therapies

Follistatin is a glycoprotein encoded by the FST gene. To Minicircle, its most interesting property is that it suppresses myostatin, a protein that inhibits muscle growth. Missing myostatin means muscle cells can replicate and expand without the usual biological checks. As a result, animals with mutations in this gene—like the physically imposing “bully whippet”—are loaded with cartoonishly bulging muscles. Follistatin gene therapy, in theory, offers a fast track to this muscle-boosting effect.  Researchers have tried…

But it was Patient No. 7, treated at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (chop), who altered the history of T-cell therapy. In May, 2010, a five-year-old girl named Emily Whitehead, from central Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Among the most rapidly progressive forms of cancer, this leukemia generates very immature B cells, and tends to afflict young children. The treatment for ALL ranks among the most intensive chemo regimens ever devised: as many as seven or eight drugs, given in…

Despite being the wealthiest nation on the face of the planet, the United States . Kidneys are , followed by livers. While the liver is the only human organ known capable of regenerating itself, if you damage yours badly enough for long enough — as some 30 million Americans have — then the only treatment is a transplant. Assuming for doctors to stick in you. Every year demand for replacement livers outstrips supply by a scope of tens of thousands. “Only one-third of those on the liver transplant waiting list will be…

New biotechnology combines targeted and immune therapies to kill treatment-resistant cancer cells.Targeted therapies specifically attach to and inhibit cancer-causing proteins, but cancer cells can swiftly evolve to counter their action. Immunotherapies, a second drug class, harnesses the immune system to attack cancer cells. However, these agents often cannot “see” the disease-causing changes happening inside cancer cells, which appear normal from the outside.Now, a new study describes a strategy to overcome these…

Senescent cells are somewhat of a boogeyman lately, blamed for many of the unpleasant effects of aging. As such, they’re targeted by an increasing range of anti-aging therapies – but we might not want to wipe them all out, as a new study suggests that some senescent cells play positive roles in healing.Over the decades of our lives, our cells accumulate DNA damage that eventually causes them to stop dividing. These so-called senescent cells are usually cleared out by the immune system, but as we get older they begin to…

Released to coincide with World Cancer Research day, Thomas Meadmore’s tricky yet involving documentary follows two Britons going rogue in search of a better quality of treatment. Grant Branton, from Brighton, is a sometime biologist reeling after early tests spotted tumours in his bowels while missing shadows in his bones; Surinder Paul, landed with breast cancer, hopes to avoid a mastectomy by leaning hard into oils, juicing and cravatted energy healers – what oncological voice-of-reason Rob Glynne-Jones calls…

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Despite some immunotherapies been proven to be effective in treating melanoma brain metastases, researchers remain clueless about the reason behind the tumour's spread to the brain. Now, through an extensive study of the cells inside melanoma brain metastases, researchers have unravelled details about the condition which could lead to the development of new therapies.Melanoma is a type of skin cancer and brain metastasis is a condition that occurs when cancer spreads from the original site to the brain. Brain metastasis…

DIVERSITY Groups regret ‘homosexuality’ views Two scientific societies this month disavowed their past involvement in practices and public statements that deemed “homosexuality” a treatable disorder—a mistaken notion that has harmed LGBTQI+ people. Decades ago, some members and former presidents of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies helped create, study, and use “conversion therapies” for sexual and gender minorities. In a statement, the group apologized for…

Cancer patients and their doctors have more information about the disease and its treatment than ever before, and the information available continues to grow at a dizzying rate. All that information, however, isn't useful if people can't make sense of it all. Think about a lung cancer patient, for instance, who might receive an early diagnosis through a screening program that produces a computed tomography (CT) image. As their diagnosis and treatment plan advances, their caretakers will bring in data sources like MR and…