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Period Ending April 18, 2008
ALZHEIMER’S: HIGH CHOLESTEROL FOR PEOPLE IN THEIR FORTIES INCREASES RISKS
People in their early forties with high cholesterol are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those with low cholesterol, according to researchers from the University of Kuopio in Finland and Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. In a presentation at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Annual Meeting in Chicago, the researchers reported their findings show it would be best for both physicians to work with patients to attack high cholesterol levels in their forties to reduce the risk of dementia. The study found people with total cholesterol levels between 249 and 500 milligrams were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those people with cholesterol levels of less than 198 milligrams. People with total cholesterol levels of 221 to 248 milligrams were more than one-and-a-quarter times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. High mid-life cholesterol increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease regardless of mid-life diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, and late-life stroke.
People in their early forties with high cholesterol are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those with low cholesterol, according to researchers from the University of Kuopio in Finland and Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. In a presentation at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Annual Meeting in Chicago, the researchers reported their findings show it would be best for both physicians to work with patients to attack high cholesterol levels in their forties to reduce the risk of dementia. The study found people with total cholesterol levels between 249 and 500 milligrams were one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those people with cholesterol levels of less than 198 milligrams. People with total cholesterol levels of 221 to 248 milligrams were more than one-and-a-quarter times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. High mid-life cholesterol increased the risk of Alzheimer's disease regardless of mid-life diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, and late-life stroke.
A large, randomized drug trial has shown for the first time that statin drugs result in a modest, but significant, reduction in blood pressure, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego. The researchers, who report their findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine, said the effects may contribute to the reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular events reported for patients on statins. Participants in the double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 973 patients had no known cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Equal numbers of participants were given either 20 milligrams of simvastatin, 40 milligrams of pravastatin, or a placebo daily for six months. Reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings occurred in patients taking simvastatin and pravastatin, two forms of statin drugs, but not for patients given the placebo.
PARKINSON’S: BUCK INSTITUTE FORMS STEM CELL COLLABORATION WITH Q THERAPEUTICS
Novato, California-based Buck Institute for Age Research and Salt Lake City-based Q Therapeutics said they have entered into an agreement to collaborate on new routes to combat Parkinson’s disease. The Buck Institute and Q Therapeutics said they will use their expertise in differentiating stem cells to provide key cell types needed to study Parkinson’s disease. These neural-lineage cell lines will be used to further research aimed at the use of various stem and progenitor cells as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
Novato, California-based Buck Institute for Age Research and Salt Lake City-based Q Therapeutics said they have entered into an agreement to collaborate on new routes to combat Parkinson’s disease. The Buck Institute and Q Therapeutics said they will use their expertise in differentiating stem cells to provide key cell types needed to study Parkinson’s disease. These neural-lineage cell lines will be used to further research aimed at the use of various stem and progenitor cells as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
BIRD FLU: COMPANY HAS CREATED LIBRARY OF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AGAINST AVIAN INFLUENZA
Menlo Park, California-based Sea Lane Biotechnologies, along with researchers in the United States and Turkey, said it has created the first comprehensive monoclonal antibody libraries against avian influenza, or H5N1, using samples from survivors of the 2005-2006 bird flu outbreak in Turkey. The new research, conducted in collaboration with the La Jolla, California-based Scripps Research Institute, suggests that the antibodies recovered from the avian flu survivors may point to an exploitable weak spot in the virus, and may eventually lead to a universal flu vaccine. The antibody libraries could help provide healthcare officials, researchers, and governments with resources to combat this serious global health threat, the company said. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, yielded more than 300 antibodies active against avian influenza. From this group, the researchers identified several broadly neutralizing antibodies that were effective against a number of contemporary subtypes of avian flu. Remarkably, three of the more than 300 antibodies catalogued have been found to neutralize both the common seasonal flu and avian subtypes.
Menlo Park, California-based Sea Lane Biotechnologies, along with researchers in the United States and Turkey, said it has created the first comprehensive monoclonal antibody libraries against avian influenza, or H5N1, using samples from survivors of the 2005-2006 bird flu outbreak in Turkey. The new research, conducted in collaboration with the La Jolla, California-based Scripps Research Institute, suggests that the antibodies recovered from the avian flu survivors may point to an exploitable weak spot in the virus, and may eventually lead to a universal flu vaccine. The antibody libraries could help provide healthcare officials, researchers, and governments with resources to combat this serious global health threat, the company said. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, yielded more than 300 antibodies active against avian influenza. From this group, the researchers identified several broadly neutralizing antibodies that were effective against a number of contemporary subtypes of avian flu. Remarkably, three of the more than 300 antibodies catalogued have been found to neutralize both the common seasonal flu and avian subtypes.
Palo Alto, California-based StemCells said that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has upheld two of the company’s neural stem cell patents, with only minor amendments, thereby rejecting the arguments raised by Neuralstem in its reexamination petitions of last year. StemCells said the USPTO upheld two patents exclusively licensed by the company and claim methods for proliferating neural stem and progenitor cells and for using these cells as transplantation therapeutics. The patents are two of four patents that are the basis of a patent infringement suit initiated by StemCells against Neuralstem in 2006. In late 2006 and early 2007, Neuralstem petitioned the USPTO to reexamine the litigated patents. The patent agency has now reaffirmed the patentability of all of the previously issued claims, as amended, the company said.
CANCER: TRIPLE VEGF RECEPTOR INHIBITOR SHOWS CLINICAL ACTIVITY IN RENAL, LUNG, AND COLON
San Diego-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals said that their novel oral triple VEGF receptor inhibitor AV-951 shows clinical activity in multiple advanced solid tumor types including renal, colon, and lung cancers. The company also said that its lead product is well tolerated according to new data from an expanded early-stage clinical trial. Partial response or stable disease was observed across all patients with renal cell carcinoma, and overall, one-third of patients across all tumor types achieved tumor shrinkage during treatment with AV-951. The company presented the data, along with results from a new pre-clinical study using the company’s Human Response Platform to evaluate potential biomarkers for AV-951 sensitivity and resistance in proprietary models of breast cancer, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.
San Diego-based Aveo Pharmaceuticals said that their novel oral triple VEGF receptor inhibitor AV-951 shows clinical activity in multiple advanced solid tumor types including renal, colon, and lung cancers. The company also said that its lead product is well tolerated according to new data from an expanded early-stage clinical trial. Partial response or stable disease was observed across all patients with renal cell carcinoma, and overall, one-third of patients across all tumor types achieved tumor shrinkage during treatment with AV-951. The company presented the data, along with results from a new pre-clinical study using the company’s Human Response Platform to evaluate potential biomarkers for AV-951 sensitivity and resistance in proprietary models of breast cancer, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.
COLON CANCER: DRUG COMBINATION REDUCES RISK AND SIDE EFFECTS
Using a combination of a targeted cancer-fighting agent called DFMO and a low dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, University of California, Irvine researchers said they have reduced the risk of recurring colorectal polyps, an early sign of colon cancer, by as much as 95 percent with fewer toxic side effects. The study, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego, marks a breakthrough in the effort to combat colon cancer, the third leading cause of cancer in men and fourth in women, the researchers said. The researchers in earlier studies established a safe and well-tolerated dose of DFMO (difluoromethylornithine) that was 1/50 of what would typically be used to treat advanced cancers. By combining this reduced dose of DFMO with a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug called sulindac, researchers believed they could improve treatment and decrease the recurrence of potentially cancerous colon polyps with reduced toxic side effects.
Using a combination of a targeted cancer-fighting agent called DFMO and a low dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, University of California, Irvine researchers said they have reduced the risk of recurring colorectal polyps, an early sign of colon cancer, by as much as 95 percent with fewer toxic side effects. The study, presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego, marks a breakthrough in the effort to combat colon cancer, the third leading cause of cancer in men and fourth in women, the researchers said. The researchers in earlier studies established a safe and well-tolerated dose of DFMO (difluoromethylornithine) that was 1/50 of what would typically be used to treat advanced cancers. By combining this reduced dose of DFMO with a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug called sulindac, researchers believed they could improve treatment and decrease the recurrence of potentially cancerous colon polyps with reduced toxic side effects.
ANEMIA: RESEARCHERS FIND MICE CAN SENSE OXYGEN THROUGH THE SKIN
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that the skin of mice can sense low levels of oxygen and regulate the production of erythropoietin, or EPO, the hormone that stimulates our bodies to produce red blood cells. The hormone plays an important role in allowing people to adapt to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments. The finding, published in the journal Cell, contradicts the notion of mammalian skin as an envelope around our bodies with little connection to the respiratory system, the researchers said. If found to apply to humans, the discovery could radically change the way physicians treat anemia and other diseases that require boosting the body’s ability to produce red blood cells.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered that the skin of mice can sense low levels of oxygen and regulate the production of erythropoietin, or EPO, the hormone that stimulates our bodies to produce red blood cells. The hormone plays an important role in allowing people to adapt to high-altitude, low-oxygen environments. The finding, published in the journal Cell, contradicts the notion of mammalian skin as an envelope around our bodies with little connection to the respiratory system, the researchers said. If found to apply to humans, the discovery could radically change the way physicians treat anemia and other diseases that require boosting the body’s ability to produce red blood cells.
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