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Drug treatment for Marfan syndrome looks promising
A small study in 18 pattients assessing the effectiveness of the drug losartan for treating Marfan syndrome in children has yielded encouraging results. Reporting in the June 26 issue of
The New England Journal of Medicine, Johns Hopkins researchers showed that losartan-a compound used for years to treat high blood pressure-slowed the enlargement of the aorta, the most life-threatening defect associated with Marfan syndrome.
Researchers ID gene linked to lung cancer
Researchers at Johns Hopkins, as part of a large, multi-institutional study, have found one gene variant that is linked to an increased risk of lung cancer. The study will be published in the April 3 issue of
Nature Genetics.
Genetic research unveils common origins for distinct clinical diagnoses
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that two clinically different inherited syndromes are in fact variations of the same disorder. Reporting in the April issue of
Nature Genetics, the team suggests that at least for this class of disorders, the total number and “strength” of genetic alterations an individual carries throughout the genome can generate a range of symptoms wide enough to appear like different conditions.
Johns Hopkins to participate in 1000 Genomes Project
Researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine (IGM) at Johns Hopkins will join other national and international scientists in the 1000 Genomes Project, an ambitious effort that will involve sequencing the genomes of numerous people from around the world to create the most detailed and medically useful picture to date of human genetic variation.
Researchers zero in on the tiniest members in the war on cancer
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University have uncovered another reason why one of the most commonly activated proteins in cancer is so dangerous. As reported in
Nature Genetics this week, the Myc protein can stop the production of at least 13 microRNAs, small pieces of nucleic acid that help control which genes are turned on and off.
Silencing small but mighty cancer inhibitors
Researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered another reason why one of the most commonly activated proteins in cancer is in fact so dangerous. As reported in Nature Genetics this week, the Myc protein can stop the production of at least 13 microRNAs, small pieces of nucleic acid that help control which genes are turned on and off.
Cilia: small organelles, big decisions
Johns Hopkins researchers say they have figured out how human and all animal cells tune in to a key signal, one that literally transmits the instructions that shape their final bodies. It turns out the cells assemble their own little radio antenna on their surfaces to help them relay the proper signal to the developmental proteins “listening” on the inside of the cell.
Common blood pressure drug reduces progressive muscle degeneration in mice
Scientists supported in part by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have found that that the commonly prescribed blood pressure medication losartan improves muscle regeneration and repair in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a devastating disease characterized by rapid progression of muscle degeneration in boys and young men.
