Researchers unveil experimental compound to block therapeutic target in blood cancer

Health Problems

Researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a hyperactive cell signal that contributes to tumor growth in an aggressive blood cancer. They also developed an experimental therapeutic to block the signal and slow tumor growth. The researchers reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences they identified a novel therapeutic target for primary effusion […]

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Deadly tick-borne virus cured with experimental flu drug, in mice

Health Problems

Only a few cases of the newly discovered Bourbon virus have been reported, and two of them ended in death, partly because no specific treatments are available for the tick-borne illness. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an experimental antiviral drug that cures mice infected with the potentially lethal virus. The drug, favipiravir, […]

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Experimental MERS treatments enter clinical trial

Health Problems

Enrollment has begun in an early-stage clinical trial testing the safety of two human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) designed to treat people infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The trial is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and is funded in part by the Biomedical Advanced Research […]

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Experimental drug extends survival in progeria

Health Problems

A report from a clinical trial for a drug to treat the rapid-aging disorder progeria, published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, offers hope for families with the ultra-rare genetic condition. Old Before Their Time Children with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome have a distinctive appearance, seemingly hurtling towards old age. After an outwardly normal infancy, weight gain slows, hair […]

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