PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine: Benralizumab for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sputum eosinophilia

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2a study

2014-09-08
(Press-News.org) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with eosinophilic airway inflammation in 10–20% of patients. Benralizumab, a monoclonal antibody, has been shown to decrease the number of blood and sputum eosinophils. In this trial of 101 patients with COPD whether benralizumab reduces the number of acute exacerbations was investigated. Benralizumab was found to be no more effective at preventing acute COPD exacerbations than placebo overall. However, the authors conclude that subgroup analyses suggest more research into the use of benralizumab in patients with COPD and eosinophilia is required.

INFORMATION: END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Dynamic duo takes out the cellular trash

Dynamic duo takes out the cellular trash
2014-09-07
LA JOLLA—In most of the tissues of the body, specialized immune cells are entrusted with the task of engulfing the billions of dead cells that are generated every day. When these garbage disposals don't do their job, dead cells and their waste products rapidly pile up, destroying healthy tissue and leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Now, Salk scientists have discovered how two critical receptors on these garbage-eating cells identify and engulf dead cells in very different environments, as detailed today in Nature Immunology. "To ...

Platelet-like particles augment natural blood clotting for treating trauma

Platelet-like particles augment natural blood clotting for treating trauma
2014-09-07
A new class of synthetic platelet-like particles could augment natural blood clotting for the emergency treatment of traumatic injuries – and potentially offer doctors a new option for curbing surgical bleeding and addressing certain blood clotting disorders without the need for transfusions of natural platelets. The clotting particles, which are based on soft and deformable hydrogel materials, are triggered by the same factor that initiates the body's own clotting processes. Testing done in animal models and in a simulated circulatory system suggest that the particles ...

Why age reduces our stem cells' ability to repair muscle

2014-09-07
Ottawa, Canada (September 7, 2014) — As we age, stem cells throughout our bodies gradually lose their capacity to repair damage, even from normal wear and tear. Researchers from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Ottawa have discovered the reason why this decline occurs in our skeletal muscle. Their findings were published online today in the influential journal Nature Medicine. A team led by Dr. Michael Rudnicki, senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, found that as muscle ...

Rethinking the basic science of graphene synthesis

Rethinking the basic science of graphene synthesis
2014-09-07
A new route to making graphene has been discovered that could make the 21st century's wonder material easier to ramp up to industrial scale. Graphene -- a tightly bound single layer of carbon atoms with super strength and the ability to conduct heat and electricity better than any other known material -- has potential industrial uses that include flexible electronic displays, high-speed computing, stronger wind-turbine blades, and more-efficient solar cells, to name just a few under development. In the decade since Nobel laureates Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim proved ...

Targeting the protein-making machinery to stop harmful bacteria

2014-09-07
One challenge in killing off harmful bacteria is that many of them develop a resistance to antibiotics. Researchers at the University of Rochester are targeting the formation of the protein-making machinery in those cells as a possible alternate way to stop the bacteria. And Professor of Biology Gloria Culver has, for the first time, isolated the middle-steps in the process that creates that machinery—called the ribosomes. "No one had a clear understanding of what happened inside an intact bacterial cell," said Culver, "And without that understanding, it would not be ...

Continuing Bragg legacy of structure determination

2014-09-07
Over 100 years since the Nobel Prize-winning father and son team Sir William and Sir Lawrence Bragg pioneered the use of X-rays to determine crystal structure, University of Adelaide researchers have made significant new advances in the field. Published in the journal Nature Chemistry today, Associate Professors Christian Doonan and Christopher Sumby and their team in the School of Chemistry and Physics, have developed a new material for examining structures using X-rays without first having to crystallise the substance. "2014 is the International Year of Crystallography, ...

Ultraviolet light-induced mutation drives many skin cancers, Stanford researchers find

2014-09-07
A genetic mutation caused by ultraviolet light is likely the driving force behind millions of human skin cancers, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The mutation occurs in a gene called KNSTRN, which is involved in helping cells divide their DNA equally during cell division. Genes that cause cancer when mutated are known as oncogenes. Although KNSTRN hasn't been previously implicated as a cause of human cancers, the research suggests it may be one of the most commonly mutated oncogenes in the world. "This previously unknown oncogene ...

Ultra-thin, high-speed detector captures unprecedented range of light waves

Ultra-thin, high-speed detector captures unprecedented range of light waves
2014-09-07
New research at the University of Maryland could lead to a generation of light detectors that can see below the surface of bodies, walls, and other objects. Using the special properties of graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon that is only one atom thick, a prototype detector is able to see an extraordinarily broad band of wavelengths. Included in this range is a band of light wavelengths that have exciting potential applications but are notoriously difficult to detect: terahertz waves, which are invisible to the human eye. A research paper about the new detector ...

Researchers discover a key to making new muscles

Researchers discover a key to making new muscles
2014-09-07
La Jolla, Calif., September 7, 2014 -- Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have developed a novel technique to promote tissue repair in damaged muscles. The technique also creates a sustainable pool of muscle stem cells needed to support multiple rounds of muscle repair. The study, published September 7 in Nature Medicine, provides promise for a new therapeutic approach to treating the millions of people suffering from muscle diseases, including those with muscular dystrophies and muscle wasting associated with cancer and aging. There ...

UK study identifies molecule that induces cancer-killing protein

2014-09-07
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2014) – A new study by University of Kentucky researchers has identified a novel molecule named Arylquin 1 as a potent inducer of Par-4 secretion from normal cells. Par-4 is a protein that acts as a tumor suppressor, killing cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. Normal cells secrete small amounts of Par-4 on their own, but this amount is not enough to kill cancer cells. Notably, if Par-4 secretion is suppressed, this leads to tumor growth. Published in Nature Chemical Biology, the UK study utilized lab cultures and animal models ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers releases 2025 expert panel document on best practices in MS management

A cool fix for hot chips: Advanced thermal management technology for electronic devices

Does your brain know you want to move before you know it yourself?

Bluetooth-based technology could help older adults stay independent

Breaking the American climate silence

Groundbreaking study uncovers how our brain learns

Sugar-mimicking molecule central to virulence of a common crop disease, study finds

Surprise: Synapses on single neurons follow distinct rules during learning

Fresh insights into why solid-state batteries fail could inform longer-lasting batteries

Curiosity rover identifies carbonates, providing evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars

Up to 17% of global cropland contaminated by toxic heavy metal pollution, study estimates

Curiosity rover finds large carbon deposits on Mars

CHOP, Penn Medicine researchers use deep learning algorithm to pinpoint potential disease-causing variants in non-coding regions of the human genome

Prevalence of obesity with and without confirmation of excess adiposity among US adults

Population attributable fraction of incident dementia associated with hearing loss

New study reveals how cleft lip and cleft palate can arise

Scientists hack cell entry to supercharge cancer drugs

Study: Experimental bird flu vaccine excels in animal models

Real-world study finds hydroxyurea effective long-term in children living with sickle cell disease

FAU designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research

European potato genome decoded: Small gene pool with large differences

Nontraditional risk factors shed light on unexplained strokes in adults younger than 50

Extreme drought contributed to barbarian invasion of late Roman Britain, tree-ring study reveals

Antibiotic-resistant E. albertii on the rise in Bangladeshi chicken shops

Veterinary: UK dog owners prefer crossbreeds and imports to domestic pedigree breeds

Study links climate change to rising arsenic levels in paddy rice, increasing health risks

Study indicates that risky surgery after a stroke due to carotid artery stenosis is no longer necessary for majority of patients

Blood pressure: New research shows a changing climate may jeopardise global blood supply

Start of US hunting season linked to increased firearm incidents, including violent crimes and suicide

New system could help reduce unnecessary surgery to prevent strokes

[Press-News.org] The Lancet Respiratory Medicine: Benralizumab for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and sputum eosinophilia
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2a study