Category Archives: Gene therapy

When Google CEO Larry Page blogged about his struggles speaking and, at times, breathing last week on his Google+ page he spotlighted a rare condition, bilateral vocal cord paralysis , which leaves sufferers short of breath and with few viable treatment options. This is likely to change in coming years. Page has deep pockets and has promised to fund research into the disorder via the Voice Health Institute . In the meantime scientists are experimenting with electrical stimulation technologies to enhance existing voice therapy as well as surgical treatments. [More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=b3c657c36bd85f3126649923bb8701fe

Authors: Yoshida T, Kondoh M, Mizuguchi H, Yagi K
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a hepatotropic member of the Flaviviridae family and contains a 9.6 kb positive-sense RNA genome. Approximately 170-million people are infected with HCV worldwide. These people face increased risks of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma compared with the general population. Transduction of the HCV genome into hepatocytes is essential for understanding the mode of action of HCV infection, and for preparing HCV, evaluating HCV replication, and screening anti-HCV drugs. Although electroporation of in vitro-synthesized HCV genome and transduction of plasmid vectors containing the HCV genome are widely used in HCV research, a more convenient system with higher transduction efficie...

Source:
http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=7281310&cid=c_449_13_f&fid=36240&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Fpubmed%2F23449406%3Fdopt%3DAbstract

A child born to an HIV-infected mother in Mississippi may be cured after a swiftly administered course of drugs. A number of factors make the child’s case unique, however, and clinicians caution that we have not discovered a general cure for HIV yet. Still, the medical first may hint at ways to fight the AIDS-causing virus .

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=95337d9798ea17db628f12536ca0a05b

Editor’s Note: Excerpted from Shouting Won’t Help: Why I--and 50 Million Other Americans--Can’t Hear You , by Katherine Bouton, published by Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. Copyright © 2013 Katherine Bouton. All rights reserved.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=26ba9d76b5b91ce8e95b09bea6e3b5c4

Muscle stiffness is a major clinical feature in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). DMD is the most common lethal inherited muscle-wasting disease in boys, and it is caused by the lack of the dystrophin protein. We recently showed that the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle of mdx mice (a DMD mouse model) exhibits disease-associated muscle stiffness. Truncated micro- and mini-dystrophins are the leading candidates for DMD gene therapy. Unfortunately, it has never been clear whether these truncated genes can mitigate muscle stiffness. To address this question, we examined the passive properties of the EDL muscle in transgenic mdx mice that expressed a representative mini- or micro-gene (H2-R15, R2-15/R18-23/C, or R4-23/C). The passive properties were measured at the ages of 6 and 20 mo a...

Source:
http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=7067339&cid=c_449_68_f&fid=33708&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjap.physiology.org%2Fcgi%2Fcontent%2Fabstract%2F114%2F4%2F482%3Frss%3D1

If cupid had studied neuroscience, he’d know to aim his arrows at the brain rather than the heart. Recent research suggests that for love to last, it’s best he dip those arrows in oxytocin. Although scientists have long known that this hormone is essential for monogamous rodents to stay true to their mates, and that it makes humans more trusting toward one another, they are now finding that it is also crucial to how we form and maintain romantic relationships.

[More]

Source:
http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=1e2c8b293a6e7840f25387be9dac539e