The bottom of the ocean is full of mysteries but scientists have recently uncovered one of its best-kept secrets. For 25 years, drug hunters have been searching for the source of a natural chemical that had shown promise in initial studies for treating cancer. Now, researchers at University of Utah Health report that easy-to-find soft corals make the elusive compound.
Scientists have revived light-sensing neuron cells in organ donor eyes and restored communication between them as part of a series of discoveries that stand to transform brain and vision research.
Preventing the formation of a sticky, web-like substance that can form in blood vessels after a stroke could protect the brain and lead to better outcomes for patients, studies in mice suggest. The research was reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and led by scientists at University of Utah Health.
A new study led by researchers at University of Utah Health details a novel mechanism that infectious bacteria use to quickly adjust to environmental stress. The discovery could help explain why certain types of common infections—such as urinary tract and bloodstream infections like sepsis—are hard to get rid of.
Scientists have created a modified form of human insulin that they hope could give patients with diabetes better, more immediate control over their blood sugar.
Parenting is not the only way moms and dads impact the behavior of their offspring. Genes matter, too. According to new research led by scientists at University of Utah Health, genes from each parent has their own impact on hormones and other chemical messengers that control mood and behavior. The finding leads to a better understanding of genetic factors that shape behavior, a step toward developing better diagnoses and treatments for psychiatric disorders.
University of Utah Health researchers are leading a five-year, $22-million nationwide clinical trial for NMDA receptor encephalitis––a type of autoimmune encephalitis that prompts the immune system to mistakenly attack the brain, causing confusion, memory loss, seizures, and symptoms similar to bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions.
Pregnant individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are about 40% more likely to develop serious complications or die during pregnancy than those who aren’t infected with the virus, according to a nationwide study led by a University of Utah Health obstetrician.
For the first time, University of Utah Health scientists have shown that artificial intelligence could lead to better ways to predict the onset and course of cardiovascular disease.
University of Utah Health scientists are testing a new contraceptive gel for men. Based on preliminary research, the scientists believe the hormonal gel decreases a man’s sperm production––reducing his chances of fathering a child––without decreasing his sex drive.
Children conceived through medically assisted reproduction are more likely to be born premature and are at greater risk of being born small than naturally conceived babies, according to new research. However, the study of almost 250,000 U.S. families finds that differences in birth weight and pregnancy term between medically assisted reproduction (MAR) – including techniques such as IVF treatment, artificial insemination and fertility-enhancing drugs – and naturally conceived children become insignificant once family circumstances are considered.
Autism prevalence among 8-year-old Utah children has risen by nearly 30% in less than a decade, according to a study of 11 communities nationwide, including Salt Lake City and surrounding counties, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The University of Utah post-COVID-19 care clinic has evaluated more than 80 Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) patients a week since opening.
University of Utah Health scientists have documented the spread of a disease gene for the atrial fibrillation, a heart arrhythmia, across continents and over centuries. Understanding the geographic distribution and ancestry of disease could help identify people who are at risk today.
New research suggests that in most regions, with the exception of the South, opening schools for in-person learning was not associated with an increase in COVID-19 case rates in the community.
New research addresses the misconception that children are less susceptible to infection with the new coronavirus. According to a recent report in JAMA Pediatrics, children and adults have similar risks of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2, but a much larger proportion of infected children do not show symptoms of COVID-19. When one household member is infected, there is a 52% chance they will transmit it to at least one other person with whom they live.
University of Utah Health scientists are on the leading edge of a pair of large studies investigating the long-term effects of COVID-19. The nationwide studies, supported by the National Institutes of Health, will attempt to answer key questions about the lingering effects of the viral disorder on pregnant individuals and their infants, as well as why some people develop post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), including “long COVID,” and others don’t.
An artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology rapidly diagnoses rare disorders in critically ill children with high accuracy. The benchmark finding, published in Genomic Medicine, foreshadows the next phase of medicine, where technology helps clinicians quickly determine the root cause of disease so they can give patients the right treatment sooner.
A nationwide team of researchers, led by scientists at University of Utah Health and The Rockefeller University, has determined how a genetic mutation found in mice and monkeys interferes with viruses such as HIV and Ebola. They say the finding could eventually lead to the development of medical interventions in humans.
University of Utah Health scientists have identified a molecule that slows cells’ production of alpha-synuclein, a protein that forms toxic aggregates in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. Its discovery points toward a new strategy for treating the disease and potentially stopping its progression.
A new research study reveals that Valley Fever, a fungal disease most commonly found in Arizona and California, may be more common in Utah than previously thought.
COVID-19 vaccines remain effective, but their potency has diminished in recent months, according to a nationwide study at eight sites, including Salt Lake City, Utah.
A new technology called MIC-Drop allows researchers to efficiently deploy the CRISPR gene editing system to rapidly evaluate the functions of hundreds of genes in a single experiment. The advance marks the first time that screens using the robust, Nobel-prize winning CRISPR system have been possible in any animal model. Using the new technology, investigators screened 188 poorly characterized genes and found that several are essential for healthy development and function of the heart. The method and findings are reported in the journal Science.
A protein that helps regulate calcium signaling within heart cells could play a key role in preventing chronic heart failure, according to an international study led by University of Utah Health scientists. T The finding suggests that drugs and other therapeutic treatments targeting this protein could eventually help alleviate heart failure.
Bacteria’s role in gut health has received a lot of attention in recent years. But new research publishing in Nature shows that fungi—another microorganism that lives within us—may be equally important in health and disease. Fungi thrive in the healthy gut, but when interactions with the immune system are off-balance, they cause intestinal damage that may contribute to gastrointestinal disease. Additional investigation demonstrate that vaccines could be developed as therapeutics to improve gut health.
People who receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are up to 91 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who are unvaccinated, according to a new nationwide study of eight sites, including Salt Lake City. For those few vaccinated people who do still get an infection, or “breakthrough” cases, the study suggests that vaccines reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and shorten its duration.
Medical guidelines help doctors understand the best way to treat health conditions. Surprisingly, many doctors do not adhere to them, and this is a problem, according to a new study. People with lower back pain injury miss 11 more days of work in a year when they only receive treatments for lower back pain that are not recommended by medical guidelines compared to people treated according to guidelines.
Joint grant from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation and Nora Eccles Treadwell Foundation provides visionary funding to significantly advance the future of health care in Utah and across the nation through medical education, research, and a new state-of-the-art facility.
Blacks and Native Americans with health problems prior to contracting COVID-19 are more likely to have longer hospital stays, require treatment with a ventilator, and have a higher risk of death than Whites who have similar preexisting conditions, according to a new nationwide study led by University of Utah Health scientists.
Within the next decade, the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 could become little more than a nuisance, causing no more than common cold-like coughs and sniffles. That possible future is predicted by mathematical models that incorporate lessons learned from the current pandemic on how our body’s immunity changes over time. Scientists at the University of Utah carried out the research, now published in the journal Viruses.
Research published in Nature reveals insights into how the body maintains balance with “good” gut bacteria that allows these microbes to flourish in the intestine but keeps them out of tissues and organs where they’re not supposed to be.
Ensuring that veterans have stable housing not only reduces homelessness but also slashes the cost of providing them with publicly funded health care, according to a national study led by University of Utah Health scientists.
Women who have preeclampsia during pregnancy are at least three times more likely to have strokes later in life than women who do not have a history of this condition, according to University of Utah Health scientists.
A new study suggests that some neurological disorders share a common underlying thread. Staufen1, a protein that accumulates in the brains of patients with certain neurological conditions, is linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, along with other neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease, according to University of Utah Health scientists.
COVID-19 and hemorrhagic stroke are a deadly combination, increasing the risk of death up to 2.4 times among patients who have this pairing compared to those who only had hemorrhagic strokes, according to a nationwide study led by University of Utah Health scientists. Patients who survived had longer hospital stays, more medical complications, and less favorable outcomes than those who did not have both conditions.
Up to one in five employees at an academic medical institution are considering leaving their professions due to the strains of coping with the pandemic in their own lives, according to a new University of Utah Health study.
Cone snails use a previously undetected set of small molecules that mimic the effects of worm pheromones to drive marine worms into a sexual frenzy, making it easier to lure them out of their hiding places so the snails can gobble them up.
An experimental treatment can essentially reverse type 1 diabetes in certain types of laboratory mice, according to a series of studies led by University of Utah Health scientists. An injection of the therapeutic agent converts cells that normally control glucose production into ones that generate insulin.
A University of Utah Health ophthalmologist is investigating how lipids known as VLC-PUFAs could be used to prevent eye disease thanks to a new way to synthesize them for research.
in a first-of-its-kind study, University of Utah Health scientists found that hormonal IUDs were comparable to copper IUDs for use as emergency contraceptives. The researchers say the finding supports adding hormonal IUDs to current emergency contraception options.
In 2012, four-year-old Bertrand Might became the first-ever patient diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called N-glycanase (NGLY1) deficiency. Since then, more than 60 additional patients have been found. University of Utah Health geneticist Clement Chow is investigating the disease, which affects every system of the body.
A new study, led by University of Utah Health scientists, suggests more than half of doctors, nurses, and emergency responders involved in COVID-19 care could be at risk for one or more mental health problems, including acute traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol use, and insomnia.
Massive “plumes” of glutamate, a key neurotransmitter, surging in the brain could help explain the onset of migraine with aura—and potentially a broad swath of neurologic disease, including stroke and traumatic brain injury—according to an international study led by University of Utah Health scientists.
Following a brain-injuring bump or blow to the head, brain cells and blood vessels typically swell. This can lead to a potentially life-threatening increase in pressure inside the skull, and managing swelling is critical for patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). But researchers at University of Utah Health have discovered that swelling may also be important for protecting the brain.
In a new multicenter study, researchers led by University of Utah Health physicians report that an emerging heart failure treatment could potentially reverse structural damage to the heart, allowing it to heal itself over time. Overall, 19 (40%) patients who were treated with a combination of LVAD support with heart failure medications had sufficient improvement that the LVAD could be removed.
Accomplishing a feat that had been a pipe dream for decades, scientists at University of Utah Health and University of Virginia have recreated in a test tube the first steps of infection by HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Doing so has provided up-close access to the virus—which is otherwise obstructed from view deep within the cell—and enabled identification of essential components that HIV needs to replicate within its human host. The research publishes in the journal, Cell.
For people who experience back pain with sciatica, meaning their pain radiates into their leg, it may be worthwhile to start physical therapy right away, according to new research reported in Annals of Internal Medicine. That approach is different from the initial advice doctors often give patients with back pain, which is to try to remain active and give their symptoms time to subside before considering treatment like physical therapy.
Scientists from the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah have achieved another first in the field of connectomics, which studies the synaptic connections between neurons. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded lab has produced the first pathoconnectome, showing how eye disease alters retinal circuitry.
The vast majority of Twitter users who vape with JUUL e-cigarettes are not using the devices to stop smoking or to improve their health, according to a research team led by University of Utah Health scientists.
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