Lupus Research Institute-Funded Study Points To Increased Risk For Lupus In Men

Lupus Research Institute-funded researcher Betty Tsao, PhD, at the University of California Los Angeles has discovered that humans - males in particular - with a variant form of the immune receptor gene “Toll Like Receptor 7 (TLR7)” are at increased risk of developing the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)…

Preventive Surgeries Linked To Lower Risk Of Breast And Ovarian Cancer

Women with the inherited mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes who had preventive (prophylactic) breast removal (mastectomy) or the removal of the fallopian tubes and ovaries (salpingo-oophorectomy) were found to have a significantly lower risk of developing ovarian and breast cancers, says a study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), September [...]

Experimental drug PLX4032 holds promise against cancers with faulty BRAF gene

An experimental drug designed to treat cancers with a particular genetic fault has shown promising results in a small clinical trial.

Study Identifies Genetic Variation Linked To Lupus In Asian Men

Genes reside along long chains of DNA called chromosomes. UCLA researchers have found that a variation in a gene on the sex chromosome X may enhance an immune response that leads to lupus in men. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women…

New antisense drugs may help treat accidental infections: Study

New studies show that treatments targeting specific viral genes protected monkeys infected with deadly Ebola or Marburg viruses. Furthermore, the animals were protected even when therapeutics were administered one hour after exposure-suggesting the approach holds promise for treating accidental infections in laboratory or hospital settings.

Studying Yeast To Better Understand Male Infertility

Men and yeast have something in common: they use the same molecular process to ensure the integrity of their gene pool during reproduction. This is a recent finding by researchers from CNRS, Inserm and the Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble…

AMT’s MAA for LPLD gene therapy product Glybera on schedule

Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics, a leader in the field of human gene therapy, today announced that the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for Glybera(R) remains on schedule following meetings with the European Medicine Agency (EMA) concerning the Day 120 List of Questions. The company is confident that Glybera(R), a gene therapy product for lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), [...]

Researchers Identify Breast Cancer Culprits

Scientists have discovered an accomplice in breast cancer a master control switch with the power to set off a cascade of reactions orchestrated by a cancer-causing gene (or oncogene) named Wnt1. This executive molecule and its modus operandi are reported in back-to-back papers featured on the cover of the August 15 issue of Cancer Research…

Experimental drug benefits women with advanced ovarian or breast tumours caused by BRCA gene faults

An experimental drug called olaparib has been shown to shrink tumours in women whose advanced cancers were caused by faults in their BRCA genes.

New Drug Reduces Tumor Size In Women With Advanced Hereditary Ovarian Or Breast Cancer

Weakness of certain types of cancer may lead to targeted therapy and provide the key to effective treatment, a new study suggests. An international consortium of researchers has shown that an investigational drug, Olaparib, can reduce the size of tumors in women with advanced hereditary ovarian cancer with BRCA gene mutations…