Connecting You to Tomorrow's Biotechnology Innovations
Controlling Immune System Fuel Puts the Brakes on Macrophage Damage When tissue is damaged, one of the body’s first inflammatory immune-system responders are macrophages, cells which are commonly thought of as “construction workers” that clear away damaged tissue debris and initiate repair. However, prolonged inflammation promotes the progression of many diseases, including obesity. Now, a […]
Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed an experimental drug, similar to compounds used to treat diabetes, that slows the progression of Parkinson’s disease itself — as well as its symptoms — in mice. In experiments performed with cultures of human brain cells and live mouse models, they report the drug blocked the degradation of […]
The world-first discovery of a key metabolic hormone found in the venom and gut of Australia’s iconic platypus will now be investigated for its potential to treat type 2 diabetes, in new research led by the University of Adelaide. In a collaboration between the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, Monash University, SAHMRI and the Royal […]
In a mouse study, a drug that has helped millions of people around the world manage their diabetes might also help people ready to kick their nicotine habits. In a report published this week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), investigators say metformin, an inexpensive drug […]
A five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will help researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago answer basic questions about the role of arsenic in the development of diabetes and examine the mechanisms by which selenoproteins – found in the human body in 25 different forms – counter […]
About 15 million Americans don’t have a typical nine-to-five workday, and many of these—nurses, firefighters and flight attendants, among many other professions—may see their schedule change drastically one week to the next. As a result, these shift workers’ biological clocks, which keep track of the time of day, cannot keep accurate time, potentially making the negative […]
Six novel chromosomal regions identified by scientists leading a large, prospective study of children at risk for type 1 diabetes will enable the discovery of more genes that cause the disease and more targets for treating or even preventing it. The TEDDY study’s international research team has identified the new gene regions in young people […]
Researchers with NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) have devised an innovative biochemical formula of mineralized compounds that interacts in the bloodstream to regulate blood sugar for days at a time. In a proof-of-concept study performed with mice, the researchers showed that the biochemically formulated patch of dissolvable microneedles can respond to […]
Diabetes is known to increase a person’s risk of kidney disease. Now, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that the converse also is true: Kidney dysfunction increases the risk of diabetes. Further, the researchers deduced that a likely culprit of the two-way relationship between kidney disease and diabetes […]
Over the past 15 years, University of Alabama at Birmingham endocrinologist Anath Shalev, M.D., has unraveled a crucial biological pathway that malfunctions in diabetes. Her latest discovery in this beta-cell pathway, published in the journal Diabetes, shows the potential to enhance the effectiveness of existing diabetes drugs, as well as reduce some of the unwelcome […]
In healthy people, exosomes – tiny structures secreted by cells to allow intercellular communication – prevent clumping of the protein that leads to type 2 diabetes. Exosomes in patients with the disease don’t have the same ability. This discovery by a research collaboration between Chalmers University of Technology and Astrazeneca takes us a step closer […]
More than 36 million people globally are affected by type 1 diabetes (T1D), a lifelong disorder where insulin producing cells are attacked and destroyed by the immune system resulting in deficient insulin production that requires daily blood glucose monitoring and administration of insulin. While successful outcomes from islet transplantations have been reported, very few patients […]
Results of a new study add to the evidence of an association between higher body mass index (BMI) and increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, according to a study published by JAMA Cardiology. A connection between higher BMI and cardiometabolic disease risk usually arise from observational studies […]
A recent Danish study of children born to women with gestational diabetes, found that maternal daily consumption of artificially-sweetened beverages during pregnancy was associated with a higher body mass index score and increased risk of overweight/obesity at 7 years. Artificial sweeteners are widely replacing caloric sweeteners, due to the health concern related to sugar-sweetened beverages […]
Overconsumption of a Western diet high in fats and refined sugars has contributed to a global increase in obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Obese and diabetic premenopausal women are more at risk of developing heart disease — even more than men of similar age and with similar health issues. A study by researchers at the […]
More than 387 million people are living with diabetes worldwide. This number is expected to grow to 592 million by 2035. Effective daily blood glucose monitoring is a huge factor in the health and wellbeing of diabetics. A new mobile health app and all-in-one blood glucose monitor system from DarioHealth Corp. (DRIO) can improve monitoring […]
Namodenoson, a Phase II drug developed by Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE MKT: CANF), has shown in newly published data that it prevents liver (hepatic) fibrosis progression in preclinical studies. “These latest study results add to the growing body of data that demonstrate Namodenoson’s potential efficacy in combating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the precursor to […]
Researchers at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have identified a new molecule that induces the formation of abnormal blood vessels in the eyes of diabetic mice. The study, “Secretogranin III as a disease-associated ligand for antiangiogenic therapy of diabetic retinopathy,” which will be published March 22 […]
Study reveals single cell type and surface molecule sufficient to cause common complication Specific cells in the retina trigger inflammation and vision impairment associated with diabetes, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The findings unexpectedly implicate Müller cells—which provide structural support in the retina—as key drivers of the […]
Researchers in China have discovered that a metabolic enzyme called AKR1B1 drives an aggressive type of breast cancer. The study, “AKR1B1 promotes basal-like breast cancer progression by a positive feedback loop that activates the EMT program,” which has been published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that an inhibitor of this enzyme currently used […]