Category Health/Medical

Identification of fibrocartilage stem cells (blue) from the TMJ that spontaneously regenerate cartilage (red) when transplanted in vivo. Credit: Lab of Mildred C. Embree, DMD, PHD, Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia College of Dental Medicine researchers have identified stem cells that can make new cartilage and repair damaged joints. The cells reside within the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which articulates the jaw bone to the skull. When the stem cells were manipulated in animals with TMJ degeneration, the cells repaired cartilage in the joint. A single cell transplanted in a mouse spontaneously generated cartilage and bone and even began to form a bone marrow niche...

Chemical Hybridization of Glucagon and Thyroid Hormone Optimizes Therapeutic Impact for Metabolic Disease

Scientists have developed a ‘smart’ drug that safely clears the liver of fat and prevents blood vessels from clogging up. Liver-specific delivery of the thyroid hormone T3 using glucagon corrects obesity, glucose intolerance, fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis without causing adverse effects in other tissues. “While the ability of T3 to lower cholesterol is known for centuries, deleterious effects, in particular on the skeleton and the cardiovascular system, do so far limit its medicinal utility,” says Brian Finan.

The constant rise in obesity and diabetes represents a major burden of our society...

Map of protein signaling pathways that went off course in DCM hearts. Credit: Uros Kuzmanov

An enlarged heart is a hallmark of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and, despite being the most common inherited disease of the heart muscle, doctors don’t really know why it occurs. But that could now change as a new University of Toronto study begins to shine light on the molecular causes behind DCM. The study reveals widespread differences in protein biochemistry between healthy and diseased hearts. This expands our understanding of heart physiology and opens the door for future research that could improve detection and treatment of DCM.

Affecting all ages, the disease begins usually in adolescence and strikes 1 in 5 Canadians, with huge healthcare, economic and social costs...

Brain cells from a mouse cortex that didn’t receive the gene therapy. The amyloid plaques are shown in green, and the glial cells, which surround the plaques, are shown in red (microglia) and magenta (astrocytes). Image 2 shows a mouse cortex that received the gene therapy, and so had fewer amyloid plaques. Credit: Imperial College London

Researchers have prevented development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice by using a modified virus to deliver a specific gene into the brain. The early-stage findings, by scientists from Imperial College London, open avenues for potential new treatments for the disease. Previous studies by the same team suggest this gene, called PGC1 – alpha, may prevent the formation of a protein called amyloid-beta peptide in cells in the lab...