For more than five years, urine and cerebral-spinal fluid samples from patients with Parkinson's disease have been locked in freezers in the NINDS National Repository, stored with the expectation they might someday help unravel the still-hidden course of this slow-acting neurodegenerative disease. More >>

Instead of treating cancer based on where it originated in the body a new drug targeting biomarkers may usher in a new age for cancer treatment More >>

An international team of researchers has developed new fluorescent probes able to detect specific biomarkers within cells. The technology may allow for early detection of cancer, monitoring the activity of drugs, and for studying intracellular processes. The probes consist of a peptide that sticks to target molecules and a novel fluorescent tag that can be tracked under a microscope. More >>

http://www.medicalobserver.com.au/professional-news/what-smokers-need-to-quit More >>

Leaks in the blood-brain barrier can provide early detection for Alzheimer's and diseases. That's important because researchers believe that the earlier Alzheimer's is spotted, the better chance there is to stop or slow the disease."Cognitive impairment, and accumulation in the brain of the abnormal proteins amyloid and tau, are what we currently rely upon to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, but blood-brain barrier breakdown and cerebral blood flow changes can be seen much earlier," said Berislav Zlokovic, the Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "This shows why healthy blood vessels are so important for normal brain functioning."In a new review article in the Sept. 24 issue of Nature Neuroscience, Zlokovic and his colleagues recommend that the blood-brain barrier, or BBB, be considered an important biomarker -- and potential drug target -- for Alzheimer's disease. Because Alzheimer's is irreversible, and not fully understood, understanding the first step in the disease process is a critical step in fighting it.Alzheimer's afflicts 5.7 million Americans and is expected to impair about 14 million by 2050, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treatment costs total hundreds of billions of dollars annually in the United States. Alzheimer's kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.The blood-brain barrier is a filtration system, letting in good things (glucose, amino acids) and keeping out bad things (viruses, bacteria, blood). It's mostly comprised of endothelial cells lining the 400 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries that feed our brains.Some evidence indicates that leaks in the blood-brain barrier may allow a protein called amyloid into the brain where it sticks to neurons. This triggers the accumulation of more amyloid, which eventually overwhelms and kills brain cells. More >>