Posts by: Maureen Newman

Maureen Newman

Maureen Newman is a researcher by trade, and brings her knowledge of the lab to BioNews Texas. Currently, she is serving as a PhD student at University of Rochester, and working towards a career of research in biomaterials for drug delivery and regenerative medicine. She is an integral part of Dr. Danielle Benoit’s laboratory, where she is investigating bone-homing therapeutics for osteoporosis treatment. She is a senior science and research columnist for BioNews Texas.

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015

Frataxin Level Correlates With Friedreich’s Ataxia Severity

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Although the basis of Friedreich’s ataxia lies in a genome-wide mutation in the frataxin gene that encodes the frataxin protein, not all tissues are affected by the disease. Some ... Read more

September 1, 2015September 1, 2015

shRNA Molecules Reverse Friedreich’s Ataxia in Cells

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

A screen of molecules known as short-hairpin-loop-RNA (shRNA) revealed that certain features of Friedreich’s ataxia can be relieved through two specific shRNA sequences. In the laboratory of Dr. Robert ... Read more

June 16, 2015June 16, 2015

Patient Telomeres on DNA Involved in FRDA Pathogenesis

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Often times, researchers focus on cells from the brain or the heart when studying Friedreich’s ataxia. A new study from Brunel University London and University of Cambridge in the ... Read more

June 4, 2015

Popular Genetic Technology Applied to Study Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

A remarkable new tool in the world of genetic biology is being applied to study Friedreich’s ataxia. TALEN and CRISPR methodologies, which have been the subjects of recent patent ... Read more

June 2, 2015

Understanding Iron Balance is Vital to Treat Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Maintaining iron balance in the mitochondria is of great importance to cell health and is a prominent area of study to understand Friedreich’s ataxia. Frataxin protein deficiency in Friedreich’s ataxia ... Read more

May 28, 2015

Tests Reveal Cardiomyopathy Associated With Freidreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia are at a high risk for developing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the walls of the heart become thicker than normal. Little is known about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy ... Read more

May 19, 2015May 21, 2015

Friedreich’s Ataxia Scale Scores Describe Clinical Characteristics

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Rating scales used to succinctly describe the severity of Friedreich’s ataxia and the impact on patients’ quality of life have a tradeoff between being comprehensive enough to adequately describe ... Read more

May 14, 2015May 19, 2015

Src Inhibitors Are Potential New Therapies for Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia have genetic mutations that lead to frataxin protein deficiency, but when their cells are treated in vitro with a class of molecules called Src inhibitors, ... Read more

May 7, 2015May 7, 2015

DNA Mutation Induced By Friedreich’s Ataxia Repeats

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

A long string of DNA repeats are the molecular basis for Friedreich’s ataxia. The beginning of the first intron of FXN, the gene encoding the protein frataxin, has an ... Read more

May 1, 2015May 1, 2015

Researchers Propose Novel Mechanism for the Treatment of Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

It is well known that a DNA mutation causes Friedreich’s ataxia by reducing the production of frataxin protein. Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia often have several hundred “GAA repeats” in ... Read more

April 15, 2015April 17, 2015

Cerebellar Changes in Ataxias Detected by fMRI

News

Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia may have more damage to brain cells than was previously thought. A study from University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany led by Dr. Maria R. Stefanescu ... Read more

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015

Inhibiting Iron Transport Improves FA in Fruit Flies

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

A research group in Germany at University of Regensburg that considers Friedreich’s ataxia “the most important recessive ataxia in the Caucasian population” is breaking down the complex disease using ... Read more

April 2, 2015April 2, 2015

HDAC Inhibitors Studied as Novel Friedreich’s Ataxia Treatment

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Inhibitors of 2-aminobenzamide histone deacetylase (HDAC) are a proposed new treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia. Applying HDAC inhibitors to neuronal cells derived from Friedreich’s ataxia patients’ induced-pluriopotent stem cells results ... Read more

March 18, 2015March 18, 2015

Late-Onset Friedreich’s Ataxia Accompanied by Vocal Dystonia

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

The vast majority of patients with Friedreich’s ataxia develop symptoms in the first or second decade of life, enabling an early diagnosis and early medical attention to alleviate symptoms ... Read more

March 16, 2015March 16, 2015

Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Pipeline Full of Potential Treatments

Friedreich's Ataxia

Although German physician Nikolaus Friedreich first recognized Friedreich’s ataxia in 1863, it was not until 1996 that two scientific teams discovered the underlying cause of the disease: a mutation ... Read more

February 23, 2015February 23, 2015

“Genetic Toolkit” Used to Study Cerebellum in Ataxias

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

At Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, researchers are developing a genetic toolkit to help study ataxia. Marife Arancillo, PhD, was awarded a Post-Doc Fellowship Award for her ... Read more

February 19, 2015February 19, 2015

National Ataxia Foundation Funds mTOR in Friedreich’s Ataxia Research

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

As the most prevalent form of ataxia, Friedreich’s ataxia represents a major focus for research in the field of understanding disease mechanisms. Rising to the demand is researcher Simona Donatello, PhD at ... Read more

February 18, 2015February 18, 2015

SCA3 Studied in C. Elegans with Grant from NAF

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Joining Friedreich’s Ataxia in the list of ataxias is spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph disease. This disease is caused by mutations in the gene encoding ... Read more

February 9, 2015March 9, 2015

NAF Funds Research for Novel SCA3 Treatments

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

Earning the Pioneer SCA Translational Research Award from the National Ataxia Foundation, Thorsten Schmidt, PhD at University of Tubingen in Germany is developing a novel treatment for spinocerebellar ataxia ... Read more

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015

Friedreich’s Ataxia Clinical Trial Sponsored by Reata Enrolls First Patient

Friedreich's Ataxia

Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has enrolled the first patient in a new Friedreich’s Ataxia clinical trial in collaboration with AbbVie, and the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance. In their currently ... Read more

January 28, 2015January 28, 2015

Friedreich’s Ataxia Treated With Vitamin B3 in Clinical Trial

Friedreich's Ataxia

Vitamin B3, a water soluble vitamin essential to processing fat and proteins in the human body, may also prove important to treating Friedreich’s Ataxia. A currently recruiting clinical trial ... Read more

January 26, 2015January 26, 2015

Indicators of Cardiomyopathy in Friedreich’s Ataxia Studied in Clinical Trial

Friedreich's Ataxia

Not all clinical trials vital to understanding Friedreich’s ataxia involve new therapies under evaluation before being marketed as treatment. Ronald Crystal, MD, of Weill Medical College of Cornell University ... Read more

January 21, 2015January 21, 2015

USF Researcher Studies Acetyl-L-Carnitine in Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia

Patients with Friedreich’s ataxia commonly have difficulty walking due to imbalance issues or trouble conducting daily activities due to reduced upper arm function. Theresa Zesiewicz, MD, FAAN, from the ... Read more

January 14, 2015January 14, 2015

“Friedreich’s Ataxia Database” Created in EFACTS Clinical Trial

Friedreich's Ataxia

A large, international clinical trial sponsored by European Friedreich’s Ataxia Consortium for Translational Studies (EFACTS) is currently recruiting 650 patients with genetically confirmed Friedreich’s Ataxia to benefit future research ... Read more

January 12, 2015January 12, 2015

Foot Drop Deformity in Patients with Friedreich’s Ataxia Treated by PTT

Friedreich's Ataxia

Friedreich’s ataxia patients are at a risk of developing foot drop deformity, or the loss of dorsiflexion and eversion (up-and-down movement), in the ankle joint. A clinical trial sponsored ... Read more

January 7, 2015January 7, 2015

Study Evaluates Biomarkers in FA for Relevance in Therapeutic Trials

Friedreich's Ataxia, News

When testing new compounds to treat Friedreich’s ataxia (FA), it is vital to have a metric for determining the efficacy of these compounds. Some studies have suggested using the ... Read more

January 6, 2015January 6, 2015

Clinical Trial from Shire Tests Anti-Oxidant Molecule in Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia

Biopharmaceutical company Shire, is sponsoring a clinical trial for adults with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) and is currently enrolling participants. The phase 1 clinical trial is evaluating VP 20629 (indole-3-propionic ... Read more

February 3, 2014February 3, 2015

Researchers Explore Non-diabetic Insulin Resistance in Friedreich’s Ataxia

Friedreich's Ataxia

Although Friedreich’s ataxia is a condition with a known cause (a genetic abnormality on chromosome 9 that depletes cells of frataxin protein), some cases of the disease throw clinicians ... Read more

January 5, 2014January 6, 2015

IFN-γ-1b Helps 12 Friedreich’s Ataxia Patients in Trial

Friedreich's Ataxia

Results are in for an open-label phase 2 clinical trial of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) sponsored by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia along with collaborators at ... Read more