Cancer patients with rare deadly brain infection treated successfully with off-the-shelf adoptive T-cell therapy

An emerging treatment known as adoptive T-cell therapy has proven effective in a Phase II clinical trial for treating progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare and often fatal brain infection sometimes observed in patients with cancer and other diseases in which the immune system is compromised. The study, led by Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation […]

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Pneumonia-causing bacteria can be spread by nose picking and rubbing

Pneumonia-causing bacteria can be spread through picking and rubbing the nose, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal. Pneumococcus, the bacteria that can cause pneumonia, is known to be spread through inhalation of airborne droplets containing the bacteria, for example in coughs and sneezes. This study is the first to show that transmission can also occur via […]

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Cells in ‘little brain’ have distinctive metabolic needs

Cells’ metabolic needs are not uniform across the brain, researchers have learned. “Knocking out” an enzyme that regulates mitochondria, cells’ miniature power plants, specifically blocks the development of the mouse cerebellum more than the rest of the brain. The results are scheduled for publication in Science Advances. “This finding will be tremendously helpful in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying developmental […]

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New approach could jumpstart breathing after spinal cord injury

A research team at the Krembil Research Institute in Toronto has developed an innovative strategy that could help to restore breathing following traumatic spinal cord injury. The team, led by principal investigator Dr. Michael Fehlings—a neurosurgeon/neuroscientist, specialist in spinal cord injury and senior scientist at UHN—published its findings today in the journal Nature in a paper titled “Cervical excitatory neurons […]

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Study firms up diet and depression link

Does fast food contribute to depression? Can a healthy diet combat mental illness? In an unusual experiment, James Cook University researchers in Australia have found that among Torres Strait Islander people the amount of fish and processed food eaten is related to depression. A JCU research team led by Professors Zoltan Sarnyai and Robyn McDermott looked at the link between […]

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Genetically engineered 3-D human muscle transplant in a murine model

A growing need for tissues and organs in surgical reconstruction is addressed by the promising field of tissue engineering. For instance, muscle atrophy results from severe traumatic events including deep burns and cancer, requiring site/donor compatible surgical reconstruction. The existing ‘gold standard’ treatment in reconstructive surgery incorporates autologous flaps, although the technique is limited by low anatomical availability and donor […]

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Bug that causes stomach cancer could play a role in colorectal cancer

A bacterium known for causing stomach cancer might also increase the risk of certain colorectal cancers, particularly among African Americans, according to a study led by Duke Cancer Institute researchers. The finding, published online Oct. 5 in the journal Gastroenterology, describes an association between antibodies to H. pylori bacteria and an increased risk of colorectal cancers, although it does not […]

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Protein has unique effects in neural connections related to information processing

Our cognitive abilities come down to how well the connections, or synapses, between our brain cells transmit signals. A new study by researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory digs deep into the molecular mechanisms that enable synaptic transmission to show the distinct role of a protein that when mutated has been linked to causing intellectual disability. The […]

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Immunotherapy effective against hereditary melanoma

Individuals with an inherited form of skin cancer often have a poor prognosis. The type of immunotherapy that was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is, however, particularly effective in this patient group, research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study is published in the Journal of Medical Genetics. Congenital mutations of the CDKN2A gene are […]

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