Thursday, March 27, 2014

3/27/14 New Blood Test Predicts Alzheimer’s Before Symptoms Appear ♦ Stem Cells in Body's Fatty Folds Can Help Heal Diseased Kidneys ♦ Silicone Chip Recreates Cancer’s Microenvironment

BIOCRATES Test Kit Helps Develop First Metabolomics-Based Blood Test for Alzheimer’s
The test is capable of predicting before symptoms with 90% accuracy, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease 2–3 years before it has actually become clinically manifest. Although it will take some time to develop test versions fit for use in doctors’ offices, the findings by Mapstone et al. are an impressive example of the power of metabolomics in diagnosis and biomarker discovery.Continue Reading 

Silicone Chip Recreates Cancer’s Microenvironment

Killing cancer cells growing on a petri dish is an entirely different beast than fighting cancer cells in the human body. To provide a more realistic platform for screening anticancer drugs, bioengineers have created a device that better replicates the environment around human tumors than conventional cell culture does. They designed a microfluidic chip that imitates the blood circulation system alongside a three-dimensional tumor (Anal. Chem. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/ac403899j). With further development, the chip should be useful for both high-throughput drug screening and for helping doctors quickly pinpoint the best cancer therapy Continue Reading


Stem Cells in Body's Fatty Folds Can Help Heal Diseased Kidneys

A new study has revealed that fatty fold of tissue within the abdomen that is a rich source of stem cells can help in fighting kidney failure. The study found that stem cells from within a chronic kidney disease patient's own abdomen could be used to preserve and possibly improve kidney function, New Scientist reported. However, such a treatment would require injecting cells frequently over a period of many months and years, as stem cells do not survive in the body for more than a few days after injection. Continue Reading

No comments:

Post a Comment