Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs collected by healthcare providers are equally effective for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new study conducted by ARUP Laboratories and University of Utah (U of U) Health.
Tracy Onega, PhD, has been appointed senior director of population sciences at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of population sciences at the University of Utah. Onega began her service at HCI on August 1.
Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah report today the development of new models to study molecular characteristics of tumors of the lung and pancreas that are driven by mutations in a gene named NTRK1. The findings were published today in the journal Cell Reports.
A consensus statement published today in JAMA Dermatology by a group of melanoma researchers evaluates the use of prognostic genetic expression profiling within clinical treatment of patients with melanoma. The group cautioned against routine use of currently-available genetic expression profiling tests for patients with cutaneous melanoma.
The National Cancer Institute has renewed the designation of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest federal rank possible for a cancer research organization. This grant awards HCI more than $29 million over seven years, an increase of 84% in annual funding from the previous award cycle.
A $4.5 million gift from the Huntsman family will fund an expansion of a unique program at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) that brings specialty cancer care directly to patients in their homes. With this major gift, HCI’s Huntsman at HomeTM will expand to rural Utah, including Carbon, Emery, and Grand Counties. The goal is to provide cancer care for patients who live far from HCI in Salt Lake City by partnering with patients and their caregivers, communities, and medical teams to deliver many aspects of cancer care in a patient’s own home as an alternative to hospital visits at a medical center or emergency department.
In one of the first studies addressing the role of sex hormones’ impact on stem cells in the gut, scientists outline new insights showing how a steroidal sex hormone that is structurally and functionally similar to human steroid hormones drastically alters the way intestinal stem cells behave, ultimately affecting the overarching structure and function of this critical organ. The authors found that ecdysone, a steroid hormone produced by fruit flies, stimulates intestinal stem cell growth and causes the gut of the female fruit fly to grow in size, as well as other critical changes.
Changes in blood platelets triggered by COVID-19 could contribute to the onset of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious complications in some patients who have the disease, according to University of Utah Health scientists. The researchers found that inflammatory proteins produced during infection significantly alter the function of platelets, making them “hyperactive” and more prone to form dangerous and potentially deadly blood clots.
An overactive defense response may lead to increased blood clotting, disease severity, and death from COVID-19. A phenomenon called NETosis—in which infection-fighting cells emit a web-like substance to trap invading viruses—is part of an immune response that becomes increasingly hyperactive in people on ventilators and people who die from the disease.
A study led by Charles Rogers, PhD, examines a trend of increasing incidence and mortality among young men diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The authors identify "hotspot" areas of the U.S. where colorectal cancer is on the rise. For men with early-onset colorectal cancer, Black men are more likely to die of the disease than other racial groups.
Differences in the rate that genetic mutations accumulate in healthy young adults could help predict remaining lifespan in both sexes and the remaining years of fertility in women, according to University of Utah Health scientists. Their study, believed to be the first of its kind, found that young adults who acquired fewer mutations over time lived about five years longer than those who acquired them more rapidly.
About 15 percent of lung cancers are classified as small cell lung cancer. Recent studies have indicated that four major subtypes of small cell lung cancer exist, yet approaches to tailor treatment of these subtypes have not yet become standard of care. Today in the journal Cancer Cell, scientists outline new findings about the origins of these lung cancer subtypes, paving the way for a new foundation to study this disease.
Nearly a century after insulin was discovered, an international team of researchers including University of Utah Health scientists report that they have developed the world’s smallest, fully functional version of the hormone, one that combines the potency of human insulin with the fast-acting potential of a venom insulin produced by predatory cone snails. The finding, based on animal studies, could jumpstart the development of insulin treatments capable of improving the lives of those with diabetes.
Despite improvements in their performance over the past decade, electronic health records (EHRs) commonly used in hospitals nationwide fail to detect up to one in three potentially harmful drug interactions and other medication errors, according to scientists at University of Utah Health, Harvard University, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) presented the first outcomes evaluation of an adult oncology hospital-at-home program today at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. The study evaluated patients participating in HCI’s Huntsman at Home. The data demonstrate strong evidence for this care model, showing improved patient outcomes, including reduced hospitalizations and decreased visits to the emergency department.
A panel of University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital experts answered questions about what is known about Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) so far.
While it’s too soon to use COVID-19 antibody testing to issue “immunity passports”, antibody tests that are available today are good enough to inform decisions about public health and relaxing social distancing interventions, says an international group of infectious disease and public health experts in Science Immunology today.
For the past 70 years, the best indicator of life expectancy for a patient with glioblastoma — the most common and the most aggressive brain cancer — has simply been age at diagnosis. Now, an international team of scientists has experimentally validated a predictor that is not only more accurate but also more clinically relevant: a pattern of co-occurring changes in DNA abundance levels, or copy numbers, at hundreds of thousands of sites across the whole tumor genome.
The David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah and University of Utah Health announce the start of Utah HERO (Health & Economic Recovery Outreach), a massive undertaking that will begin with the testing of 10,000 Utahns across four counties. The data gathered will inform decision-makers in the state as they work to help keep residents safe and get people back to work.
Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) and collaborators at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) published research in the journal Nature extending our understanding of cell division. They discovered the protein LEM2 has two important functions during cell division.
COVID-19 is unlikely to be spread through semen, according to University of Utah Health scientists who participated in an international study of Chinese men who recently had the disease. The researchers found no evidence of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the semen or testes of the men.
The University of Utah has awarded $1.3 million in grants to 56 projects that will examine a host of issues arising out of the pandemic. These multidisciplinary projects will not only address ways to prevent and treat the disease, but will also explore how to design better personal protective equipment as well as dampen the long-term effects of physical isolation on domestic violence and mental health.
Researchers from Intermountain Healthcare and University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City have launched two vital clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of two drugs –hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin – to treat patients with COVID-19 (infection with the novel coronavirus).
Travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 are making it more difficult for some heart failure patients who have artificial heart pumps to participate in follow-up care at implantation centers far from their homes. But a new study suggests there may be a viable alternative. According to University of Utah Health researchers, local doctors in rural areas who receive specialized training in managing the devices and who work in conjunction with cardiovascular experts at a major medical center can care for these patients safely and effectively.
As COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, spreads across the globe, scientists are stepping up to the plate to address the numerous unanswered questions emerging in its wake.
Utah residents who have difficulty keeping their families fed could be missing a key ingredient: information. A University of Utah Health study finds that poor communications in at least 22 Utah communities could be hampering efforts to connect those in need with food stamps, food banks, soup kitchens, and other food resources. Researchers say the finding could help refine future community food distribution efforts.
Doctors who use drugs that target antibiotic-resistant bacteria as a first-line defense against pneumonia should probably reconsider this approach, according to a new study of more than 88,000 veterans hospitalized with the disease. The study found that pneumonia patients given these medications in the first few days after hospitalization fared no better than those receiving standard medical care for the condition.
A new wearable sensor that works in conjunction with artificial intelligence technology could help doctors remotely detect critical changes in heart failure patients days before a health crisis occurs and could prevent hospitalization, according to a study led by University of Utah Health and VA Salt Lake City Health Care System scientists.
University of Utah Health today announced the launch of a project with a goal of quickly and accurately detecting genetic disorders among newborns in its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Clinicians believe that bringing precision medicine to the NICU will transform neonatal care, leading to better diagnosis and treatment of critically ill infants with genetic-related diseases while lowering medical costs and easing the emotional and financial burden on parents and families.
New research, published today in the journal Cancer Research, outlines findings scientists hope will advance our understanding of endometrial cancer and lead to more effective treatments.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, think about how you use the word “love” in your life. You love your significant other, your kids, your friends and your siblings in different ways. Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones from University of Utah Health talks about the research behind these types of affection and why our loved ones make us crazy (in good ways and bad ways).
Scientists have identified a key molecule involved in the development of cerebral malaria, a deadly form of the tropical disease. Further, they defined a potential drug target and way forward in alleviating this condition for which few targeted treatments are available.
In research published today in the journal Nature Communications, Utah-based scientists describe a novel way to treat cancers using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Laboratory tests using mouse models and tumor cells from patients displayed promising results for this novel cellular immunotherapy for multiple myeloma and other types of blood cancer.
A virus spreading in China has the world on alert.
In the first-ever genome-scale analysis of the puberty process in humans, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) outline distinct and critical changes to stem cells in males during adolescence.
Zinc and folic acid, a pair of dietary supplements long touted as an effective treatment for male infertility, failed to improve pregnancy rates, sperm counts, and sperm potency in a new study conducted at University of Utah Health and other medical centers in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health. According to the researchers, the finding presents the most definitive evidence to date that so-called fertility supplements do not live up expectations.
A multidisciplinary team of University of Utah Health scientists has received a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of variations in pollutant-sensing genes in the lungs could influence air pollution’s effects on children who have asthma. Health to investigate how variations in pollutant-sensing genes in the lungs could influence air pollution’s effects on children who have asthma.
The 8th annual Utah Cardiac Recovery Symposium (U-CARS) will host thought leaders and noted speakers from around the globe to discuss ground-breaking research in the field of cardiac recovery.
Altruism and a lack of access and affordability are three reasons why people with chronic illnesses are turning to the “black market” for medicines and supplies, new research shows. Scientists at University of Utah Health and University of Colorado ran surveys to understand why individuals are looking beyond pharmacies and medical equipment companies to meet essential needs. The reasons listed were many but centered on a single theme: traditional healthcare is failing them.
University of Utah Health scientists say they have detected new genetic clues about hibernation that could lead to better understanding and treatment of obesity and metabolic disorders that afflict millions of people worldwide.
One in three women of reproductive age have at least one chronic condition that could compromise their health or lead to adverse outcomes during pregnancy, according to University of Utah Health scientists.
Cellular machines that control chromosome structure, such as the RSC complex, are mutated in about one-fifth of all human cancers. Now, for the first time, scientists have developed a high-resolution visual map of this multi-protein machine, elucidating how the RSC complex works and what role it has in healthy and cancer cells.
At a time when discussions about access to firearms and gun safety are paramount, trusted health care professionals find it difficult to have those conversations. A new study shows that in the months immediately following mass shootings, doctors are less likely to ask routine questions about gun safety in the home.
Staggering new statistics released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its first World Report on Vision estimate more than 1 billion people are visually impaired because they don’t get the care they need—a finding that brings renewed urgency for sustainable global outreach efforts. The statistics underscore the need for programs like the donor-funded John A. Moran Eye Center Global Outreach Division at the University of Utah, which works to create sustainable eye care systems in developing nations and to reach underserved populations in Utah.
Everyone is a mutant but some are prone to diverge more than others, report scientists at University of Utah Health. A new study published in eLife shows the number of mutations a child has compared to her parents varies dramatically with some people being born with twice as many as others, and that characteristic runs in families.
Answers to frequently asked questions about an urgent public health concern: vaping illness.
Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD, spent more than a decade working with families at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah on the hunt for the first gene known to cause a rare retinal disease known as MacTel.
A new development has revealed a previously unknown characteristic of the vaping-related respiratory illness that has been emerging in clusters across the U.S. in recent months. The finding may allow doctors to definitively diagnose the nascent syndrome more quickly and provide the right treatment sooner. University of Utah Health investigators reported the findings in a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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