the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Endocrine Oncology at Gustave Roussy in France.

Lenvatinib trial offers hope for thyroid cancer patients

New antibody shows promise in increasing survival for patients suffering from influenza, pneumonia

Scientists from NTU Singapore, the world's No. 1 young university, have developed an antibody which boosts the survival chances for patients suffering from influenza and pneumonia.

Proven effective in lab tests, the antibody is now being made suitable for use in humans. The scientists are also using the new antibody to develop a diagnostic kit which can help doctors accurately track the recovery progress of flu and pneumonia patients.

The patent-pending antibody has generated much interest globally. Two biotech multi-national corporations, Abcam based in the United Kingdom and Adipogen International based in the United States, have won the rights to license the antibody. The two multinational companies will produce the antibody for sale to global organisations doing research in vaccine and drug development.

The breakthrough finding was published in the latest issue of the prestigious international peer-reviewed journal Cell Reports.

Ref : http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(15)00024-8

New antibody shows promise in increasing survival for patients suffering from influenza, pneumonia

Eisai announces FDA approval of LENVIMA (lenvatinib) for treatment of RAI-refractory DTC

Eisai Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company's receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor LENVIMA™ (lenvatinib) for the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAI-R DTC). LENVIMA was approved following a priority review by the FDA, which is designated for drugs the FDA believes have the potential to provide a significant improvement in the treatment of a serious condition. LENVIMA demonstrated a statistically significant progression-free survival (PFS) prolongation and response rate in patients with progressive, differentiated thyroid cancer who had become refractory to radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy.

"In the pivotal Phase 3 SELECT clinical trial, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, treatment with LENVIMA resulted in a highly statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival and a high overall response rate in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, RAI-refractory DTC," said Lori J. Wirth, M.D., study investigator and medical director of the Center for Head and Neck Cancers at the Massachusetts General Hospital. "The thyroid cancer community welcomes an agent that offers a significant, effective option for the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer in patients who have progressed after becoming refractory to RAI therapy."

Eisai announces FDA approval of LENVIMA (lenvatinib) for treatment of RAI-refractory DTC

Study identifies BLU-554 as potential treatment option for HCC patients

Findings were presented today at The International Liver CongressTM 2015 on a novel therapeutic candidate for a genomically defined subset of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with an aberrant fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) pathway. BLU-554, a small molecule inhibitor of FGFR4, has been identified as a potential treatment option for up to 30% of HCC patients. In preclinical studies, the investigational drug was shown to be potent and 'exquisitely selective' for FGFR4 compared to other kinases targeting the FGFR family.

Overexpression of fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), the ligand for FGFR4, can promote liver tumour formation (as observed in genetically-engineered mice), a process that can be blocked by knocking out the FGFR4 gene. This suggests that FGFR4 inhibition might be an effective treatment strategy in HCC patients whose tumours have an active FGF19/FGFR4 signalling axis.

Study identifies BLU-554 as potential treatment option for HCC patients

Omega-3 could supplement anti-VEGF treatment in AMD

In continuation of my update on Omega 3 fatty acid

Pilot study findings suggest that taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements could increase the efficacy or reduce the needed frequency of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) treatment in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Researcher Flavio Rezende (University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and co-workers say that 5–10% of patients with wet AMD lose three lines or more of visual acuity, despite treatment, and that more frequent anti-VEGF injections are associated with side effects.

Omega-3 could supplement anti-VEGF treatment in AMD

An extra protein gives naked mole rats more power to stop cancer

A protein newly found in the naked mole rat may help explain its unique ability to ward off cancer. The protein is associated with a locus that is also found in humans and mice. It's the job of that locus to encode several cancer-fighting proteins. The locus found in naked mole rats encodes a total of four cancer-fighting proteins, while the human and mouse version encodes only three.

An extra protein gives naked mole rats more power to stop cancer  

Bitter gourd(Karela) leaves Medicinal uses

In continuation of my update on bitter gourd

Phytochemical constituents of Bitter gourd Leaves

Alkaloid, Flavonoids, Sterols, Terpenoids, Anthraquinones, Proteins and Phenols, glycosides including momordin, charantosides, glycosides, momordicosides, goyaglycosides and other terpenoid compounds that include momordicin-28, momordicinin, momordicilin, momordenol, and momordol.

Medicinal Uses of Bitter gourd Leaves

Bitter gourd leaves are used to treat variety of diseases such as diabetes, piles, respiratory ailments, cholera, viral diseases and skin eruptions. Below is listed few such time-tested home remedies. These are simple, reliable and inexpensive. Even modern studies also support these traditional treatments.

Diabetes

Take about six tablespoon of the chopped bitter gourd leaves and two glass of water. Boil leaves in water for approximately 15 minutes. Do not cover the vessel.

Allow it to cool and then strain. Drink 1/3 cup of it thrice a day.

This leaf decoction is found to be very effective in the management of diabetes type 2. On regular intake, this keeps blood sugar in control.

Piles

Common home remedy is to extract three teaspoonful juice from clean bitter melon leaves and mix this with a glassful of buttermilk. This should be taken every morning for about a month on empty stomach. Topically leaves paste can be applied over the haemorrhoids.

Cholera, diarrhoea

Intake of 10-15 ml juice of Karela leaves is useful in diarrhoea and early stage of cholera.

Asthma, bronchitis, common colds, pharyngitis

Bitter melon leaves paste is mixed with equal amounts of the paste of tulsi/Basil leaves.

This should be taken with honey each morning. This can also be taken as preventive medicine for respiratory problems.

Arthritis

1. Drinking 10-15 ml juice of Karela leaves is beneficial in arthritis.
2. Ascite (gastroenterological term for an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity)
3. Extract 10-15 ml juice of leaves and add some honey and drink.

Hepatitis

In Hepatitis, the leaves juice of bitter gourd is useful. Extract 10-15 ml juice of bitter gourd leaves and mix some big chebulic myroblan powder and drink.

Intestinal parasites, pox, measles, Pneumonia

Drinking 10-15 ml juice of Karela leaves is useful.

Boils, burns and other skin eruptions

The dried and powdered bitter gourd leaves can be applied topically on affected areas.

Burning sensation in hands and feet

Bitter gourd juice is applied topically in burning sensation in hands and feet.

Nutrition

Bitter melon leaves are good source of vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin B.

Bitter gourd(Karela) leaves Medicinal uses

Compound found in grapes, red wine may help prevent memory loss

In continuation of my update on resveratrol

A compound found in common foods such as red grapes and peanuts may help prevent age-related decline in memory, according to new research published by a faculty member in the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Ashok K. Shetty, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine and Director of Neurosciences at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has been studying the potential benefit of resveratrol, an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries.

Resveratrol has been widely touted for its potential to prevent heart disease, but Shetty and a team that includes other researchers from the health science center believe it also has positive effects on the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is critical to functions such as memory, learning and mood.

Because both humans and animals show a decline in cognitive capacity after middle age, the findings may have implications for treating memory loss in the elderly. Resveratrol may even be able to help people afflicted with severe neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

In a study published online Jan. 28 in Scientific Reports, Shetty and his research team members reported that treatment with resveratrol had apparent benefits in terms of learning, memory and mood function in aged rats.

"The results of the study were striking," Shetty said. "They indicated that for the control rats who did not receive resveratrol, spatial learning ability was largely maintained but ability to make new spatial memories significantly declined between 22 and 25 months. By contrast, both spatial learning and memory improved in the resveratrol-treated rats."

Shetty said neurogenesis (the growth and development of neurons) approximately doubled in the rats given resveratrol compared to the control rats. The resveratrol-treated rats also had significantly improved microvasculature, indicating improved blood flow, and had a lower level of chronic inflammation in the hippocampus.

"The study provides novel evidence that resveratrol treatment in late middle age can help improve memory and mood function in old age," Shetty said.

Compound found in grapes, red wine may help prevent memory loss 

Retigabine drug could reduce debilitating impact of strokes

We know that, Retigabine (INN) or ezogabine (USAN), codenamed D-23129, is an anticonvulsant used as an adjunctive treatment forpartial epilepsies in treatment-experienced adult patients. The drug was developed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency under the trade name Trobalt on March 28, 2011, and by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the trade name Potiga, on June 10, 2010.

Retigabine works primarily as a potassium channel opener—that is, by activating a certain family of voltage-gated potassium channels in the brain. This mechanism of action is unique among antiepileptic drugs, and may hold promise for the treatment of other neurologic conditions, including migraine, tinnitus and neuropathic pain.

New research suggests that an already-approved drug could dramatically reduce the debilitating impact of strokes, which affect nearly a million Americans every year.In the study, one dose of the anti-epilepsy drug, retigabine, preserved brain tissue in a mouse model of stroke and prevented the loss of balance control and motor coordination. Researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio conducted the study, which was published Feb. 3 in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Retigabine drug could reduce debilitating impact of strokes

Designed Molecules Trap Cancer Cells in Deadly Cages

Chemists have designed a carbohydrate-based molecule that can surround and strangle bone cancer cells by self-assembling into a tangled web of nanofibers (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/ ja5111893). The molecule spares healthy cells because its assembly is triggered by an enzyme that’s overexpressed on cancer cells.

The inspiration for spinning a molecular cage around cells came from nature, says Rein V. Ulijn of the City University of New York’s Hunter College. Many of the body’s cells are enmeshed in an extracellular matrix—a complex web of biomolecules that provides structure for tissues, facilitates intercellular communication, and traps nutrients. Scientists are developing molecules that spontaneously assemble into simpler versions of this matrix to provide a growth medium for cells, in particular for tissue engineering.

The field has focused mainly on self-assembling peptides. In a recent study, Bing Xu of Brandeis University and colleagues designed a nonnurturing peptide that aggregates and engulfs cancer cells only when its phosphate group is removed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201402216). The phosphate-free peptides have a hydrophilic end and a hydrophobic one, which allow them to assemble like lipids in a cell membrane. The negative charge on the phosphate groups creates electrostatic repulsion between the molecules and prevents this. This phosphate on-off switch is great for targeting cancer because some types of cancer cells overexpress alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme that cleaves phosphates.

Ref : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.201402216/abstract

Designed Molecules Trap Cancer Cells in Deadly Cages 

Neuroptis reports positive results from ML7 pre-clinical trial for treatment of dry eye syndrome

Neuroptis, a company specialized in the development of drugs to treat eye disorders, today announces positive results from a second animal trial of its preservative-free ML7 eye drops. ML7 is intended for use in the treatment of eye surface diseases, particularly dry eye syndrome.

Both animal trials demonstrated excellent local tolerance and very low systemic absorption. In the first trial conducted in rats by Iris Pharma, following seven days of treatment the ML7 (see structure) eye drops were statistically more effective than the placebo.

The second trial, conducted with the Charles River CRO in Boston, MA, involved rabbits showing significant inflammation of the cornea. In the group treated with ML7 eye drops, the tarsal (or meibomian) glands were seen to return to normal, with no further inflammation or dilation and a protective effect was observed. This is the first time that such results have been seen.

To launch the clinical trials the company will begin production of clinical batches through a subcontractor and will submit applications for approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and local patient protection committees.

Neuroptis reports positive results from ML7 pre-clinical trial for treatment of dry eye syndrome

Study: Prostate cancer drug stabilizes memory loss for a year in women with Alzheimer's disease

Women with Alzheimer's disease showed stable cognition for a year when a drug that is more commonly used to treat advanced prostate cancer was added to their drug regimen, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"This is the first time any therapy has been shown to stabilize memory loss over a year," says Dr. Craig Atwood, co-lead author of the study and associate professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

 

The study was published today in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and is available here: http://iospress.metapress.com/content/n207096671247200.

The clinical trial, initiated by Dr. Richard Bowen at the former Voyager Pharmaceutical Corporation, followed 109 women with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Some were treated with the drug leuprolide acetate (Lupron Depot first above structure), used to treat cancer in men and severe endometriosis in women, and with an acetylcholineesterase inhibitor such as Aricept (second below structure), which improves mood in people with the condition but does little to slow memory loss. Others taking an acetylcholineesterase inhibitor received low-dose Lupron alone or a placebo.

Study: Prostate cancer drug stabilizes memory loss for a year in women with Alzheimer's disease

Researchers uncover mechanism by which anti-inflammatory processes may cause Alzheimer's

Inflammation has long been studied in Alzheimer's, but in a counterintuitive finding reported in a new paper, University of Florida researchers have uncovered the mechanism by which anti-inflammatory processes may trigger the disease.

This anti-inflammatory process might actually trigger the build-up of sticky clumps of protein that form plaques in the brain. These plaques block brain cells' ability to communicate and are a well-known characteristic of the illness.

The finding suggests that Alzheimer's treatments might need to be tailored to patients depending on which forms of Apolipoprotein E, a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, these patients carry in their genes.

The researchers have shown that the anti-inflammatory protein interleukin 10, or IL-10, can actually increase the amount of apolipoprotein E, or APOE, protein -- and thereby plaque -- that accumulates in the brain of a mouse model of Alzheimer's, according to the study, published online today (Jan. 22) in the journal Neuron.

Researchers uncover mechanism by which anti-inflammatory processes may cause Alzheimer's

Eribulin effective in metastatic breast cancer, researchers find

An  international research team, led by Dartmouth's Peter A. Kaufman, MD, published findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncologydemonstrating that, while not superior to capecitabine, eribulin is an active and well-tolerated therapy in women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) receiving this therapy as a first, second, or third line chemotherapy regimen. Additionally, these patients had all been previously treated with both an anthracycline and a taxane in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting. This study is the first to address the use of eribulin early in the course of metastatic breast cancer, specifically either the first or second line setting

 

"Additionally, it is of great interest that subset analysis suggests that eribulin may be particularly active and effective in triple negative MBC, which is known to be an aggressive subset of breast cancer, and one associated unfortunately with a particularly poor prognosis overall," said Kaufman.

Eribulin has been approved in numerous countries in the third line or latter setting for the treatment of MBC, and is increasingly widely used. It is the only chemotherapeutic agent shown to have a survival benefit for patients with MBC in the third line or latter chemotherapeutic setting. Given previous research findings, and now findings from this large international trial, there has been great interest from oncologists and other clinicians in the potential impact that eribulin might have earlier in the course of MBC.

This phase III randomized trial assigned 1,099 women who had previously been treated with an anthracycline or a taxane to either eribulin or capecitabine as their first, second, or third line chemotherapy for advanced MBC. Stratification factors were human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) status and geographic region. Coprimary endpoints were overall survival and progression-free survival.

"While there is not a statistically significant difference in overall survival with eribulin in comparison to capecitabine, the median overall survival seen with eribulin is in fact numerically slightly superior to that of capecitabine," explained Kaufman.

Ref : http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2015/01/20/JCO.2013.52.4892

Eribulin effective in metastatic breast cancer, researchers find