Researchers from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, have discovered that neurons located in the vision centers of the brains of blind rats functioned normally following fetal retina cell transplants, indicating the successful restoration of vision. The research was published today in JNeurosci, the Journal of Neuroscience. Led by David Lyon, PhD, associate professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology and director of graduate studies at the UCI School of
Increasingly, doctors are treating lung cancer based on the genetic rearrangements driving the disease. For example, cancers that are driven by changes in the genes ALK, EGFR, and ROS1 can now all be paired with drugs that target these specific changes. However, these cancers are not only dangerous in the lung where they appear, but can become especially dangerous if they are able to metastasize to the brain – a
Use with anti-anxiety drug benzodiazepine may be linked to rise in opioid-related deaths The number of first-time prescriptions for opioid drugs has not risen since about 2010, according to UCLA researchers. However, patients taking a class of drug known to increase the risk for overdoses were likelier to receive a first-time opioid prescription — a combination that could be linked to the current surge in opioid-related deaths. People with chronic
When prostate cancer metastasizes to bone, it can become especially dangerous – not only with its action in the bone but, interestingly, with increased aggressiveness of the overall cancer itself. Now, research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2018 hints at why: Cells involved in these bone metastases may release signals that drive the progression of the disease. “With prostate cancer, often a patient will
Research by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey investigators has identified novel functions of the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) enzyme providing support that it could serve as a therapeutic target in the most common type of lung cancer. Results of the work are being presented as part of a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting being held later this week in Chicago. Lung cancer is
By April, nearly one-third of the U.S. is already experiencing high pollen levels while the weather and temperatures continue to fluctuate, aggravating sinus symptoms. A patient’s mucus may predict the type of his or her chronic sinusitis, which could help doctors determine whether surgery or medical treatments can produce the best outcomes, according to a recently published Vanderbilt study. Justin Turner, MD, PhD, associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery,
Scientists have found a genetic trigger that may improve the brain’s ability to heal from a range of debilitating conditions, from strokes to concussions and spinal cord injuries. A new study in mice from UT Southwestern’s O’Donnell Brain Institutes hows that turning on a gene inside cells called astrocytes results in a smaller scar and – potentially – a more effective recovery from injury. The research examined spinal injuries but likely
Patients who have been taking opioid pain relievers for several months before spinal fusion surgery are at increased risk of complications after their surgery, reports a study in the journal Spine, published by Wolters Kluwer. Patients on chronic opioid therapy before spinal fusion are at increased risk of complications and adverse outcomes—including repeated spinal surgery, according to the new research by Safdar N. Khan, MD, of The Ohio State University
A prospective new method of treating patients with multiple sclerosis has been proposed by researchers of the Mainz University Medical Center working in cooperation with researchers of the University of Montreal. In model trials and experiments employing human endothelial cells, they discovered that the EGFL7 protein hinders the migration of immune cells into the central nervous system by stabilizing the blood-brain barrier. These findings have recently been published in Nature
Sernova Corp, a clinical stage company developing regenerative medicine technologies for the long-term treatment of diseases including diabetes and hemophilia, is pleased to announce it has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notice of allowance for its IND for a new human clinical trial with the Cell Pouch System (TM) (CPS) in the United States. Sernova plans to initiate the new clinical trial under this US IND to investigate
Anesthesiologists Are Eager to Share Their Expertise on Strategies to Combat the Opioid Crisis Can acupuncture and yoga help to fight the opioid epidemic? These and other integrative medicine approaches have shown at least preliminary evidence of effectiveness in pain management, according to an article in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia—a special thematic issue addressing the opioid crisis. "In the current opioid crisis era, many integrative medical therapies
An international team of researchers led by Johns Hopkins has shown that a topical gel made from a class of common blood pressure pills that block inflammation pathways speeds the healing of chronic skin wounds in mice and pigs. A report of the findings, published Oct. 16 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, marks efforts to seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use the gel
UCLA researchers develop improved technique for creating brain tissue from stem cells UCLA researchers have developed an improved technique for creating simplified human brain tissue from stem cells. Because these so-called “mini brain organoids” mimic human brains in how they grow and develop, they’re vital to studying complex neurological diseases. In a study published in the journal Cell Reports, the researchers used the organoids to better understand how Zika infects and
While immune cells called neutrophils are known to act as infantry in the body's war on germs, a National Institutes of Health-funded study suggests they can act as medics as well. By studying rodents, researchers showed that instead of attacking germs, some neutrophils may help heal the brain after an intracerebral hemorrhage, a form of stroke caused by ruptured blood vessels. The study suggests that two neutrophil-related proteins may play
Fluorescent, targeted dye illuminates molecular signature of tumor tissue in personalized surgery. An experimental imaging tool that uses a targeted fluorescent dye successfully lit up the benign brain tumors of patients during removal surgery, allowing surgeons to identify tumor tissue, a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows. The tumors, known as pituitary adenomas, are the third most common brain tumor,
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System a five-year, $3.8 million grant for the first long-term study to test whether medical marijuana reduces opioid use among adults with chronic pain, including those with HIV. Millions of Americans experience chronic, severe pain as a result of their health conditions. Many take prescribed opioids, including Oxycodone, to help relieve their
In an early-phase clinical trial of an experimental immunotherapy, researchers achieved durable molecular remissions in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had failed other treatments Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed about 70 percent of patients with the most common adult leukemia had their tumors shrink or disappear following an experimental chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy. The researchers also found that measuring genetic traces of cancer cells
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey research shows low toxicity in shorter treatment course A shorter course of radiation therapy given to breast cancer patients following mastectomy is safe and effective and cuts treatment time in half. That is according to data from a phase II clinical trial conducted by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey investigators and other colleagues who examined a hypofractionated regimen given over three weeks versus
Interventions for babies at risk could be started at birth to prevent disease Findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics describe growth factors in cord blood that may identify premature infants at risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension (BPD-PH) – an often fatal lung disease in which the vessels carrying blood from the heart to the lungs become narrowed and dysfunctional. Identifying these babies at birth would allow earlier interventions
Researchers find activation of maternal immune system during pregnancy disrupts expression of key genes and processes associated with autism and prenatal brain development For some infections, such as Zika, the virus passes through the placenta and directly attacks the fetus. For others, such as the H1N1 influenza, the virus induces maternal immune activation (MIA) by triggering a woman’s immune system during pregnancy. Both Zika and MIA mechanisms may lead to
