Following are highlights of presentations that will be given by researchers from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center at the upcoming American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting in Philadelphia (May 5–9, 2012).
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain’s stem cells. The discovery offers new insights into normal and abnormal neurologic development and could eventually lead to regenerative therapies for neurologic disease and injury. The findings, from a collaborative effort of the laboratories of Drs. Anna Lasorella and Antonio Iavarone, were published today in the online edition of Nature Cell Biology.
Researchers have demonstrated that two related enzymes — phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) gamma and delta — play a key role in the development of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a highly aggressive childhood leukemia that is difficult to treat. The study also showed that a dual PI3K gamma/delta inhibitor can significantly prolong survival in a mouse model of the disease.
Maintaining the right level of sugar in the blood is the responsibility not only of insulin, which removes glucose, but also of a hormone called glucagon, which adds glucose. For decades, treatments for type II diabetes have taken aim at insulin, but a new study suggests that a better approach may be to target glucagon’s sweetening effect. The findings were published today in the online edition of Cell Metabolism.
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists have developed a way to recreate an individual’s immune system in a mouse. The “personalized immune mouse” offers researchers an unprecedented tool for individualized analysis of abnormalities that contribute to type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases, starting at the onset of disease. The findings were published today in the online edition of Science Translational Medicine.
The National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) has selected Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College to participate in a new national effort to accelerate the development of therapies for people with neurological diseases.
A study by Columbia researchers suggests that cells in the patient’s intestine could be coaxed into making insulin, circumventing the need for a stem cell transplant. Until now, stem cell transplants have been seen by many researchers as the ideal way to replace cells lost in type I diabetes and to free patients from insulin injections. The research—conducted in mice—was published 11 March 2012 in the journal Nature Genetics.
Calorie listings on fast-food chain restaurant menus might meet federal labeling requirements but don’t do a good job of helping consumers trying to make healthy meal choices, a new Columbia University School of Nursing (CUSON) study reports.
Findings open new opportunities for studying Alzheimer’s and testing potential therapies.
Although women over age 50 who become pregnant via egg donation are at an elevated risk for developing obstetrical complications, their complication rates are similar to those of younger recipients, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers to be published in the February 2012 issue of the American Journal of Perinatology. This is contrary to epidemiological data suggesting that these women are at greater risk of certain complications of pregnancy, including hypertension, gestational diabetes, premature birth, and placenta abnormalities.
Researchers at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors.
The American Board of Comprehensive Care (ABCC), based at the Columbia University School of Nursing (CUSON), is an independent organization founded in 2007 for the purpose of certifying nurse practitioner graduates of Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs who have met defined and accepted standards for comprehensive care. The ABCC Diplomate of Comprehensive Care (DCC) program and its certification exam have now been accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified the critical early cellular and molecular events that give rise to a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest-rising solid tumor in the United States. The findings, published online today in Cancer Cell, challenge conventional wisdom regarding the origin and development of this deadly cancer and its precursor lesion, Barrett’s esophagus, and highlight possible targets for new clinical therapies.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) has severe consequences, with a 25 to 80 percent risk of in-hospital death. Researchers have found a way to diagnose AKI using a urine test, enabling emergency departments to identify these high-risk patients when they first arrive at the hospital. The study will be published online on January 9, 2012, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited without any DNA involvement. The findings suggest that Lamarck, whose theory of evolution was eclipsed by Darwin’s, may not have been entirely wrong. The study is slated to appear in the December 9 issue of Cell.
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) presented the 2011 Naomi Berrie Award to Barry E. Levin, MD, a University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey researcher whose work focuses on the mechanisms by which specialized metabolic-sensing neurons regulate glucose and energy homeostasis. Junior investigator Kazuhisa Watanabe, at Columbia University Medical Center, received a Berrie Fellow award.
Research, education, and clinical programs at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) have shown unprecedented growth during 2011, the School reports.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and two other institutions have uncovered a vast new gene regulatory network in mammalian cells that could explain genetic variability in cancer and other diseases. The studies appear in today’s online edition of Cell.
Columbia University will award the 2011 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young for their work on the molecular basis of circadian rhythms, the first demonstration of a molecular mechanism for behavior. Circadian rhythms―cyclic responses synchronized to the period of the day―are a fundamental aspect of behavior in humans and all other animals.
Although several genes have been linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), it is still unknown how they cause this progressive neurodegenerative disease. In a new study, Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have demonstrated that two ALS-associated genes work in tandem to support the long-term survival of motor neurons. The findings were published in the September 1 online edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
A recent study demonstrated increased rates of celiac disease in women who present with unexplained infertility. Published in the May-June 2011 issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the study evaluated 191 female patients presenting with infertility. Each participant underwent serologic screening for celiac disease as well as routine infertility testing. The 4 patients who had positive serum test results were advised to seek evaluation with a gastroenterologist. All 4 patients were confirmed to have celiac disease.
Listing of research presentations, lectures, and other academic activities at Columbia University Medical Center related to what has been learned since the 9/11/2001 attacks.
Columbia University Medical Center researchers have shown that new, or “de novo,” protein-altering mutations—genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents—play a role in more than 50 percent of “sporadic” —i.e., not hereditary—cases of schizophrenia. The findings will be published online on August 7, 2011, in Nature Genetics.
Columbia University Medical Center researchers have for the first time directly converted human skin cells into functional forebrain neurons, without the need for stem cells of any kind. The findings offer a new and potentially more direct way to produce replacement cell therapies for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Such cells may prove especially useful for testing new therapeutic leads.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have discovered the biological mechanism behind age-related loss of muscle strength and identified a drug that may help reverse this process.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center commented on today’s ruling in favor of the Obama administration’s continued funding of embryonic stem cell research.
A Columbia University institute, whose goal is to accelerate the pace of translating science into real-life treatments for patients, received $38.9 million from the National Institutes of Health to expand its work over the next five years.
Infants born prematurely are at risk for injuries to the white and gray matter of the brain that affect cortical development and neural connectivity. Certain forms of these injuries can be detected in the neonatal period using ultrasound, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers.
Dental visits represent a chance to intervene in the diabetes epidemic by identifying individuals with diabetes or pre-diabetes who are unaware of their condition, according to a study in the July 2011 issue of the Journal of Dental Research.
A new study has found that most patients undergoing biopsy of the small intestine do not have the recommended number of samples to diagnose celiac disease.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)―scarring and thickening of the lungs from unknown causes―is the predominant condition leading to lung transplantation nationwide. Columbia University Medical Center researchers confirmed that delayed access to a tertiary care center for IPF is associated with a higher risk of death.
CUMC scientists have found that under stress, neural stem cells in the adult hippocampus can produce not only neurons, but new stem cells. The brain stockpiles the stem cells, which may produce neurons when conditions are favorable. The research could lead to potential treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Less invasive catheter-based aortic valve replacement and open valve-replacement surgery have a similar one-year survival for patients at high risk for surgery.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are honing in on the development of what may be the first non-steroidal, oral contraceptive for men. Tests of low doses of a compound that interferes with retinoic acid receptors (RARs) showed that it caused sterility in male mice.
Slowing down the aggregation or “clumping” of vitamin A in the eye may help prevent vision loss caused by macular degeneration, research from Columbia University Medical Center has found.
Many genes that cause human diseases have parallel genes in other organisms, including yeast. Now Columbia University researchers have used an innovative yeast-based screening method to identify a possible treatment for the fatal childhood disease Niemann-Pick C (NP-C). This “exacerbate-reverse” approach can potentially be used to study any disease. The findings were published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on April 13, 2011.
Researchers from a consortium that includes Columbia University Medical Center identified four new genes linked to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, each of which adds to the risk of developing this most common form of the disease. Together they offer a portal into the causes of Alzheimer’s. Their identification will help researchers find ways to determine who is at risk of developing the disease and to identify proteins and pathways for drug development.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have developed a new way to stimulate neuron production in the adult mouse brain, demonstrating that neurons acquired in the brain's hippocampus during adulthood improve certain cognitive functions.
Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the International Longevity Center (ILC) announced that the ILC, founded by Robert N. Butler, will be the foundation of an interdisciplinary center on aging at Mailman. The center will be a research and educational hub for issues related to healthy aging in NYC, the U.S., and globally.
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have discovered that the skeleton acts as a regulator of fertility in male mice through a hormone released by bone, known as osteocalcin. Until now, interactions between bone and the reproductive system have focused only on the influence of gonads on the build-up of bone mass.
Columbia University Medical Center has announced the winners of the 5th annual Katz Prizes in Cardiovascular Research, with the 2010 Lewis Katz Visiting Professorship in Cardiovascular Research being awarded to an internationally renowned heart failure expert from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – Milton Packer, M.D.
Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center and colleagues from the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, and Harvard Medical School Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network have a functional MRI study in the current edition of Neurology. Conventional bedside assessments of consciousness rely on motor responses to indicate awareness and therefore may underestimate capacity for cognition, the researchers say.
Volunteers in New York, NY are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) appear. Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are specifically looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities.
A new study in mouse models by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has found that the brain’s mitochondria -- the powerhouses of the cell -- are one of the earliest casualties of the disease. The study, which appeared in the online Early Edition of PNAS, also found that impaired mitochondria then injure the neurons’ synapses, which are necessary for normal brain function.
Columbia University Medical Center announced a major gift of $50 million from a respected alumnus of its medical school, P. Roy Vagelos, M.D., and his wife, Diana Vagelos. The gift will support the construction of a new medical and graduate education building, which will be built on the medical center campus and named in their honor.
A new study led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center has identified a novel molecular pathway underlying Parkinson’s disease and points to existing drugs which may be able to slow progression of the disease. The pathway involved proteins – known as polyamines – that were found to be responsible for the increase in build-up of other toxic proteins in neurons, which causes the neurons to malfunction and, eventually, die. The study is the first to identify a mechanism for why polyamines are elevated in the first place and how polyamines mediate the disease.
Researchers led by Columbia University Medical Center have discovered that the skeleton plays an important role in regulating blood sugar and have further illuminated how bone controls this process. The finding, published in Cell, is important because it may lead to more targeted drugs for type 2 diabetes.
A team of Columbia-led investigators has uncovered eight genes that underpin alopecia areata, one of the most common causes of hair loss, as reported in a paper in the July 1 issue of Nature. This discovery may soon lead to new treatments for the 5.3 million Americans suffering from hair loss caused by alopecia areata.
A new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that less than half of women (49%) in a large study (8,800 women) completed their full prescribed course of hormone therapy for breast cancer. Age was an important factor, with younger women less likely to adhere to treatment. Treatment side effects and insurance coverage may be among the causes.
A team of researchers led by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center has developed a method to predict post-stroke recovery of language by measuring the initial severity of impairment. Being able to predict recovery has important implications for stroke survivors and their families, as they plan for short and long-term treatment needs. Findings are reported online in the journal Stroke.
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