Tag: Cystic Fibrosis

Chemical and biomolecular engineer Xue Sherry Gao of Rice University's Brown School of Engineering has won National Institutes of Health support for a new strategy to fight cystic fibrosis. The agency awarded Gao a four-year R01 grant of more than $2 million to adapt tools developed by her lab that increase the accuracy of CRISPR/Cas9-based

Inflammation of the pancreas is referred to as pancreatitis. The pancreas is a flat tadpole-shaped gland located at the back of the stomach in the upper abdomen; it releases certain enzymes and hormones which help in digestion and aids in regulating sugar metabolism in the body. Pancreatitis may manifest in both severe and acute forms.

Manuka honey could provide the key to a breakthrough treatment for cystic fibrosis patients following preliminary work by experts at Swansea University. Dr Rowena Jenkins and Dr Aled Roberts have found that using Manuka honey could offer an antibiotic alternative to treat antimicrobial resistant respiratory infections, particularly deadly bacteria found in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) infections.

Malaria, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year — mainly children and especially in Africa -, is one of the leading causes of death by an infectious agent, the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. In research on malaria, the genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia (also known as drepanocytosis), a chronic disease that is

Specialized lung cells appear in the developing fetus much earlier than scientists previously thought. A new animal study reports how cells that become alveoli, the tiny compartments in which gas exchange occurs in the lung, begin their specialized roles very early in prenatal life. The researchers say that investigating the fetal signaling pathways active in

Group A Streptococcus (GAS), sometimes known as “flesh-eating bacteria,” causes invasive infections that result in high mortality. GAS is susceptible to many antibiotics, but continues to cause devastating infections. Many studies have attempted to understand the mechanism for immune recognition of GAS; none has provided a clear explanation, until now. In a new study published

Researchers report in Nature Communications they figured out why air sacs in the lungs clog up with a thick substance called surfactant in a brutal disease called Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP), and they show taking cholesterol-busting pills called statins can effectively treat the disease. That’s good news for people with PAP because at present the

The fight against cystic fibrosis (CF) has taken a major step forward, with pioneering research by University of Adelaide scientists showing that cells causing the debilitating genetic disorder could be successfully replaced with healthy ones. The research published in the journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy applies cell transplantation therapy, normally used in bone marrow

Severe infections leading to hospitalizations during childhood are associated with lower school achievement in adolescence,reports a study in the July issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (PIDJ). In the nationwide study of nearly 600,000 Danish children, higher numbers of hospitalizations for infections were associated with a reduced probability of completing ninth grade, as well

Scientists have found that it is the structure of collagen, rather than the amount, that leads to the devastating condition of lung fibrosis, according to a report in the journal eLife. The study provides the first evidence in humans that altered collagen structure affects tissue stiffness during progression of lung fibrosis and identifies a potential

Many bacteria are equipped with a flagellum, a helical propeller that allows bacteria to travel. The flagellum is assembled in a highly organized manner involving the stepwise addition of each of its internal parts. However, there are many open questions as to how this orderly construction is achieved. In a study published in Science Advances,

A new study showing significantly improved survival rates for patients with stage IV Wilms tumors with lung metastases was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The outcomes of the study, “Treatment of Stage IV Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor With Lung Metastases: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group AREN0533 Study,” will be a