Curated News: Grant Funded News

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Preliminary results of a small clinical trial show that a vaccine used to treat women with high-grade precancerous cervical lesions triggers an immune cell response within the damaged tissue itself. The Johns Hopkins scientists who conducted the trial said the finding is significant because measuring immune system responses directly in the lesions may be a more accurate way to evaluate so-called “therapeutic” vaccines than by the conventional means of blood analysis.

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CU Cancer Center study: bladder and lung cancers are marked by shared differences in the genetics that control the cell cycle, with diagnostic, prognostic and treatment implications.

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Aside from the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine going to the discoverers of this highly organized transport system, scientific interest in a particular group of vesicles called exosomes has accelerated over the last several years. Andrew K. Godwin, Ph.D., professor and director of molecular oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, is among the researchers studying the potential clinical applications of these specialized structures.

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Study: patients taking crizotinib for ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer may safely and durably use up to three courses of targeted radiation therapy to eradicate pockets of drug-resistant disease.

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Researchers have come up with a method to convert adult cells into epithelial stem cells, the first time anyone has achieved this in either humans or mice. The epithelial stem cells, when implanted into immunocompromised mice, regenerated the different cell types of human skin and hair follicles, and even produced structurally recognizable hair shaft, raising the possibility that they may eventually enable hair regeneration in people.

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Specific compounds found in exhaled breath may help diagnose lung cancer in its early stages

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Various muscular diseases are associated with changes in the elasticity of the protein titin, but whether these changes are a cause or an effect of disease has been unclear. Researchers help solve this “chicken or the egg” conundrum and identify a key player in determining titin’s size and stiffness.

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The ultraviolet radiation (UVR) present in sunlight is the most common environmental carcinogen. To develop better methods of protection from the sun, we need to understand how the human skin detects and responds to UVR. Researchers provide new insight into the molecular pathway underlying this process.

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In normal development, all cells turn off genes they don’t need, often by attaching a chemical methyl group to the DNA, a process called methylation. Historically, scientists believed methyl groups could only stick to a particular DNA sequence: a cytosine followed by a guanine, called CpG. But in recent years, they have been found on other sequences, and so-called non-CpG methylation has been found in stem cells, and in neurons in the brain.

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Deprivation of vision during critical periods of childhood development has long been thought to result in irreversible vision loss. Now, researchers from the Schepens Eye Research Institute/Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have challenged that theory by studying a unique population of pediatric patients who were blind during these critical periods before removal of bilateral cataracts. The researchers found improvement after sight onset in contrast sensitivity tests, which measure basic visual function and have well-understood neural underpinnings. Their results show that the human visual system can retain plasticity beyond critical periods, even after early and extended blindness.

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Researchers at Duke Medicine report that health care costs increase in parallel with body mass measurements, even beginning at a recommended healthy weight. Pharmacy and medical costs may even double for obese people compared with those at a healthy weight, according to a recent study published in the journal Obesity.

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Poor-quality sleep with frequent awakenings can speed cancer growth, increase tumor aggressiveness and dampen the immune system’s ability to control cancer. This study demonstrates the effects of sleep loss on tumor growth and invasiveness and points to a mechanism for therapy.

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Dartmouth engineers and radiologists develop new approach for diagnostic imaging of dense breasts with suspicious lesions. MRI/NIRS technique offers greater flexibility, speed, and accuracy. Technology shows promise for improving MRI’s ability to distinguish cancer from benign abnormalities.

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Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Massachusetts General Hospital have demonstrated, for the first time, that aspirin intake correlates with halted growth of vestibular schwannomas (also known as acoustic neuromas), a sometimes lethal intracranial tumor that typically causes hearing loss and tinnitus.

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Seattle BioMed researchers identified two HIV-1 Envelope immunogens that elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies when introduced as a vaccine. The study was published online in PLOS One.

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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have developed a mathematical model to predict how a patient’s tumor is likely to behave and which of several possible treatments is most likely to be effective.

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Using a novel high-throughput screening process, scientists have for the first time identified molecules with the potential to block the accumulation of a toxic eye protein that can lead to early onset of glaucoma.

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Survivors of breast cancer have a one in six chance of developing breast cancer in the other breast. But a study conducted in mice suggests that survivors can dramatically reduce that risk through treatment with moderate doses of radiation to the unaffected breast at the same time that they receive radiation therapy to their affected breast. The treatment, if it works as well in humans as in mice, could prevent tens of thousands of second breast cancers.

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Scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have figured out a key step in how “free” calcium — the kind not contained in bones — is managed in the body, a finding that could aid in the development of new treatments for a variety of neurological disorders that include Parkinson’s disease.

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Setting the stage for possible advances in pain treatment, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland report they have pinpointed two molecules involved in perpetuating chronic pain in mice. The molecules, they say, also appear to have a role in the phenomenon that causes uninjured areas of the body to be more sensitive to pain when an area nearby has been hurt.

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Researchers at Duke Medicine have shown that continuing spinal cord stimulation appears to produce improvements in symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and may protect critical neurons from injury or deterioration.

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Columbia University Medical Center researchers have identified a gene, called matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), that appears to play a major role in motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The findings, made in mice, explain why most but not all motor neurons are affected by the disease and identify a potential therapeutic target for this still-incurable neurodegenerative disease. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Neuron.

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Prevalence and incidence rates of vulvodynia were substantial among all ethnic groups.

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Although the brain becomes smaller with age, the shrinkage seems to be fast-tracked in older adults with hearing loss, according to the results of a study by researchers from Johns Hopkins and the National Institute on Aging. The findings add to a growing list of health consequences associated with hearing loss, including increased risk of dementia, falls, hospitalizations, and diminished physical and mental health overall.

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Nearly half of hospitalized American adults age 65 and older require decision-making assistance from family members or other surrogates because the patient is too impaired to make decisions independently, according to a new study from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Center for Aging Research.

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Teen marijuana use may have repercussions in unexposed progeny. This rodent study found that parental use of marijuana/THC was linked to molecular and neurobiological disturbances and increased motivation to get drugs.

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Using a simple study of eye movements, Johns Hopkins scientists report evidence that people who are less patient tend to move their eyes with greater speed. The findings, the researchers say, suggest that the weight people give to the passage of time may be a trait consistently used throughout their brains, affecting the speed with which they make movements, as well as the way they make certain decisions.

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A University of Colorado Cancer Center study, recently published in the journal Oncogene, shows that downstream from the oncogenic fusion of genes EWS with FLI1 is a signaling chain that includes microRNA-22 and the gene KDM3A. By targeting these links, researchers hope to break this cancer-causing chain.

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Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center researchers find a statistically significant correlation between longer normal withdrawal time and higher (overall) polyp detection rates, adenoma detection rates, and serrated polyp detection rates.

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AML is a blood cancer, but for many patients the cancer may originate from an unusual source: a mutation in their bone cells. In a study published today in the online edition of Nature, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found that a mutation in the bone cells called osteoblasts, which build new bone, causes AML in mice. The mutation was found in nearly 40 percent of patients with AML or myelodysplastic syndrome, a precursor condition, who were examined as part of the study.

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Glaucoma is a stealthy disease. It can cause irreparable damage to the eyes before there is any vision loss. It also has been known since antiquity, but its cause is a mystery in most cases. Glaucoma Awareness Month is a good time to ask: Are researchers making progress toward solving this mystery?

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Finding suitable drug targets for treating cocaine addiction has proved daunting, but for the first time, researchers have shown that abundant enzyme PARP-1 and the sidekick-1 gene are found to enhance the brain's reward system.

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Cancer cells have something that every prisoner longs for—a master key that allows them to escape. A new study describes how a protein that promotes tumor growth also enables cancer cells to use this key and metastasize.

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Researchers have developed a tissue scaffold that can deliver gene therapy to wounds over a period of several weeks.

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Researchers replicated human pancreatic beta cells in a mouse model in which donor cells were transplanted. The newly replicated cells retained features of mature beta cells and showed a physiological response to glucose.

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Scientists studying grasslands in Oklahoma have discovered that an increase of 2 degrees Celsius in the air temperature above the soil creates significant changes to the microbial ecosystem underground. Compared to a control group with no warming, plants in the warmer plots grew faster and higher, which put more carbon into the soil as the plants senesce. The microbial ecosystem responded by altering its DNA to enhance the ability to handle the excess carbon.

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A newly-developed, “designer” dietary fiber with an added potential prebiotic effect may eliminate the side effects of current treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) which affects 10-20 percent of the population, disproportionately women.

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Shingles, a painful blistering virus related to the chicken pox, are more common in the winter and spring than any other time of the year. While people over the age of 60 account for 50% of all shingles cases, less than 15% get a vaccine that can prevent the illness. Now, a new study is showing that simple hi- and low-tech interventions may help motivate seniors to get vaccinated. The study also suggests that the combined use of pharmacists and electronic medical records could be successfully reapplied to managing other preventable or chronic illnesses.

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Addition of Bevacizumab to the existing standard of care was safe and showed promising overall results. The 2- and 3- year overall survival rates were 89.8 percent and 80.2 percent, respectively.

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A new statistical approach to measuring the cancer burden in the United States reveals decades of progress in fighting cancer, progress previously masked by the falling death rates of other diseases.

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A new patent mapping system that considers how patents cite one another may help researchers better understand the relationships between technologies – and how they may come together to spur disruptive new areas of innovation.

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More independent work environments may lead to reductions in autism symptoms and improve daily living in adults with the disorder, according to a new study released in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Today’s cyber attacks aren’t just a threat to computer networks. Those with malicious intent can disrupt important infrastructure systems such as utilities. To counter this threat, the Department of Energy has awarded $1.7 million to help detect cyber attacks on our nation’s utility companies.

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Breast cancer stem cells exist in two different states and each state plays a role in how cancer spreads, according to an international collaboration of researchers. Their finding sheds new light on the process that makes cancer a deadly disease.

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Cartilage is notoriously difficult to repair or grow, but researchers at Duke Medicine have taken a step toward understanding how to regenerate the connective tissue. By adding a chemical to cartilage cells, the chemical signals spurred new cartilage growth, mimicking the effects of physical activity.

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Caffeine is the energy boost of choice for millions. Now, however, researchers have found another use for the stimulant: memory enhancer.

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Scientists studying the atmosphere above Barrow, Alaska, have discovered unprecedented levels of molecular chlorine in the air, a new study reports.

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Researchers from Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center (OC) recently participated in a three-week field campaign in the Gulf of Mexico that centered on the fate of oil that is released into the environment. As a part of this study, NSU researchers also took sea surface and subsurface samples.

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Studies have found that prostate cancer is overdiagnosed in up to 42 percent of cases, prompting men to receive unnecessary treatment that can cause devastating side effects, including impotence and incontinence. Now, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington have developed a personalized tool that can predict the likelihood of prostate cancer overdiagnosis. They announced their findings this week in the online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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Detecting circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood can play an important role in early diagnosis, characterization of cancer subtypes, treatment monitoring and metastasis. NIBIB-funded researchers have developed a microfluidic system that isolates CTCs more efficiently than current technologies.