As we age, the ability of our tissues to maintain homeostasis and to repair themselves declines, eventually leading to organ degeneration and failure. Aging of muscle tissue is characterized by deficient muscle regeneration after injury and by altered muscle function and associated atrophy, known as sarcopenia. Some previous work suggests that the age-related decline inContinueContinue reading “With oxytocin, old muscles act like new”
Author Archives: monicascicom
Immune therapy for liver cancer
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer in the US, is often treated by removing the tumor. But relapse after resection is very common, and there are currently no effective therapies for reducing recurrence. Approaches that activate a patient’s immune system to fight cancer recurrence have been tested but so far haveContinueContinue reading “Immune therapy for liver cancer”
Doubling up on burn protection
Treatment of major burns typically requires removing the damaged skin and covering the wound. If a graft of the patient’s own tissue is unavailable, tissue from a deceased donor may be used instead. Donor grafts have several drawbacks, chief being their rejection by the patient’s immune system within about 12 days. Subsequent donor grafts willContinueContinue reading “Doubling up on burn protection”
Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system destroys the myelin that surrounds nerve fibers, inhibiting nerve impulses, impairing mobility and vision and causing fatigue and pain. Many researchers, including Thomas Lane (then working at University of California, Irvine) and Jeanne Loring (The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA), work to developContinueContinue reading “Stem cell therapy for multiple sclerosis”
A block that slows neurodegeneration
Results presented by Lynn Raymond (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) at the 2014 Canadian Neuroscience Meeting held 25–28 May in Montreal show that blocking specific glutamate receptors in the brain improved motor learning and coordination and prevented cell death in a mouse model of Huntington disease. Huntington disease can be detected before any clinicalContinueContinue reading “A block that slows neurodegeneration”
The heart of an endurance athlete
Physical activity has many positive effects on the cardiovascular system, but intense endurance training can also be detrimental. Athletes, especially those with a long training history, are more likely to develop arrhythmias. Sinus bradycardia (a slow resting heart rate) is the most common training-associated arrhythmia. Although it is often a benign physiological adaptation to maintainContinueContinue reading “The heart of an endurance athlete”
Eternal sunshine of the rodent mind
Throughout life, new neurons are generated in the hippocampus, where they form a structure that supports memory creation. When new neurons are integrated into the hippocampus, they compete with existing cells, forging new synaptic connections that may weaken or replace older ones. As a result, high rates of hippocampal neurogenesis may drive the loss ofContinueContinue reading “Eternal sunshine of the rodent mind”
Characterizing resistance in a subset of breast cancer
About 20% of breast cancers have elevated levels of the protein HER2. Treatment with drugs that target HER2, such as a combination of trastuzumab and lapatinib, can lead to improved outcomes in such cases, but many tumors eventually become resistant to this therapy. Joan T. Garrett (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN) studied the developmentContinueContinue reading “Characterizing resistance in a subset of breast cancer”
Mechanistic insight into fragile X
Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited mental retardation, is caused by a lack of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), which regulates protein translation in the brain. Lack of FMRP leads to defects in protein translation, but until now, the mechanism underlying this relationship was not known. Simpson Joseph (University ofContinueContinue reading “Mechanistic insight into fragile X”
Releasing the brake on nerve growth
Recovery from peripheral nerve damage is a slow and often incomplete process that may leave behind lasting deficits including severe disability. The poor functional recovery is due in part to limited regrowth of axons. For example, after nerve transection, only 10% of axons from the proximal stump may eventually reach their targets. Axon regrowth canContinueContinue reading “Releasing the brake on nerve growth”
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