1960s-era anti-cancer drug points to treatments for Lou Gehrig's disease
2012-06-14
(Press-News.org) A long-used anti-cancer drug could be a starting point to develop new treatments for the incurable nerve disease known as Lou Gehrig's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), scientists are reporting. Their research showing how the drug prevents clumping of an enzyme linked to ALS appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Lucia Banci, Ivano Bertini and colleagues explain that ALS causes a progressive loss of muscle control as the nerves that control body movements wither and die. Patients become weak and have difficulty swallowing and breathing, and most die within three to five years of diagnosis. Although some ALS cases are hereditary and run in families, about 90 percent are "sporadic," with the cause unknown. Some research links sporadic ALS to clumping of an antioxidant enzyme called hSOD1. The authors explored whether cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug used since the 1960s that is known to interact with some of the enzyme's amino acids, has any effect on hSOD1 clusters.
The scientists found that in laboratory tests, the anti-cancer drug cisplatin bound readily to the enzyme, preventing hSOD1 from aggregating and dissolving existing bunches. Cisplatin targets sites that can form bonds between hSOD1 after the enzyme loses the atom of copper it normally carries. The scientists note that cisplatin does not prevent the enzyme from performing its normal functions. "From this work it appears that cisplatin is a promising lead compound for the rational design of ALS treatments," the authors say.
INFORMATION:
The authors acknowledge funding from the Italian Research Project of National Interest (PRIN) and Bio-NMR.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2012-06-14
A phenomenon first observed by an ancient Greek philosopher 2,300 years ago has become the basis for a new device designed to harvest the enormous amounts of energy wasted as heat each year to produce electricity. The first-of-its-kind "pyroelectric nanogenerator" is the topic of a report in ACS' journal Nano Letters.
Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues at Georgia Tech explain that more than 50 percent of the energy generated in the U.S. each year goes to waste, much of it as heat released to the environment by everything from computers to cars to long-distance electric transmission ...
2012-06-14
In the aftermath of a workplace injury, slicing through the red tape of the New York workers' compensation process is something you may be ill-equipped for. You just want to get better, and need the money you're entitled to in order to see you through your time of need. Now, a new set of medical testing regulations could further complicate your pursuit of workers' comp benefits.
Regulations Require Workers to Go to In Network Testing Facilities
Workers' compensation provides payments for wage replacement and medical expenses during the time an employee is incapacitated ...
2012-06-14
WOODS HOLE, MASS. – The landmark publication this week of a "map" of the bacterial make-up of healthy humans has deep roots in an unexpected place: the ocean.
Microbial communities that live on and in the human body, known collectively as the microbiome, are thought to have a critical role in human health and disease. Five years ago, the National Institutes of Health launched the ambitious Human Microbiome Project (HMP) to define the boundaries of bacterial variation found in 242 healthy human beings.
"In order to understand what sick is, it's helpful to define the ...
2012-06-14
The National Academy on an Aging Society has released its Public Policy & Aging Report (PPAR) that finds as many as one in 10 people age 60 and over has suffered some form of elder abuse. The National Academy is the policy institute of The Gerontological Society of America.
Elder abuse covers a broad range of mistreatment, from physical abuse in a nursing home, to other forms neglect, including psychological and sexual abuse, and financial exploitation by caregivers and family members.
Seniors are at risk by a great number of causes. Some have diminished mental ...
2012-06-14
Many homeowners in Georgia are continuing to struggle with the current economic crisis. Despite reports of modest improvements in the economy, a lot of Georgians are still floundering in the weak housing market. Stresses are compounded for those dealing with job loss or having their hours cut back. These financial pressures are making it increasingly difficult for people to afford their mortgage payments.
Falling Home Values Can Limit the Choices Available to Homeowners
Unfortunately, this problem is compounded by the fact that home values continue to drop. Homes ...
2012-06-14
When the smell of french fries wafts through the airplane cabin, is it from that guy in 24D scarfing down a fast-food meal — or the jet engines? That question certainly could be food-for-thought for imaginative passengers, as airline companies develop a bigger appetite for the fuels described in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
In the article, C&EN Senior Business Editor Melody M. Bomgardner explains that with successful test flights completed, airlines ...
2012-06-14
Building a terrestrial planet requires raw materials that weren't available in the early history of the universe. The Big Bang filled space with hydrogen and helium. Chemical elements like silicon and oxygen - key components of rocks - had to be cooked up over time by stars. But how long did that take? How many of such heavy elements do you need to form planets?
Previous studies have shown that Jupiter-sized gas giants tend to form around stars containing more heavy elements than the Sun. However, new research by a team of astronomers found that planets smaller than Neptune ...
2012-06-14
Reintegrating into civilian society after a long prison term can be difficult for anyone. Finding a place to live and a way to support yourself is challenging, especially for people who don't have a strong network of family and friends to help them out.
The process can be even more troubling for individuals convicted of violent sex crimes and other offenses carrying significant social stigma. Too often, these people are rejected by their communities, even though they are legally authorized to be released from prison.
One such case is currently playing out in the California ...
2012-06-14
(Boston) - Socioeconomic status across one's lifetime is related to weight gain and risk of obesity in African American women, according to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University. These findings currently appear online in the journal Ethnicity & Disease.
The researchers followed 23,601 African American women under the age of 55 from 1995 to 2009. These women were participants in the Black Women's Health Study, a follow-up study of the health of African Americans conducted by the Slone Epidemiology Center. The women provided ...
2012-06-14
According to the Institute of Medicine, preventable medical errors cause almost 100,000 American deaths every year. If these deaths were included in CDC statistics, medical mistakes would be the sixth leading cause of death. Hundreds of thousands more patients live after suffering from medical negligence, but face serious and long-term injuries.
While these statistics are alarming, forgoing medical care entirely is simply not an option. So what are you to do about medical errors? As a patient, there are several measures you can take to reduce the risk, as well as after-the-fact ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] 1960s-era anti-cancer drug points to treatments for Lou Gehrig's disease
