University of California researchers to hold meeting in San Diego to discuss hematologic malignancies as part of the University of California Hematologic Malignancies Consortium, a first-of-its-kind research group that brings together the five UC health campuses conducting clinical studies for cancer patients.
Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity. To better understand who is at risk, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine conducted the first genome-wide association study for loneliness — as a life-long trait, not a temporary state. They discovered that risk for feeling lonely is partially due to genetics, but environment plays a bigger role.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified a strategy to maximize the effectiveness of anti-cancer immune therapy. The researchers identified a molecular switch that controls immune suppression, opening the possibility to further improving and refining emerging immunotherapies that boost the body’s own abilities to fight diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s and Crohn’s disease.
In a Perspective piece published this week in PNAS, cancer researchers from across the country, including faculty at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, write that a greater emphasis on immune-based prevention should be central to new efforts like the federal Cancer Moonshot program, headed by Vice President Joe Biden.
In a novel controlled clinical trial, participants in a six-day Ayurvedic-based well-being program that featured a vegetarian diet, meditation, yoga and massages experienced measurable decreases in a set of blood-based metabolites associated with inflammation, cardiovascular disease risk and cholesterol regulation.
When 28 distinguished individuals convened earlier this year to help shape the scientific mission at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of Vice President Joe Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, they were given five months to draft guidelines to accelerate cancer research, prevention and care. On Wednesday, the National Cancer Advisory Board approved the Blue Ribbon Panel’s 10 recommendations.
Using an experimental co-culture approach in which two different types of neurons from a mouse model of Huntington’s disease (HD) are grown side-by-side, connecting to form critically impacted circuits, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a subunit of a protein that, when expressed, reverse the mutated gene effects responsible for HD.
Roger Tsien, PhD, co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry and professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine for 27 years, died August 24 in Eugene, Ore. He was 64.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified 34 neural factors that predict adolescent alcohol consumption. The list, based upon complex algorithms analyzing data from neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging studies, was significantly more accurate —approximately 74 percent — than demographic information alone.
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a mysterious and maddening condition, with no cure or known cause. But researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, using a variety of techniques to identify and assess targeted metabolites in blood plasma, have identified a characteristic chemical signature for the debilitating ailment and an unexpected underlying biology: It is similar to the state of dauer, and other hypometabolic syndromes like caloric restriction, diapause and hibernation.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified RNA-based biomarkers that distinguish between normal, aging hematopoietic stem cells and leukemia stem cells associated with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML), a particularly problematic disease that typically afflicts older patients who have often already experienced a bout with cancer.
While even the best wines eventually peak and turn to vinegar, a new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggests a paradoxical trend in the mental health of aging adults: They seem to consistently get better over time.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that a form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that non-invasively measures fat density in the liver corresponds with histological (microscopic tissue analyses) responses in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Rheumatoid arthritis patients taking medications that inhibit interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), a molecule that stimulates the immune system, are 300 times more likely to experience invasive Group A Streptococcal infections than patients not on the drug, according to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers. Their study, published August 19 in Science Immunology, also uncovers a critical new role for IL-1beta as the body’s independent early warning system for bacterial infections.
In a study spanning molecular genetics, stem cells and the sciences of both brain and behavior, researchers at University of California San Diego, with colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and elsewhere, have created a neurodevelopmental model of a rare genetic disorder that may provide new insights into the underlying neurobiology of the human social brain.
Robert Legaspi was 9 years old when he was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This year, at age 27, his leukemia returned for the fourth time. This time was different, though — on May 20, 2016, Legaspi became the first patient in San Diego to receive a new type of immunotherapy, known as CAR T-cell therapy, as part of a Phase I/II clinical trial at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health.
Ranked No. 1 in San Diego, UC San Diego Health and its hospitals have been recognized among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2016-17.
Ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in London four years ago, researchers reported that physical inactivity was a global pandemic that required urgent action. With the 2016 Games looming, University of California San Diego School of Medicine investigators report little change in activity levels worldwide.
The number of women living to age 90 in the United States has increased significantly in the past century. Currently estimated at 1.3 million, this demographic is expected to quadruple by 2050. A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that women who start menstruation and experience menopause later in life may have increased chances of surviving nine decades.
In an effort to expand the number of cancer gene mutations that can be specifically targeted with personalized therapies, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center looked for combinations of mutated genes and drugs that together kill cancer cells. The study, published July 21 in Molecular Cell, uncovered 172 new combinations that could form the basis for future cancer therapies.
Rikki Rockett, drummer for the band Poison, got the best news of his life last week: his cancer is gone. Rockett was diagnosed with oral cancer more than a year ago. Several months ago, he came to Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, where he underwent experimental cancer immunotherapy, which has now eradicated the tumor.
The University of California San Diego School of Medicine Center for Community Health recently received a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase affordable food access to low-income community members who are part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The majority of cases of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unknown. In a paper published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues across the nation and world, have created a “mini-brain” model, derived from persons with a particular form of idiopathic ASD characterized by over-sized brains, revealing a defective molecular pathway during brain development that results in early neuronal overgrowth and dysfunctional cortical networks.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine say tiny micro-vesicle structures used by neurons and other cells to transport materials internally or dispose of them externally carry tell-tale proteins that may help to predict the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) developing into full-blown Alzheimer’s disease.
Mice are one of the most commonly used laboratory organisms, widely used to study everything from autism to infectious diseases. Yet genomic studies in mice have lagged behind those in humans. In a study, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used 1,200 outbred mice, which are more similar to a natural population, to test a new cost-effective technique to search for specific genes linked with 66 different physical and behavioral traits.
Using a database of human tumor genomic data, researchers at the University of California San Diego, School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center discovered that mutation hotspots known as kataegis are a positive marker in breast cancer — patients with kataegis have less invasive tumors and better prognoses. The study, published June 30 in Cell Reports, also suggests kataegis status could help doctors determine treatment options that might work best for patients with the mutation pattern.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that a likely cause of inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors is deficiency in nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD), a system cells use to control which genes are activated.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine report that more than 1 in 3 atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at intermediate to high risk for stroke are treated with aspirin alone, despite previous data showing this therapy to be inferior to blood thinners.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Pennsylvania and China, report that not only are there distinct differences in key cellular processes and molecular signatures between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) but, more surprisingly, there are joint-specific differences in RA. The findings help explain why drugs treating RA vary in effect and provide a potential new template for precisely targeting treatment for each and every ailing joint.
The University of California San Diego School of Medicine has launched the Institute for Diabetes and Metabolic Health (IDMH), a new cross-disciplinary, collaborative effort to address one of the nation’s leading public health threats.
Cancer stem cells are like zombies — even after a tumor is destroyed, they can keep coming back. These cells have an unlimited capacity to regenerate themselves, making more cancer stem cells and more tumors. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have now unraveled how pre-leukemic white blood cell precursors become leukemia stem cells.
To better understand the pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and develop more effective treatments, University of California San Diego researchers examined the Staph “pan-genome” — the genomes of 64 different strains that differ in where they live, the types of hosts they infect and their antibiotic resistance profiles. This effort, published June 6 by PNAS, places all Staph genes into one of two categories: the core genome or the dispensable genome.
In a meta-analysis of hundreds of clinical trials involving thousands of patients, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that therapeutic approaches using precision medicine, which emphasizes the use of individual genetics to refine cancer treatment, showed improved response and longer periods of disease remission, even in phase I trials.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common of pancreatic cancers, is extraordinarily lethal, with a 5-year survival rate of just 6 percent. In a new study, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, together with colleagues at Keio University, the University of Nebraska and Ionis Pharmaceuticals describe an innovative new model that not only allowed them to track drug resistance in vivo, but also revealed a new therapeutic target.
University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers are expanding the American Gut Project into Asia. The goal of American Gut, the world’s largest crowdfunded citizen science project, is to sequence as many human microbiomes — the unique collection of bacteria and other microbes that live in and on us — as possible.
Physicians have long used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect cancer but results of a University of California San Diego School of Medicine study describe the potential use of restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) as an imaging biomarker that enhances the ability of MRI to differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from low-grade or benign tumors and guide treatment and biopsy.
In a paper published in the current Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System say existing screening tools for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) result in a false-negative error rate of more than 7 percent. These persons are misclassified as not having MCI based on standard screening instruments but actually do have MCI when more extensive testing is conducted.
Immunology – and the idea that many diseases can best be addressed by boosting the body’s own immune response – is one of the hottest areas in medical research and clinical treatment. University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Chiba University School of Medicine in Japan have announced a new collaborative research center to investigate the most promising aspects of immunology, especially the area of mucosal immunology, and to speed development of clinical applications.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have discovered that high levels of the protein p62 in human liver samples are strongly associated with cancer recurrence and reduced patient survival. In mice, they also found that p62 is required for liver cancer to form.
IBM's World Community Grid and scientists from Brazil, the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego, and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School have launched OpenZika, a project to find drug candidates to treat Zika, a fast spreading virus that the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency.
While investigating a potential therapeutic target for the ERK1 and 2 pathway, a widely expressed signaling molecule known to drive cancer growth in one third of patients with colorectal cancer, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that an alternative pathway immediately emerges when ERK1/2 is halted, thus allowing tumor cell proliferation to continue.
Injections of the soil bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae promote stress resilience and improve coping behaviors in mice, according to a new study led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of Colorado Boulder. The researchers also found that M. vaccae prevented stress-induced colitis, a typical symptom of inflammatory bowel disease, suggesting that immunization with the bacteria may have wide-ranging health benefits.
On May 13, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced a new National Microbiome Initiative, a coordinated effort to better understand microbiomes and to develop tools to protect and restore healthy microbiome function. OSTP is launching the initiative with a combined federal agency investment of more than $121 million. The University of California San Diego is a key participant in this effort, investing $12 million in its own microbiome research efforts.
A diabetes medication described in some studies as an effective treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) works no better than a placebo, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, after conducting the first randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial of sitagliptin, an oral antihyperglycemic marketed by Merck & Co. under the name Januvia.
Drug-related overdoses are the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle accidents at 44,000 fatalities annually. In response, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have partnered with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to implement and study a program that requires all deputies carry and be trained to use a life-saving drug in the event of a discovered overdose and then refer victims to a treatment center once they are revived.
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Brazil and Senegal, have described the first “direct experimental proof” that the Brazilian strain of Zika virus can actually cause severe birth defects. The findings are published in the May 11 online issue of Nature.
In a massive analysis of DNA samples from more than 13,000 U.S. soldiers, scientists have identified two statistically significant genetic variants that may be associated with an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an often serious mental illness linked to earlier exposure to a traumatic event, such as combat and an act of violence.
In Alzheimer’s disease, plaques of amyloid beta protein accumulate in the brain, damaging connections between neurons. Now, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have found that the enzyme Protein Kinase C (PKC) alpha is necessary for amyloid beta to damage neuronal connections. They also identified genetic variations that enhance PKC alpha activity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
A new technology in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UC San Diego Health is able to predict the risk of life-threatening infections up to 24 hours before they appear in severely premature or critically ill infants. Infection is the leading cause of death in this fragile patient population.
UC San Diego Health has been named by Becker’s Hospital Review to its 2016 list of “100 Great Hospitals in America.” The list is based on rankings and awards from reputable sources, such as Healthgrades, The Leapfrog Group, and U.S. News & World Report.
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