Focus: Hidden - North Carolina

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In the journal Cell Reports, UNC Lineberger researchers reported they found markedly low levels of the protein NLRX1 in multiple laboratory models of colorectal cancer, and in samples of human tissue. Studies have shown that the protein is known to be involved in regulating immune system signals in order to prevent hyperactive inflammatory responses by the immune system, but UNC Lineberger researchers believe their finding also points to a role for the protein in preventing colorectal cancer growth. Based on their findings, they believe they’ve identified a potential treatment for colorectal cancer with low NLRX1.

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Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is the first medical center in the United States to offer the FDA-cleared DigniCap scalp cooling system to patients undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

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In the largest analysis of its kind, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute and other top cancer centers have found that the organ site where prostate cancer spreads has a direct impact on survival.

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Contralateral prophylactic mastectomies (CPMs) were associated with slightly higher satisfaction in women’s perception of how their breasts looked and felt, but primarily among women whose mastectomies were followed by reconstructive surgery.

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Wake Forest University researchers tested how woodpecker pairs perceived drumming to see how it influenced territorial interaction and coordination of defensive behavior.

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One of the most crucial and elusive goals of an effective HIV vaccine is to stimulate antibodies that can attack the virus even as it relentlessly mutates. Now a research team, led by investigators at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has tracked rare potent antibodies in an HIV-infected individual and determined sequential structures that point to how they developed.

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Patients with heart failure often have a buildup of scar tissue that leads to a gradual loss of heart function. In a new study, UNC researchers report significant progress toward a novel approach that could shrink the amount of heart scar tissue while replenishing the supply of healthy heart muscle.

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Neuroscientists at Duke Health have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that allows primates to use only their thoughts to navigate a robotic wheelchair.

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Most doctors and nurses review a patient’s family history to identify risk factors for heart disease and cancer, often through a paper checklist or brief interview. But more deliberate efforts to map a patient’s family tree could identify additional risks and drive patients to timely screenings for illnesses that may unknowingly affect them, according to a new study from Duke Health.

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The job market is luring more physician assistants, or PAs, to jobs in specialty care rather than primary care practices such as family medicine and general pediatrics, according to new research from Duke Health.

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Researchers will study the health effects of Zika on pregnant women and babies, the effectiveness of drones for vector control activities, and public understanding of the virus

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Researchers have identified three risk factors that make adults with mental illness more likely to engage in violent behavior. The findings give mental health professionals and others working with adults with mental illness a suite of characteristics they can use as potential warning signs, allowing them to intervene and prevent violent behavior.

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Five exceptional early career scientists will receive new grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health. The awards, totaling $2.5 million, are part of the Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) program.

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Research led by UNC’s John Buse showed that IDegLira injections were more effective than basal insulin glargine injections at reducing the average amount of blood sugar over the course of several months. IDegLira was also associated with weight loss and a substantially lower rate of hypoglycemia.

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In a first-of-its-kind-study, researchers at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center discovered and applied a new screening technique capable of testing thousands of potential drug compounds to see if those compounds can reverse abnormal DNA unwinding in Ewing sarcoma, a bone and soft tissue cancer that’s most common in teens and young adults.

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Copies of the mouse gene R2d2 can spread quickly through lab and wild mouse populations, despite the fact that the genes cause females to have fewer offspring. This is the first time scientists have used mice to show that a selfish gene responsible for infertility can become fixed in a population.

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A new clinical trial at Wake Forest University will study the effects of strength training to prevent overuse injuries in female runners which will ultimately help the U.S. Armed Forces retain female recruits and assist with military integration efforts.

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Preliminary findings from a study examining the genetic alterations in HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma were presented Thursday at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The researchers found differences in the genetic mutations of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer based on whether patients were heavy versus light smokers.

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The available evidence indicates that economic sanctions are not effective tools for achieving specific policy goals in foreign nations. New research argues that increased military spending caused by economic sanctions counterbalances the adverse impact of the sanctions – and points to Iran as a case study in how this can happen.

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A UNC Lineberger researcher was first-author of a report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that details guidelines for the active surveillance of men with low-risk prostate cancer. The guidelines, originally authored by Cancer Care Ontario, were reviewed and endorsed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology with some revisions.

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A qualitative study finds that most people who have lost a lot of weight don’t perceive themselves as being “judged” because they used to be overweight or obese – which contradicts earlier research that people were still stigmatized even after reaching a healthy weight.

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Swimmers and divers who are prone to a sudden and potentially life-threatening form of pulmonary edema in cold water could benefit from a simple and readily available dose of sildenafil, according to findings from a small study by Duke Health researchers.

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UNC School of Medicine scientists studying one of the world’s most virulent pathogens and a separate very common bacterium have discovered a new way that some bacteria can spread rapidly throughout the body – by hitchhiking on our own immune cells.

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Using a sophisticated, custom-designed 3D printer, regenerative medicine scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have proved that it is feasible to print living tissue structures to replace injured or diseased tissue in patients.

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Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a new technology to detect disease biomarkers in the form of nucleic acids, the building blocks of all living organisms.

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WFU law professors provide insight on the Supreme Court’s decision on Clean Power Plan.

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Ilona Jaspers, PhD, from the UNC School of Medicine, recently completed research showing how the chemicals in e-cigarettes can change immune responses in our airways. She will present her findings at the AAAS annual meeting February 11-16.

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Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found that a daily dose of beetroot juice significantly improved exercise endurance and blood pressure in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF).

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Implantable device delivers first-line treatment for pancreatic cancer directly to tumors, bypassing bloodstream and limiting widespread side effects.

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For the first time, investigators in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have determined how antiretroviral therapy (ART) affects the way HIV disseminates and establishes infection in the female reproductive tract. These observations have significant implications for future HIV prevention, vaccine and cure studies.

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Mutations in the gene TBX5 have been shown to cause both rare and more prevalent forms of congenital heart disease, yet the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear. A team led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has now found evidence pointing to a culprit.

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Harvard's Christopher Walsh wins the 16th Perl UNC Neuroscience Prize for the "discovery of genes and mechanisms regulating human cortical development" from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

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Meditation eases anxiety, fatigue and pain for women undergoing breast cancer biopsies, according to researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute. They also found that music is effective, but to a lesser extent.

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Increasing the level of a naturally-produced protein, called tristetraprolin (TTP), significantly reduced or protected mice from inflammation, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The results suggest that pharmaceutical compounds or other therapeutic methods that produce elevated levels of TTP in humans may offer an effective treatment for some inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and multiple sclerosis. The report appeared online Feb. 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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When 22 Wake Forest University students travel to the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries to work with presidential campaigns, they will embark upon a yearlong journey that combines classroom and real-world political experience through a program called Wake the Vote.

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The first large U.S. study aimed at resolving an ongoing debate about the best way to treat an early sign of breast cancer will launch later this year under the direction of a Duke Cancer Institute investigator.

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NC State researcher leads effort to sequence genetic blueprint of the bedbug. The findings show the mechanisms behind some of the insect's most reviled characteristics, including its resistance to insecticides.

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New research published Feb. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that older adults with a major risk gene for Alzheimer’s disease known as APOEɛ4 who ate at least one seafood serving per week showed fewer signs of Alzheimer’s-related brain changes. In contrast, this association was not found in the brains of volunteers who ate fish weekly but did not carry the risk gene.

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A new report from the American College of Physicians’ High Value Care Task Force issues advice for physicians on how to detect and evaluate blood found in the urine, which is known as hematuria. The report, which was first-authored by a UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center member, also raises questions about the potential harms associated with diagnostic tests that are commonly employed to evaluate this condition.

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A new study evaluated the relationship between common genetic variants implicated in schizophrenia and those associated with subcortical brain volumes, and found no evidence of genetic overlap between schizophrenia risk and subcortical volume measures.

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– A first-of-its-kind national registry to improve treatment for women with uterine fibroids is being implemented across the U.S., including in the Triangle-area. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that nearly 80 percent of American women will get in their lifetimes.

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African-American patients with esophageal cancer survive fewer months after diagnosis than white patients, but only if they also have low incomes, according to a new study from Duke Health researchers.

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Having the wrong coat color during shorter winters is deadly for snowshoe hares and could lead to a steep population decline by mid-century. However, wide variance in molting times could enable natural selection to work.

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Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated the transfer of triplet exciton energy from semiconductor nanocrystals to surface-bound molecular acceptors, extending the lifetime of the originally prepared excited state by six orders of magnitude.

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Researchers at Duke Health are fine-tuning a test that can determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by infection from a virus or bacteria so that antibiotics can be more precisely prescribed.