Common anticancer drugs may offer new hope to PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome patients

During development, cells grow, expand, and migrate to generate tissues and organs in a highly controlled manner. Many intracellular pathways—series of signaling cascades within a cell—regulate these actions to avoid non-programmed growth that could lead to malformations or cancer. One of these pathways is the PTEN / PI3K axis, a complex series of perfectly balanced chemical reactions.

Experimental blood test accurately indicates severity and predicts potential recovery from spinal cord injury

By analyzing DNA and proteins in the blood of people with and without acute spinal cord injuries (SCIs), researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a novel blood test that has the potential to rapidly predict the severity and likelihood of sensory and motor recovery within six months in a cost-effective manner.