Curated News: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

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Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have received a $5 million federal grant to pool genomic information from existing and new datasets – predominantly in African and African American populations -- in order to calculate the risk of developing specific diseases. They will use sophisticated modeling and genetic datasets to calculate the risk, known as a polygenic risk score, with an emphasis on studying people from different ancestries.

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Wayne State University recently received an Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) T32 training program grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. This $2.5 million grant will aid in growing Wayne State’s successful IMSD R25 graduate training program in biomedical sciences and behavioral research.

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Scientists created a potentially powerful new strategy for treating cystic fibrosis and potentially other diseases; it involves small, nucleic acid molecules called oligonucleotides that can correct some of the gene defects that underlie CF but are not addressed by existing modulator therapies.

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In a new study led by Yale Cancer Center, researchers show the nucleoside transporter ENT2 may offer an unexpected path to circumventing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and enabling targeted treatment of brain tumors with a cell-penetrating anti-DNA autoantibody.

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The Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomed has been awarded more than $37 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue operations into 2026. The P51 grant, given by the NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, provides essential funding to house and care for nearly 2,500 non-human primates that are part of life-science research programs at Texas Biomed and partners around the globe.

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A new therapy prompts immune defense cells to swallow misshapen proteins, amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles, whose buildup is known to kill nearby brain cells as part of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows.

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With preseason football training on the horizon, a new study shows that head impacts experienced during practice are associated with changes in brain imaging of young players over multiple seasons.

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The observation of a previously undetected biological mechanism for closing gaps in living tissue improves basic understanding of the wound-healing process and may one day inform strategies to speed healing after surgery and could hold other medical benefits, according to a team of Penn State and Singapore researchers.

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Researchers report on how a diverse cohort of gynecologic cancer patients are affected by financial distress, also called “financial toxicity” in acknowledgment of the health hazards it can pose, in the International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.

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Los investigadores de Mayo Clinic y sus colegas de la Universidad de Minnesota demostraron que la COVID-19 exacerba las consecuencias nocivas de las células senescentes en el cuerpo. En estudios preclínicos, los fármacos senolíticos descubiertos en Mayo redujeron considerablemente la inflamación, la enfermedad y la mortalidad debida a la infección por covid en ratones ancianos. Los resultados se publican en la revista Science.

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Os pesquisadores da Mayo Clinic e colegas da Universidade de Minnesota mostraram que o COVID-19 intensifica o impacto prejudicial das células senescentes no corpo. Em estudos pré-clínicos, os medicamentos senolíticos descobertos na Mayo reduziram significativamente a inflamação, a gravidade da doença e a mortalidade da infecção por COVID em camundongos mais velhos. Essas conclusões foram publicadas na revista Science.

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妙佑医疗国际(Mayo Clinic)的研究人员和明尼苏达大学的同事表明，COVID-19（2019冠状病毒病）加剧了体内衰老细胞的破坏性影响。在临床前研究中，妙佑医疗国际研发的抗衰老药物显著降低了老年实验鼠因COVID（冠状病毒病）感染引起的炎症、疾病和死亡率。该研究结果已发表在《科学》期刊中。

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Pairing sky-mapping algorithms with advanced immunofluorescence imaging of cancer biopsies, researchers at The Mark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging at Johns Hopkins University and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy developed a robust platform to guide immunotherapy by predicting which cancers will respond to specific therapies targeting the immune system.

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Blood sugar control among adults with diabetes in the United States declined significantly in the past decade, according to a nationwide study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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University of Illinois Chicago researchers studying birth outcomes in marmoset monkeys found there were no adult maternal characteristics like age or weight gain during pregnancy to predict stillbirth or early neonatal death, but that a mother’s birth weight or litter size were associated with early neonatal death. “Our findings of early life contributions to adult pregnancy outcomes in the common marmoset disrupt mother-blaming narratives of pregnancy outcomes in humans,” the paper states.

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Mayo Clinic researchers and colleagues at the University of Minnesota showed that COVID-19 exacerbates the damaging impact of senescent cells in the body. In preclinical studies, the senolytic drugs discovered at Mayo significantly reduced inflammation, illness, and mortality from COVID infection in older mice. The findings appear in the journal Science.

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Researchers have shown that even after lung tissue has been damaged, it may be possible to reverse fibrosis and promote tissue repair through treatment with microgel-coated mesenchymal stromal cells.

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A new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and colleagues suggests a slowdown in the use of convalescent plasma to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients led to a higher COVID-19 mortality during a critical period during this past winter’s surge.

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Research reveals that phage viruses that undergo special evolutionary training increase their capacity to subdue bacteria. The results provide hope for the antibiotic resistance crisis, a rising threat as deadly bacteria continue to evolve to render many modern drugs ineffective.

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In a subset of patients with partial lipodystrophy and/or NASH, the hormone leptin can be leveraged as a therapeutic agent to move fat out of the liver.

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DALLAS – June 4, 2021 – Increasing a protein concentrated in brown fat appears to lower blood sugar, promote insulin sensitivity, and protect against fatty liver disease by remodeling white fat to a healthier state, a new study led by UT Southwestern scientists suggests. The finding, published online in Nature Communications, could eventually lead to new solutions for patients with diabetes and related conditions.

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University of Kentucky Neuroscience Professor Greg Gerhardt's new research program will provide answers to long-standing questions about the role of neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. A culmination of his nearly 40 years of brain research, Gerhardt's study could help to develop new treatments for the disease.

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In a new article published in Clinical Cancer Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers reveal how different therapies impact the surrounding immune environment of metastatic melanoma tumors according to location and identify a rare population of immune cells that is associated with improved overall survival.

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The Common Fund Data Ecosystem (CFDE) was established to provide the infrastructure needed to help solve key challenges facing DCCs. The CFDE portal, which is now live and open for data submissions, links multiple data platforms that have been established through Common Fund programs.

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A new study published today in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, reports findings that may change the understanding of how synovial sarcoma develops and spreads. The study was led by Kevin B. Jones, MD and Bradley R. Cairns, PhD from Huntsman Cancer Institute.

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The $2.3 million, four-year Avenir Award will support his innovative research project, “Tele-Harm Reduction for Rapid Initiation of Antiretrovirals in People Who Inject Drugs: A Randomized Controlled Trial.”

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A new study analyzing the association between an individual’s genetics (genotype) and their observable characteristics resulting from the interaction of genetics and the environment (phenotype), contributes new knowledge to the understanding of human complex traits and diseases.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found in a mouse model that when fed a Western diet rich in calories, fat and cholesterol, the mice progressively became obese, diabetic and developed NASH, which progressed to HCC, chronic kidney and cardiovascular disease.

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Thanks to a $5.6 million grant from the NIH, a University of Kentucky College of Medicine team will study the culprit behind thoracic aortic aneurysms, which could lead to a treatment for the potentially deadly disease.

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DALLAS – May 28, 2021 – A study of gene activity in the brain’s hippocampus, led by UT Southwestern researchers, has identified marked differences between the region’s anterior and posterior portions. The findings, published today in Neuron, could shed light on a variety of brain disorders that involve the hippocampus and may eventually help lead to new, targeted treatments.

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Researchers are finding new details on the complex dynamics involved in how organisms sense an infection from pathogens. The researchers found that worms can sense changes in their metabolism in order to unleash protective defenses, even if they don’t directly sense an incursion from pathogens.

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Computer scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago are developing a computational artificial intelligence system they hope will serve as a decision support tool for doctors prescribing treatment for head and neck cancer. The work is supported by a $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

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In a new study, supported by a five-year, $6.4 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health, researchers from Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and the Jaeb Center for Health Research, aim to finally determine which diabetic individuals can successfully donate their corneas for keratoplasty (and which should not).

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A new Nature Communications study shows that eukaryotic ribosomes can be modified to respond to antibiotics in the same way that prokaryotic ribosomes do.

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UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers identify how the body regulates and prevents constant skin inflammation.

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By mapping its genetic underpinnings, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a predictive causal role for specific cell types in type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects more than 1.6 million Americans.

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José A. Bauermeister, PhD, and Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, are leading one of 10 new research teams from across the country that received National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants totaling $14 million to extend the reach of the NIH’s Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. The Philly CEAL team was awarded $1.4 million from the NIH with additional support from Penn Nursing and The University of Pennsylvania, bringing the total for the alliance to $1.53 million.

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A multidisciplinary team of researchers showed how the “batteries” of cells are highly implicated in whether patients with the chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome develop schizophrenia. The results of the study may eventually lead to targeted prevention and treatment strategies for patients with the condition.

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A team led by researchers including Jianmin Cui, professor of biomedical engineering, discovered a compound that prevents and even reverses the underlying physiological change that can lead some drugs to cause heart problems.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that although the vast majority of people with alcohol use disorder see their doctors regularly for a range of issues, fewer than one in 10 ever get treatment to help curb their drinking.

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The development of dementia, often from Alzheimer’s disease, late in life is associated with abnormal blood levels of dozens of proteins up to five years earlier.

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U-M researchers have discovered the first immune stimulating long noncoding RNA Involved in the body's response to cancer, suggesting potential approaches to improve immunotherapy treatment.

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In research made possible when COVID-19 sidelined other research projects, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine meticulously counted brain cells in fruit flies and three species of mosquitos, revealing a number that would surprise many people outside the science world.

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A new study with zebrafish shows that a deadly form of skin cancer — melanoma — alters the metabolism of healthy tissues elsewhere in the body. The research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that these other tissues could potentially be targeted to help treat cancer.“Tumors rely on a constant supply of nutrients to grow.

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Clinicians and scientists have long observed that cells in overstressed hearts have high levels of the simple sugar O-GlcNAc modifying thousands of proteins within cells. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have found evidence in mouse experiments that these excess sugars could well be a cause, not merely a consequence or marker of heart failure.

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Researchers have revealed how variants of a gene responsible for packing and condensing genetic material present a novel cause for certain neurodevelopmental disorders.

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MD Anderson researchers have discovered a new role for the DHODH enzyme in blocking a form of cell death called ferroptosis. Preclinical findings suggest that targeting DHODH could restore cell death and inhibit tumor growth.

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DALLAS – May 12, 2021 – Scientists with UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute have identified the molecular mechanism that can cause weight gain for those using a common antipsychotic medication. The findings, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggest new ways to counteract the weight gain, including a drug recently approved to treat genetic obesity, according to the study, which involved collaborations with scientists at UT Dallas and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

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Meat that is certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is less likely to be contaminated with bacteria that can sicken people, including dangerous, multidrug-resistant organisms, compared to conventionally produced meat.