GeneTherapy.com

Same blue dye in M&Ms linked to reducing spine injury

The same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery, according to new research.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that when they injected the compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) into rats suffering spinal cord injuries, the rodents were able to walk again, albeit with a limp.

Novel Gene Therapy for Brain Tumor Nears Clinical Trial

THURSDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- A novel gene therapy for glioblastoma multiforme utilizing a combination of adenoviral vectors and the drug ganciclovir (GCV) is nearing clinical trial with the discovery of a biomarker to gauge tumor response to the treatment, according to a study reported in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Synthetic Biology: Gene Therapy Gets Under The Skin

Vaseline, a known molecule from apples and a gene network encapsulated in algal gelatin are the components of a possible gene therapy which literally gets under the skin.

Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire: Gene Therapy to Reverse Near-Blindness

For Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire, sharing a human brain in a neuroanatomy class stirred up a personal chemistry that produced a marriage and three kids. It led to a 25-year professional partnership as well, a collaboration that has yielded one of the first successful demonstrations of gene therapy in humans. The partners have restored much of the vision in patients who have a rare genetic form of severely impaired eyesight called Leber's congenital amaurosis, in which a mutated gene prevents the retina from manufacturing a nutrient vital to eye health. The technique eventually could be tried to treat macular degeneration.

Swine flu vaccine made in Europe

The first doses of an H1N1 swine flu vaccine have been produced in Europe - but it will be around two months before any is distributed.

The doses were produced by Novartis at a plant in Marburg, Germany.The vaccine was made in cell culture, a much faster method than the traditional way of growing it in eggs.

Gene Therapy Could Expand Stem Cells' Promise

Once placed into a patient's body, stem cells intended to treat or cure a disease could end up wreaking havoc simply because they are no longer under the control of the clinician.

But gene therapy has the potential to solve this problem, according to a perspective article from physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center published in a recent issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. The paper details strategies for genetically modifying stem cells prior to transplantation in order to ensure their safety.

Diseased cells transformed into healthy stem cells

Genetically diseased cells that have had their defect corrected through gene therapy can be reprogrammed into stem cells capable of forming any tissue in the body, say researchers.

Although major obstacles remain before gene therapists can use the technique on people, the advance stands as a proof of principle that the marriage of gene therapy and stem-cell technologies have the potential to allow doctors to correct any genetic diseases that cripple a particular type of cell.

Until now, attempts to use gene therapy on stem cells have required therapists to harvest naturally occurring stem cells from patients and apply the gene therapy to them. However, such stem cells are rare, so the harvest yields little material to work with.

First pig stem cells could make 'humanised' organs

The world's first pig stem cells have been created from porcine ear and bone-marrow cells.

Researchers at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology in Shanghai, China, say they are the first to achieve this in hoofed animals.

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have the potential to turn into all types of body tissue. The big advantage, though, is that they can be genetically manipulated in the lab, and then cloned to create animals with new traits.

By adding or deleting certain genes, for example, researchers could produce pigs whose organs can be transplanted into patients without them being recognized and rejected. Efforts to do such xenotransplants have already been under way for at least a decade, but iPS cells are easier to genetically engineer and grow in the lab than pig embryos, opening up new possibilities for xenotransplantation.

Gene therapy shows promise as weapon against HIV

A new UCLA AIDS Institute study has found that gene therapy can be developed as a safe and active technique to combat HIV.

Researchers involved in this first-of-its-kind study found that cell-delivered gene transfer has the potential to be a once-only treatment that reduces viral load, preserves the immune system and avoids lifelong antiretroviral therapy. The study appears in the current online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

Though modest, the results do show some promise that gene therapy can be developed as a potentially effective treatment for HIV, said lead investigator Dr. Ronald Mitsuyasu, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education (CARE) at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Animal extremists arrested for harassment of campus researchers

Two people have been arrested and charged in connection with the ongoing campaign of harassment of UCLA researchers who utilize laboratory animals in their work.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office announced today that Linda Faith Greene, 61, and Kevin Richard Olliff, 22, entered not guilty pleas after being arraigned on stalking and other felony charges.

No arrests have been made in connection with several incidents of arson and attempted arson claimed by anti–animal research extremists targeting UCLA.