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University of Minnesota researchers will seek federal approval for human clinical trials on new anticancer drugs that have proven effective in slowing the growth of solid tumors. The drugs belong to a class of pharmaceutical agents call antiangiogenics, which inhibit tumor growth by reducing blood flow. A form of antiangiogenic drugs is already approved for clinical use, but the makeup of the new compounds holds out the possibility that they can be taken in pill form and are thus less costly to produce. The compounds were found effective against solid tumors, but researchers believe they may have the potential to treat liquid tumors as well, such as the type found in blood cancers.

Suicidal Cells

Research at the University of Minnesota may help lay the groundwork for understanding how the body rids itself of cancer cells or other unwanted tissue. A University researcher has identified a protein that acts as both healer and destroyer of DNA molecules within the cell. The protein’s usual job is to help repair DNA. But research found that the protein will abandon that function and instead assist in the destruction of cells if the DNA can’t be repaired. It’s not clear how a cell determines whether repair or destruction is called for. The discovery is a step in understanding the workings of the self-killing of cells, which is called apoptosis. Apoptosis is an important process that assists the body in many functions, including embryo formation—for example, removing the webbing tissue between fingers and toes.

Predicting Heart Disease

Memo to doctors and patients: Never mind locating new villains when it comes to assessing risk for coronary heart disease—just round up the usual suspects. That’s the conclusion of new research findings at the University of Minnesota.

Researchers found that standard markers such as cholesterol levels, blood pressure, smoking habits, body weight, and diabetes are clearly more effective predictors of heart disease than screening for C-Reactive Proteins and other novel tests. C-Reactive Proteins, a marker of inflammation, and other markers such as B vitamin levels and antibodies to infectious agents, added almost nothing to the predictions made by the traditional risk factors in a study of nearly 16,000 people who were followed for more than a decade.

Lend Gravity to the Situation

Astronauts may be able to reduce their risk of developing kidney stones by exercising more while they are in space, according to research findings at the University of Minnesota. Painful and sometimes debilitating, kidney stones have emerged as a problem for astronauts in the past several years, as longer space missions have placed more stresses on their bodies. Astronauts lose calcium in their bones in the zero-gravity environment and it can end up in their kidneys. That, in turn, can lead to kidney stones. University research found that exercising in a chamber that simulates gravity dramatically reduces the levels of urinary calcium, thus reducing the risk.

Bold New Vision

University of Minnesota researchers have developed a treatment for macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss for 10 million Americans for which there is no known prevention or cure. And, in a bold move designed to reap the financial benefits of the discovery, the University plans to become the majority owner of Macular Regeneration, Inc., a start-up company that will market the treatment. The U has traditionally licensed its discoveries to private firms and collected royalties from sales.

Officials hope the new venture, though it carries some risk, will ultimately provide a stable source of funding in an era when state support is uncertain. The U’s initial investment is a $50,000 loan, for which it receives a controlling board vote and the right to be involved in hiring the new CEO. A major feature of the plan is to attract more investors.

The new treatment involves surgery and an accompanying device, but no further details are available pending patent approval.

Combating the Fungus among Us

A deadly fungal infection is able to outwit drugs by duplicating a section of one of its chromosomes, according to research findings at the University of Minnesota. The altered chromosome, called an isochromosome, helps the cell tolerate the drug, allowing the yeast to continue growing. The discovery could lead to the development of improvements in antifungal drugs.

The fungus, candida albicans, is a type of yeast present in 80 percent of humans and is usually harmless. It can cause mild oral and vaginal infections, which are easily treated in people with healthy immune systems. But in people whose immune systems are compromised by AIDS, chemotherapy, or other conditions, it can produce deadly systemic infections that are fatal in 30 percent to 50 percent of cases. About 25,000 Americans develop these fungal infections every year and 10,000 die, despite treatment with anti-fungal medications.

Researchers said the findings may also offer insights into treating cancer, because some tumors also contain isochromosomes that enable them to become resistant to chemotherapy.

—Edited by Cynthia Scott