Category: Disease Discoveries
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‘Dancing Molecules’ Successfully Repair Severe Spinal Cord Injuries
A new injectable therapy harnesses “dancing molecules” to reverse paralysis and repair tissue after severe spinal cord injuries, allowing animal subjects to regain the ability to walk.
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Study Shows Epigenetic Modification is Central for Tumor Metastasis
Fatty acid uptake produces an epigenetic modification that is required for cancer metastasis, according to a study published in Nature.
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New Insights into the Mechanism of ALS
The damaging effects of toxic proteins created in one inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are mediated by an enzyme called SPOP.
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Gene Therapy Boosts Parkinson’s Disease Drug Benefits
A new Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature explains why dopamine neurons are lost in Parkinson’s disease, and demonstrated that a gene therapy targeting the brain’s substantia nigra can substantially boost the benefits of levodopa, an important medication for treating the disease.
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How Cells Defend Against Influenza A Virus
Human cells use a protein named TBC1D5 to “trap and kill” influenza A viruses inside host cells, but the virus encodes its own protein to disable this defense.
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Of Balding Mice and Men and Women
A newly discovered cause of balding in aging male mice could reveal a cause of hair loss in men and women as well, reports a study from Northwestern Medicine scientists.
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Anti-Cancer Inhibitor Could Have Dual Effect
TG2, an enzyme known to help cancers spread more quickly, also plays a role in regulating T-cells — opening the door to dual inhibition, according to a recent Northwestern Medicine study.
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Study Identifies Expanded Role for Metabolic Enzyme in Kidney Cancer
The underexpression of a specific metabolic enzyme is a common and adverse epigenetic modulating feature in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, which accounts for 80 percent of all kidney cancers, according to a recent study.
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Lewy Body Dementia Exacerbated by Immune Response
T-cells respond to buildup of alpha-synuclein with a harmful auto-immune response, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Science.
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Machine-learning Model Can Detect Rare Cardiomyopathy
A machine learning model can identify patients at risk of a rare cardiomyopathy, according to a recent study.
