Latest Pathology Stories
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A deadly disease outbreak that devastates boa constrictors and pythons has been discovered, which scientists call Inclusion Body Disease (IBD). This disease outbreak among snakes is being investigated by scientists at the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco. The team said they may have found a virus that is responsible for this common, but deadly disease, which could ultimately help lead to prevention and treatment options. IBD is...
ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- EntreMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENMD), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today reported financial results for the three and six-month periods ending June 30, 2012. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20010620/ENMDLOGO ) EntreMed reported a net loss for the second quarter of 2012 of ($10.5 million), or ($0.56) per share. This compares with a net loss of ($1.7 million), or ($0.17)...
A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, led by Dr. Mark W. Jackson, have developed a novel method to identify genes that, when overexpressed, make normal cells behave like cancer cells. Using this method, the Jackson laboratory has identified a new oncogene, which is a gene that contributes to the development of cancer, named FAM83B. "We made our discovery in a model of breast cancer," said Mark W. Jackson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of...
A new tool to observe cell behavior has revealed surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy – and may offer a way to further refine personalized cancer treatments. The approach, developed by investigators at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, shows that erlotinib – a targeted therapy that acts on a growth factor receptor mutated in some lung, brain and other cancers – doesn't simply kill tumor cells as was previously assumed. The drug also causes some tumor cells to go...
Discovery of the genetic basis of a high-risk subtype of leukemia shows some patients might benefit from existing targeted therapies, advancing the goal of curing all children with the most common childhood cancer MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scientists have identified new genetic alterations underlying a high-risk subtype of the most common childhood cancer that could be effectively targeted with existing leukemia therapies. The study focused on a...
CHICAGO, Aug. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Having a compassionate team of care providers" is the most important experience factor among cancer patients when rating their overall satisfaction with their care experience according to a new study conducted by Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make informed decisions about physicians and hospitals. The national survey of more than 1,400 U.S. cancer patients was conducted online during between...
Scientists at Tulane University School of Medicine, led by Dr. James Antoon and Dr. Barbara Beckman, have characterized two drugs targeting sphingosine kinase (SK), an enzyme involved in cancer growth and metastasis. New treatments specifically attacking cancer cells, but not normal ones, are critical in the fight against cancer. The results, which appear in the July 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, demonstrate the role of SK in drug resistance and therapeutic potential of SK...
Research at Bangor University has identified a switch in cells that may help to kill tumors with heat. Prostate cancer and other localized tumors can be effectively treated by a combination of heat and an anti-cancer drug that damages the genes. Behind this novel therapy is the enigmatic ability of heat to switch off essential survival mechanisms in human cells. Although thermotherapy is now more widely used, the underlying principles are still unclear. In a recent publication in the...
A major breakthrough by scientists at Queen’s could lead to more effective treatments for throat and cervical cancer. The discovery could see the development of new therapies, which would target the non-cancerous cells surrounding a tumor, as well as treating the tumor itself. Researchers at Queen’s Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology have found that the non-cancerous tissue, or ‘stroma’, surrounding cancers of the throat and cervix, plays an important role in regulating...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Although some have estimated a third of the Earth's biomass lives in our planet's rocks and sediments, little is known about these hard to reach organisms. A new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), with possibly wide reaching implications, looks to study one group of methane-producing microbes that live deep in the cracks of hot undersea volcanoes. Because of the alien nature of these...
Latest Pathology Reference Libraries
Wolbachia is a genus of bacteria which infects arthropod species, including a high proportion of insects (~60% of species). It is one of the world's most common parasitic microbes and possibly the most common reproductive parasite in biosphere. Studies have suggested that 25-70% of all insect species are estimated to be potential hosts. Marshall Hertig and Burt Wolbach first identified the bacterium in 1924 in a species of mosquito. Hertig described the genus as Wolbachia pipientis. Not...
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a curved, rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium found in brackish saltwater, which, when ingested, causes gastrointestinal illness in humans. V. parahaemolyticus is oxidase positive, facultatively aerobic, and does not form spores. This species is motile, with a single, polar flagellum. Ingestion of raw or undercooked seafood is the most common cause of the acute gastroenteritis caused by V. parahaemolyticus. Infection can also occur from fecal-oral route as well...
Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC), is a group of catalase-producing, non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria composed of at least nine different species. It is an important human pathogen that often causes pneumonia in immunocompromised individuals with underlying lung disease. They are typically found in water and soil and can survive for prolonged periods in moist environments. Spread between people occurs often in hospitals, clinics, and camps. Infected hosts are often treated in...
Actinomyces israelii is a species of Actinomyces and is sometimes known as the "most misdiagnosed disease" since it is often confused with neoplasms. It is a colonizer of the vagina, colon, and mouth. Infection happens through breach of the mucosal barrier during various procedures, aspiration, or pathologies such as diverticulitis. The chronic phase is also known as the classic phase due to the acute, early phase being commonly missed by health care providers. It is characterized by slow...
Strawberry vein banding virus (SVBV) is a plant pathogenic virus and a member of the family Caulimoviridae. It was first described by Frazier after differential aphid transmission to susceptible wild strawberries. He identified suitable virus indicators and demonstrated virus transmission by various aphids, dodder, and grafting. He also established the inability of the virus to transmit via sap. Stenger purified and cloned the SVBV genome. Due to the limited techniques of the time he was...
