Author: Bioventures Team

Gene expression profiling is a powerful tool that has varied utility. It enables classification of multiple myeloma into subtypes and identifying genes directly involved in disease pathogenesis and clinical manifestation. The present invention used gene expression profiling in large uniformly treated population of patients with myeloma to identify genes associated with poor prognosis. It also demonstrated that over-expression of CKS1B gene, mainly due to gene amplification that was determined by Fluorescent in-situ hybridization to impart a poor prognosis in multiple myeloma. It is further contemplated that therapeutic strategies that directly target CKS1B or related pathways may represent novel, and more specific means of treating high risk myeloma and may prevent its secondary evolution.

A method is presented for treating herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection comprising: (a) locally administering a substance that induces a delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to a patient at a site of an HSV lesion to induce a DTH response at the site of the lesion during one or more outbreaks of the HSV infection.

Devices and methods for peripheral nerve stimulation with an electrode assembly having a lead body with a tapered transition, at least one anchor, and at least one distal lead configured to connect to the lead body are disclosed.

The disclosure provides a method of preventing or reducing protein aggregates using combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof. The disclosure also provides methods of reducing the risk, delaying the onset, delaying or slowing the progression, or reversing the signs or symptoms of a neurodegenerative (or other age-progressive) disease using a combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof. The combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof may bind glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The combretastatin-A4 (CA4) or an analog thereof is described by compounds of Formula (I).

The invention involves the discovery that if dendritic cells loaded with a tumor antigen are cultured in interleukin-15 (IL-15), or if T cells activated by the dendritic cells are cultured in IL-15, Treg activity that is specific for the tumor antigen is reduced. This reduction in Treg activity results in an increase in anti-tumor immune response. Another embodiment of the invention involves the discovery that incubating dendritic cells with a MAP kinase inhibitor in combination with IL-15 gives synergistic benefits when the dendritic cells are used to activate T cells. Dendritic cell and T cell compositions incubated with IL-15 or a MAP kinase inhibitor are provided.