Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in a gene that encodes a protein known as CFTR. More than 1000 different disease-causing mutations in CFTR have been identified, and although the overall effect of each mutation is to decrease CFTR expression at the cell surface, it is not known for every one of these mutations what the molecular defect is that causes the decreased cell surface expression of CFTR.
Infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major problem for patients in hospital, who are at increased risk of infection because they often have a weakened immune system, as well as individuals with cystic fibrosis. One of the things that makes P. aeruginosa so virulent is the expression of a number of proteins that function as a type III secretion system.
Women with breast cancer who are obese or less educated are twice as likely to get reduced doses of chemotherapy than doctors recommended, jeopardizing survival, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Autophagy (a process that enables cells to turnover their contents) is initiated in tumor cells by chemotherapy and radiation, but it is not known if this causes tumor cell death or helps tumor cells survive. A new mouse study now indicates that autophagy is a survival mechanism for tumor cells treated with agents that initiate tumor cell death, suggesting that adjunct treatment with autophagy inhibitors might increase the efficacy of some chemotherapeutics in cancer patients.
Breast cancer patients who have a lower household income and less education may be more likely to receive reduced doses of chemotherapy, according to a new study from a University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher.
Women who took more control over choosing their breast cancer surgeon were more likely to be treated by more experienced breast surgeons and at a hospital affiliated with an accredited cancer program, compared to women who were referred by another doctor or their health plan, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The University of Pittsburgh has been awarded nearly $13 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to increase our understanding of and improve outcomes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a degenerative breathing disorder that is the fourth leading cause of death and the second leading cause of disability annually in the United States. The five-year grant establishes Pitt as a Specialized Center of Clinically Oriented Research.
A new study concludes that low birthweight babies born with low sodium in their blood serum will likely consume large quantities of dietary sodium later in life. Researchers also found that newborns with the most severe cases of low sodium blood serum consumed ~1700 mg more sodium per day and weighed some 30 percent more than their peers.
Preliminary findings show adding the chemotherapy drug cetuximab (brand name Erbitux) to radiation therapy and chemotherapy may help some patients with head and neck cancer live longer, according to a study presented at the plenary session of the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium, co-sponsored by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the American Society for Clinical Oncology and the American Head and Neck Society.
Scientists at UCLA and NYU have deciphered the genome of the parasite causing trichomoniasis, and their research may lead to new approaches to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this common sexually transmitted disease. Trichomoniasis affects an estimated 170 million people a year, with more than five million cases reported in North America.