Curated News: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

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Released: 4-Jan-2022 10:30 AM EST
Penn Medicine-Led Team Receives $8 Million to Build on Success of Hepatitis C Kidney Transplantation Research
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

With an $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the next stage of the THINKER project — called THINKER-NEXT — will aim to provide a comprehensive view of the risks and benefits of transplanting HCV-infected kidneys into non-infected patients.

Newswise: Researchers identify biomarker for depression, antidepressant response
Released: 3-Jan-2022 11:00 AM EST
Researchers identify biomarker for depression, antidepressant response
University of Illinois Chicago

Researchers have identified a biomarker in human platelets that tracks the extent of depression.

Released: 27-Dec-2021 3:05 PM EST
Penn Researchers Develop Structural Blueprint of Nanoparticles to Target White Blood Cells Responsible for Acute Lung Inflammation
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

A potential new route to the diagnosis and treatment of ARDS comes from studying how neutrophils – the white blood cells responsible for detecting and eliminating harmful particles in the body – differentiate what materials to uptake by the material’s surface structure, and favor uptake of particles that exhibit “protein clumping.”

Newswise: Penn Medicine Awarded $14 Million NIH Grant to Apply CAR T Immunotherapies to Match More Patients in Need of Kidney Transplants
Released: 27-Dec-2021 9:40 AM EST
Penn Medicine Awarded $14 Million NIH Grant to Apply CAR T Immunotherapies to Match More Patients in Need of Kidney Transplants
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Penn Medicine has been awarded a prestigious seven-year, $14 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to promote organ transplantation for patients with end-stage renal disease who are currently on the waitlist for a kidney transplant. The team will launch a clinical trial harnessing synthetic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells – a form of which was developed at Penn Medicine and became the first personalized cellular therapy for cancer – for use in patients for whom a compatible kidney cannot be found due to pre-existing antibodies against potential donors.

Newswise: Grants fund drug development for devastating tropical diseases
Released: 22-Dec-2021 12:05 PM EST
Grants fund drug development for devastating tropical diseases
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received two grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling more than $5.5 million to develop new treatments for two types of devastating parasitic infections common in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South America: river blindness and intestinal worm infections.

Newswise: The Shape of Things
15-Dec-2021 12:40 PM EST
The Shape of Things
Harvard Medical School

Researchers identify mechanism that explains how tissues form complex shapes that enable organ function

Released: 21-Dec-2021 11:50 AM EST
Alternative statistical method could improve clinical trials
Cornell University

An alternative statistical method honed and advanced by Cornell researchers can make clinical trials more reliable and trustworthy while also helping to remedy what has been called a “replicability crisis” in the scientific community.

Released: 17-Dec-2021 11:05 AM EST
Study shows how HIV copies itself in the body
Ohio State University

HIV replication in the human body requires that specific viral RNAs be packaged into progeny virus particles. A new study has found how a small difference in the RNA sequence can allow the viral RNA to be packaged for replication, creating potential targets for future HIV treatments.

Newswise: Shark antibody-like proteins neutralize COVID-19 virus, help prepare for future coronaviruses
Released: 16-Dec-2021 3:55 PM EST
Shark antibody-like proteins neutralize COVID-19 virus, help prepare for future coronaviruses
University of Wisconsin–Madison

Small, unique antibody-like proteins known as VNARs — derived from the immune systems of sharks — can prevent the virus that causes COVID-19, its variants, and related coronaviruses from infecting human cells, according to a new study published Dec. 16. The new VNARs will not be immediately available as a treatment in people, but they can help prepare for future coronavirus outbreaks.

16-Dec-2021 12:00 PM EST
New potential treatment for graft-versus-host-disease and other inflammatory disorders
UC Davis Health (Defunct)

UC Davis Health researchers showed that blocking IL-6 and TNF cytokines provides a more effective approach to preventing life-threatening graft-versus-host-disease, an inflammatory condition that develops in patients after their allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Newswise: Pet Scans Help Guide Drug to Best Treat Orthopaedic Implant Bacterial Infections
Released: 16-Dec-2021 11:20 AM EST
Pet Scans Help Guide Drug to Best Treat Orthopaedic Implant Bacterial Infections
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Treating bacterial infections associated with orthopaedic implants has often been a case of too little, too late. The traditional therapy has been a combination of prolonged antibiotics, including rifampin, a 50-year-old drug that has been a staple in the global fight against tuberculosis and other bacterial diseases.

Newswise: Growth Hormone in Colon Found to Play Role in Aging Process
Released: 16-Dec-2021 11:20 AM EST
Growth Hormone in Colon Found to Play Role in Aging Process
Cedars-Sinai

Investigators at Cedars-Sinai have identified growth hormone in the colon that increases as the colon ages—a discovery that can help guide the development of a new anti-aging therapy.

Newswise: Treating long-term brain damage after exposure to nerve agents
Released: 16-Dec-2021 10:25 AM EST
Treating long-term brain damage after exposure to nerve agents
Iowa State University

Biomedical sciences researchers at Iowa State University are testing two therapies to gauge their ability to prevent long-term brain damage that results from exposure to nerve agents. The scientists recently received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to test the treatments, which may also have applications for treating severe seizures and head trauma.

Released: 16-Dec-2021 10:20 AM EST
Belzutifan offers hope for patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease
Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

The anti-cancer effect of the drug may help those with rare, hereditary cancer syndromes avoid surgeries by shrinking tumors via a daily oral dose.

Released: 15-Dec-2021 8:05 AM EST
A potential protector against a mild heart attack’s aftereffects on metabolism
Ohio State University

A new study in mice shows transplanted brown fat can reduce type 2 diabetes risk factors after a heart attack, an encouraging finding for scientists who hope to apply the so-called “good” fat’s beneficial properties to drugs that can help prevent health problems.

Newswise: NIH researchers identify potential AMD drugs with stem-cell based research tool
14-Dec-2021 6:15 PM EST
NIH researchers identify potential AMD drugs with stem-cell based research tool
NIH, National Eye Institute (NEI)

Using a stem-cell-derived model, researchers have identified two drug candidates that may slow dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness for which no treatment exists. The scientists, from the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, published their findings today in Nature Communications.

Released: 14-Dec-2021 9:35 AM EST
For children, young adults with recurrent AML, immunotherapy shows promise
Washington University in St. Louis

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown, in a small clinical trial, that an immunotherapy harnessing pre-activated natural killer cells can help some children and young adults with recurrent AML and few other treatment options.

Released: 13-Dec-2021 1:55 PM EST
$1.2M NIH grant backs UIC, Malcolm X College biomedical research program
University of Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois Chicago and Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, have teamed up for a five-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support undergraduate students training in biomedical research during the last two years of their studies.

Newswise: UTEP to Work on Solutions to Reduce Drug Use-Related HIV in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez Border
Released: 10-Dec-2021 3:00 PM EST
UTEP to Work on Solutions to Reduce Drug Use-Related HIV in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez Border
University of Texas at El Paso

The University of Texas at El Paso will develop a sustainable public health intervention to suppress human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in people who use drugs in the El Paso-Ciudad Juárez border region. The initiative will be funded by a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Newswise: UTSW pharmacologists identify potential cure for tropical parasitic disease found in soil
Released: 10-Dec-2021 2:15 PM EST
UTSW pharmacologists identify potential cure for tropical parasitic disease found in soil
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Combining two agents to block a parasitic worm’s life cycle boosted survival from a potentially deadly tropical disease to 85% in animal models, far better than either treatment alone, according to a proof-of-concept study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center pharmacologists.

Newswise:Video Embedded nih-study-traces-molecular-link-from-gene-to-late-onset-retinal-degeneration
VIDEO
7-Dec-2021 12:15 PM EST
NIH study traces molecular link from gene to late-onset retinal degeneration
NIH, National Eye Institute (NEI)

Scientists have discovered that gene therapy and the diabetes drug metformin may be potential treatments for late-onset retinal degeneration (L-ORD), a rare, blinding eye disease. Researchers from the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health generated a “disease-in-a-dish” model to study the disease. The findings are published in Communications Biology.

Newswise:Video Embedded nih-study-traces-molecular-link-from-gene-to-late-onset-retinal-degeneration
VIDEO
7-Dec-2021 12:15 PM EST
NIH study traces molecular link from gene to late-onset retinal degeneration
NIH, National Eye Institute (NEI)

Scientists have discovered that gene therapy and the diabetes drug metformin may be potential treatments for late-onset retinal degeneration (L-ORD), a rare, blinding eye disease. Researchers from the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health generated a “disease-in-a-dish” model to study the disease. The findings are published in Communications Biology.

3-Dec-2021 1:25 PM EST
New Study Sheds Light on Link Between Sun Exposure and MS
American Academy of Neurology (AAN)

A new study suggests that children, teens and young adults who spend more time outdoors during the summer months and live in areas of the country that expose them to greater amounts of ultraviolet light have a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) as children. While rare, MS can develop in children, although most people start to get symptoms of the disease between the ages of 20 and 50. The research is published in the December 8, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Released: 7-Dec-2021 9:05 PM EST
Rutgers Leads National Collaboration to Study Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 in Children
Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) is projected to receive approximately $30 million, establishing a critical partnership with the larger National Institutes of Health–funded RECOVER Initiative to study long-term and delayed impacts of COVID-19 on children and lead a national collaboration with the potential to recruit from any state to investigate these outcomes.

Released: 6-Dec-2021 3:15 PM EST
Scientists find first in human evidence of how memories form
UT Southwestern Medical Center

In a discovery that could one day benefit people suffering from traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia, UT Southwestern researchers have identified the characteristics of more than 100 memory-sensitive neurons that play a central role in how memories are recalled in the brain.

1-Dec-2021 3:10 PM EST
Cleveland Clinic Research Identifies Sildenafil as Candidate Drug for Alzheimer’s Disease
Cleveland Clinic

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study has identified sildenafil – an FDA-approved therapy for erectile dysfunction (Viagra) and pulmonary hypertension (Revatio) – as a promising drug candidate to help prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Newswise: Sharrief awarded $3.1M NIH grant to test whether telehealth improves racial disparities in outcomes for stroke survivors
Released: 6-Dec-2021 9:40 AM EST
Sharrief awarded $3.1M NIH grant to test whether telehealth improves racial disparities in outcomes for stroke survivors
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

A trial testing whether multidisciplinary telehealth intervention will help improve racial disparities in outcomes for adult stroke survivors will be launched at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) with a $3.1 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health.

Newswise: Unlocking the Cause of UTI-Induced Delirium
Released: 2-Dec-2021 11:20 AM EST
Unlocking the Cause of UTI-Induced Delirium
Cedars-Sinai

Older women are among the most susceptible to developing UTIs, an infection of the bladder and urethra that causes urinary urgency and pain. UTIs also can cause delirium in older people, resulting in a sharp decline in mental abilities that triggers disoriented thinking.

Released: 2-Dec-2021 10:15 AM EST
Are pandemic-related stressors increasing young women’s vulnerability to STIs?
University of Illinois Chicago

Researchers will study how pandemic-related stressors influence sexual behavior and risk of sexually transmitted infections among girls and young women in Kenya, where a dramatic increase in infections has been revealed in preliminary data, compared to 12-18 months prior.

Released: 2-Dec-2021 8:00 AM EST
Mouse Study Suggests Manipulation of Certain Nerve Cells Can Help Regenerate Lost Heart Muscle
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Human heart muscle cells cease to multiply after birth, making any heart injury later in life a permanent one, reducing function and leading to heart failure. Now, however, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have new evidence from mouse experiments that manipulating certain nerve cells or the genes that control them might trigger the formation of new heart muscle cells and restore heart function after heart attacks and other cardiac disorders.

Newswise: Fast-tracked stroke drug for humans shows promise, in mice, that it might also prove a powerful tool against dementia
Released: 1-Dec-2021 10:25 AM EST
Fast-tracked stroke drug for humans shows promise, in mice, that it might also prove a powerful tool against dementia
The Rockefeller University Press

USC study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine shows that experimental drug protects against injury caused by tiny blood clots in the brain’s white matter, which can accumulate over time and lead to cognitive decline

Newswise: Clinical trial to study if mindfulness helps with diabetes-related stress, health
Released: 1-Dec-2021 10:05 AM EST
Clinical trial to study if mindfulness helps with diabetes-related stress, health
Penn State College of Medicine

Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine are seeking volunteers from across the U.S. to participate in a clinical trial examining whether online mindfulness-based stress reduction can reduce stress and average blood sugar levels in those with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

Released: 30-Nov-2021 4:10 PM EST
UCI-led study confirms linkage between altered DNA repair and DNA damage in neurodegenerative conditions causing debilitating movement disorders
University of California, Irvine

A new study led by University of California, Irvine researchers has confirmed a link between altered DNA repair and increased DNA damage associated with spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7), a debilitating, sometimes deadly neurodegenerative condition causing movement disorders. Their work also revealed a potential therapeutic target for the currently incurable and difficult to treat condition.

Released: 30-Nov-2021 3:50 PM EST
Mount Sinai Researchers Delineate Novel COVID-19 Subgroups in Critically Ill Patients
Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai researchers have delineated four new subgroups of COVID-19 that can be identified in patients within 24 hours of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). The finding will help match patients to specific treatments, improving their overall care and outcomes.

Released: 30-Nov-2021 12:10 PM EST
Johns Hopkins Study: Biosensor Barcodes Identify, Detail ‘Chatting’ Among Cancer Cells
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ever since the first barcode appeared on a pack of chewing gum in 1974, the now-ubiquitous system has enabled manufacturers, retailers and consumers to quickly and effectively identify, characterize, locate and track products and materials. In a paper first posted online Nov. 26, 2021, in the journal Cell, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and The Johns Hopkins University demonstrate how they can do the same thing at the molecular level, studying the ways cancer cells “talk” with one another.

Released: 30-Nov-2021 11:40 AM EST
NIH Funds New Center to Treat Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder at Einstein and Montefiore
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have been awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to establish a multidisciplinary research center focused on treatments for people with both chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD).

Released: 30-Nov-2021 11:15 AM EST
Population of People with HIV on Treatment in U.S. Projected to Keep Increasing Through 2030
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

In a baseline scenario, the researchers project a rise in the ART-using population from about 670,000 in 2020 to nearly 910,000 by the end of 2030 if current trends in new HIV infections persist.  

Released: 29-Nov-2021 9:00 AM EST
Mount Sinai Named a Lead Site for Enrollment in Nationwide Study on the Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
Mount Sinai Health System

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will serve as a hub site for two cohort studies contributing to a nationwide health consortium study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Released: 24-Nov-2021 11:05 AM EST
Researchers Find COVID-19 Infection During Pregnancy Leads to Distinct Immune Changes in Mothers and Babies
Cleveland Clinic

In a collaborative study, Cleveland Clinic researchers sought to understand how COVID-19 infection affects pregnant mothers and their children. They published the results of their clinical study in Cell Reports Medicine.

Newswise: Antihistamines can influence immunotherapy response by enhancing T cell activation
19-Nov-2021 9:25 AM EST
Antihistamines can influence immunotherapy response by enhancing T cell activation
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Researchers discovered that antihistamines are associated with improved responses to immunotherapy. Their work revealed a role for the histamine receptor in suppressing T cell activation to block anti-tumor immune responses.

Newswise: Neurobiologists Reveal How Value Decisions are Coded into Our Brains
Released: 24-Nov-2021 8:35 AM EST
Neurobiologists Reveal How Value Decisions are Coded into Our Brains
University of California San Diego

A new study is showing how value choices are recorded in our brains. Researchers found that persistency allows value signals to be most effectively represented, or “coded,” across different areas of the brain, especially in a critical area within the cerebrum known as the retrosplenial cortex.

Released: 23-Nov-2021 4:35 PM EST
College of Medicine research seeks to identify exact moment neurodevelopmental disorders begin
Florida State University

Imagine being able to pinpoint the exact moment in utero when brain development changes and leads to genetic disorders such as autism and cerebral palsy. That knowledge could open the door to intervention strategies, potentially lessening or preventing the dysfunction — and the subsequent genetic disorder.

Released: 23-Nov-2021 3:15 PM EST
Understanding Eraser Enzymes
University of Delaware

University of Delaware biochemist Jeff Mugridge is trying to figure out how so-called mRNA eraser enzymes work in our cells, why those erasers can sometimes misbehave and lead to cancer, and how science can pave the way for possible solutions to this problem.

Released: 23-Nov-2021 1:35 PM EST
Huntsman Cancer Institute Researchers Uncover Insights into How Moles Change into Melanoma
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

Melanoma researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute published a study that gives a new explanation of what causes moles to change into melanoma. These findings pave the way for more research into how to reduce the risk of melanoma, delay development, and detect melanoma early.

Newswise: COVID-19 case severity: How genetic differences leave immune cells at a disadvantage
18-Nov-2021 1:35 PM EST
COVID-19 case severity: How genetic differences leave immune cells at a disadvantage
La Jolla Institute for Immunology

New research shows how genetic variations linked to severe cases of COVID-19 affect our immune cells. The study is one of the first in-depth look at the connections between COVID-19 severity and gene expression in many types of immune cells. This work could guide the development of new COVID-19 therapies to boost immune cell function.

Newswise: Reducing lung transplant rejection aim of clinical trial funded with $22 million grant
Released: 18-Nov-2021 5:20 PM EST
Reducing lung transplant rejection aim of clinical trial funded with $22 million grant
Washington University in St. Louis

Physicians at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston have received a seven-year, $22 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help lead a multicenter clinical trial evaluating whether a novel immunosuppressant can reduce the risk of organ rejection after a lung transplant.

Newswise: Cancer cells use ‘tiny tentacles’ to suppress the immune system
Released: 18-Nov-2021 3:40 PM EST
Cancer cells use ‘tiny tentacles’ to suppress the immune system
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

To grow and spread, cancer cells must evade the immune system. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and MIT used the power of nanotechnology to discover a new way that cancer can disarm its would-be cellular attackers by extending out nanoscale tentacles that can reach into an immune cell and pull out its powerpack.

Released: 18-Nov-2021 1:20 PM EST
Strategy to overcome tumors’ resistance to immunotherapy generates promising clinical trial results
Massachusetts General Hospital

Immune checkpoint inhibitors can boost the immune system’s response to tumor cells, but the medications tend to be ineffective against certain cancers, especially colorectal and pancreatic cancers.

Newswise: Einstein and Montefiore Researchers Awarded $7.6 Million in NIH Grants to Study Depression in People Living with HIV
Released: 18-Nov-2021 11:00 AM EST
Einstein and Montefiore Researchers Awarded $7.6 Million in NIH Grants to Study Depression in People Living with HIV
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

The Bronx is home to more than 27,000 people living with HIV, the majority of whom are Black or Hispanic men. People living with HIV have an increased risk for depression and substance use, which in turn can make adhering to daily antiviral treatments difficult, negatively impacting both quality of life and overall health. Now, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System two five-year grants totaling $7.6 million to study the structural and chemical changes in the brain of people living with HIV, depression, and cannabis use disorder.



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