Nature

20 Nov Researchers find genetic rearrangements driving 5 to 7 percent of breast cancers

Posted at 23:26h in Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Duke, Genetic Research, Nature, University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered two cancer-spurring gene rearrangements that may trigger 5 to 7 percent of all breast cancers. These types of genetic recombinations have previously been linked to blood cancers and rare soft-tissue tumors, but are beginning to be...

22 Sep Cellular origin of a rare form of breast cancer identified

Posted at 16:28h in Breast Cancer, Nature, PNAS

BOSTON (September 22, 2011) -- Identifying the cellular origins of breast cancer might lead to earlier diagnosis and more efficient management of the disease. New research led by Charlotte Kuperwasser of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) has determined that common forms of breast cancer originate from breast cells known...

21 Sep Study finds genetic ‘overlap’ between schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

Posted at 20:05h in Bipolar Disorder, Genetic Research, Mental Health Research, Nature, Schizophrenia

Knowledge about the biological origin of diseases like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions is critical to improving diagnosis and treatment. In an effort to push the field forward, three UCLA researchers, along with scientists from more than 20 countries, have been taking part in one of the largest collaborative...

05 Sep Gene that predisposes people to leukemia discovered

Posted at 17:13h in Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Nature

Those at risk because of family history may soon obtain tests to detect the genetic error before symptoms emerge A new genetic defect that predisposes people to acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia has been discovered. The mutations were found in the GATA2 gene. Among its several regulatory roles, the gene acts...

11 Aug Team reports genetic sequences most common bladder cancer

Posted at 21:45h in Cancer Research, Nature

August 11, 2011 (Aurora, CO)--In an article published online this week in Nature Genetics, a University of Colorado Cancer Center team in partnership with universities in China and Denmark. Recognizing the genetic mutations that make bladder cancer cells different than their healthy neighbors may allow early genetic screenings for cancer and...

11 Aug Report: NSAIDS reduce the severity of postpartum breast cancers in animal models

Posted at 21:39h in Breast Cancer, Nature

Published online on Aug. 7, 2011, the journal Nature Medicine reports that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs including ibuprofen reduce the severity of postpartum breast cancers in animal models. “We caution patients and providers that because a mother’s body is undergoing radical changes during this time, we can’t yet speak to the...

10 Aug New Multiple Sclerosis Gene Associations Discovered

Posted at 21:22h in Genetic Research, Nature, Vanderbilt

An international team of scientists has identified 29 new genetic variants linked to multiple sclerosis, providing key insights into the biology of an important and very debilitating neurological disease. Multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most common neurological conditions among young adults, affects around 2.5 million individuals worldwide. It is a...

07 Aug Sporadic Mutations cause more than half the cases of Schizophrenia

Posted at 20:21h in Mental Health Research, Nature, Schizophrenia

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have shown that new, or "de novo," protein-altering mutations—genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents—play a role in more than 50 percent of "sporadic" —i.e., not hereditary—cases of schizophrenia. The findings will be published online on August 7, 2011, in...

03 Aug New Breast Cancer Strategies Presented at Conference

Posted at 20:24h in Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Nature

ORLANDO, Fla. — August 3, 2011 — In their lifetime, women have more than a 12 percent risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer. 1 This week, research on novel approaches to breast cancer treatment is being presented at the Era of Hope (EOH) conference, a scientific meeting hosted by...

29 Jul Study examines how blood protein levels change as breast cancer develops before it is clinically detectable

Posted at 01:38h in Breast Cancer, Nature

SEATTLE – Using a "systems biology" approach – which focuses on understanding the complex relationships between biological systems – to look under the hood of an aggressive form of breast cancer, researchers for the first time have identified a set of proteins in the blood that change in abundance long...

28 Jul Increased muscle mass may lower risk of pre-diabetes

Posted at 15:11h in Diabetes, JCEM, Nature, UCLA

Study shows building muscle can lower person's risk of insulin resistance A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type...

25 Jul Substance may extend time to prevent brain damage after Stroke

Posted at 21:35h in Nature, Stanford, Stroke, UCLA

STANFORD, Calif. — A naturally occurring substance shrank the size of stroke-induced lesions in the brains of experimental mice — even when administered as much as 12 hours after the event, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown. The substance, alpha-B-crystallin, acts as a brake on the immune system,...

24 Jul 2 genetic variations predict second cancers after radiation for children with Hodgkin lymphoma

Posted at 23:01h in Cancer Research, Nature, Sloan Kettering, University of Pennsylvania

A genome-wide association study published in the August issue of Nature Medicine has found two tiny genetic variations that can predict which patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma are most likely to develop radiation-induced second cancers years after treatment. Knowing in advance who is at risk could help physicians tailor treatment to...