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Through a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that small doses of NGM282, a non-tumorigenic variant of an endocrine gastrointestinal hormone, can significantly and rapidly decrease liver fat content in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The findings, they say, represent an important proof-of-concept for the compound as there are currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for NAFLD and NASH.

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UC San Diego Health is the first hospital in California to use the fifth generation troponin test to detect damage to the heart. The test was approved in the United States in 2017.

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On March 12, 2018, UC San Diego Health will welcome its first patients to the Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion. Located on the La Jolla campus, the new 156,000-square-foot facility represents the most recent addition to the university’s world-class medical campus. In the past five years, UC San Diego Health has invested more than $1.3 billion dollars in patient care facilities for the community.

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For the first time, an international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, have determined that an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) polygenic risk score can be used to correctly identify adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who were only in their 50s. MCI is considered a precursor to AD.

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UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers developed a visible neural network and used it to build DCell, a virtual model of a functioning brewer’s yeast cell. To do this, they amassed all knowledge of cell biology in one place and created a hierarchy of these cellular components. Then they mapped standard machine learning algorithms to this knowledgebase. DCell can be viewed at d-cell.ucsd.edu. The technical details are published March 5 in Nature Methods.

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Science continues to peel away layers of the skin microbiome to reveal its protective properties. In a study published in Science Advances on February 28, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers report a potential new role for some bacteria on the skin: protecting against cancer.

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Writing in the February 27 online issue of Science Signaling, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center describe how a signaling protein that normally suppresses tumors can be manipulated (or re-programmed) by growth factors, turning it into a driver of malignant growth and metastasis.

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Led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, a diverse team of neuroscientists and surgeons successfully grafted human neural progenitor cells into rhesus monkeys with spinal cord injuries. The grafts not only survived, but grew hundreds of thousands of human axons and synapses, resulting in improved forelimb function in the monkeys.

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Using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, researchers at Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in China, Germany and Texas, have developed a new computational tool to screen patients with common but blinding retinal diseases, potentially speeding diagnoses and treatment.

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UC San Diego Health now offers patients with epilepsy another non-pharmacological way to treat seizures. For the more than one million individuals who live with uncontrolled seizures despite taking medications, UC San Diego Health recently began offering the first and only FDA-approved brain-responsive neurostimulation (RNS) system designed for the treatment of refractory epilepsy.

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People with a mutated ATF6 gene have a malformed or missing fovea, severely limiting vision. UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers first linked ATF6 to this type of vision impairment. Now the team discovered that a chemical that activates ATF6 converts patient stem cells into blood vessels.

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Ever wonder why obese bodies burn less calories or why dieting often leads to a plateau in weight loss? In both cases the body is trying to defend its weight by regulating energy expenditure. In a paper publishing in Cell on February 8, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identify the enzyme TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) as a key player in the control of energy expenditure during both obesity and fasting.

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Treating obese mice with catestatin (CST), a peptide naturally occurring in the body, showed significant improvement in glucose and insulin tolerance and reduced body weight, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found a significant number of children across four regions in the United States were determined to have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The new findings may represent more accurate prevalence estimates of FASD among the general population than prior research.

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UC San Diego Health has been selected by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as one of 561 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), ensuring as many as 10.5 million Medicare beneficiaries across the United States have access to high-quality, coordinated care.

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In approximately 15 percent of cases where couples are unable to conceive, the underlying cause of infertility is not known. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and in the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego have identified a protein in mice that must be present in eggs for them to complete normal development. Without the protein, called ZFP36L2, the eggs appear ordinary, but they cannot be fertilized by sperm.

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In both cell cultures and mouse models, a drug used to treat Hepatitis C effectively protected and rescued neural cells infected by the Zika virus — and blocked transmission of the virus to mouse fetuses. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Brazil and elsewhere, say their findings support further investigation of using the repurposed drug as a potential treatment for Zika-infected adults, including pregnant women.

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After a national search, Alexander Khalessi, MD, has been named chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at UC San Diego Health and chief of the Division of Neurosurgery in the Department of Surgery at University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

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In a paper publishing January 24 in the journal International Psychogeriatrics, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine asked 21 hospice patients, ages 58 to 97 and in the last six months of their lives, to describe the core characteristics of wisdom and whether their terminal illnesses had changed or impacted their understanding of wisdom.

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Women who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common hormone condition that contributes to infertility and metabolic problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, tend to have less diverse gut bacteria than women who do not have the condition, according to researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with colleagues at Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland and San Diego State University.

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Catherine M. Robertson, MD, has been named chief of Sports Medicine at UC San Diego Health. Robertson, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in treating injuries of the shoulder, knee and hip, will further enhance UC San Diego Health’s reputation for customizing innovative, evidenced-based care for all athletes — from the weekend warrior to elite, professional and Olympic athletes.

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Confirming earlier computational models, researchers at University of California San Diego and UC San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Arizona and Louisiana, report that episodic memories are encoded in the hippocampus of the human brain by distinct, sparse sets of neurons.

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UC San Diego Health and Eisenhower Health signed a five-year affiliation agreement to expand cancer services for residents of Coachella Valley. Starting in January 2018, as a member of the UC San Diego Health Cancer Network, patients of Eisenhower Health will have enhanced access to world-class cancer care, both at Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center and at UC San Diego Health.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues across the country and around the world, have used whole genome analyses and chemogenetics to identify new drug targets and resistance genes in 262 parasite cell lines of Plasmodium falciparum — protozoan pathogens that cause malaria — that are resistant to 37 diverse antimalarial compounds.

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An international team, led by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has developed and validated a genetic tool for predicting age of onset of aggressive prostate cancer, a disease that kills more than 26,000 American men annually.

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Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health in La Jolla recently received certification from the Joint Commission to be a Comprehensive Stroke Center. This certification is in addition to the existing accreditation at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest. This expansion makes UC San Diego Health the only health system in San Diego County to have two access points for comprehensive stroke care.

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Every day, every inch of skin on your body comes into contact with thousands of molecules — from food, cosmetics, sweat, the microbes that call your skin home. Now researchers can create interactive 3D maps that show where each molecule lingers on your body, thanks to a new method developed by University of California San Diego and European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) researchers.

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Pharmaceutical interventions are routinely prescribed to help people quit smoking. However, a new study by University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers suggests that, despite promising results in clinical trials, smoking cessation drugs alone may not be improving the chances of successful quitting among smokers in general.

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An online survey of 900 consumers of three of the United States’ most popular cigarette brands suggests that adopting standardized cigarette packing may reduce consumers’ misconceptions that some cigarettes are less harmful than others, reports a team of researchers led by University of California San Diego School of Medicine and published in BMJ Tobacco Control.

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UC San Diego Health has been recognized with top scores for providing high-quality care to Medicare Advantage patients by the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), a statewide nonprofit group committed to high-value, integrated care that improves quality and affordability for patients across California and the nation.

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In remote Italian villages nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and mountains lives a group of several hundred citizens over the age of 90. Researchers at the University of Rome La Sapienza and University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified common psychological traits in members of this group.

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Rare stem-like tumor cells play a critical role in the spread of breast cancer, but a vulnerability in the pathway that powers them offers a strategy to target these cells using existing drugs before metastatic disease occurs, report University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found a genetic signature for delay discounting — the tendency to undervalue future rewards — that overlaps with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), smoking and weight.

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Using a database of multiple myeloma patient samples and information, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that high ADAR1 levels correlate with reduced survival rates. They also determined that blocking the enzyme reduces multiple myeloma regeneration in experimental models derived from patient cancer cells.

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Two full-time University of California San Diego faculty members ó Don Cleveland, who studies fundamental cellular mechanisms in the search for new treatments for diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and James McKernan, a mathematician who investigates algebraic geometry and multivariate polynomials ó are recipients of the 2018 Breakthrough Prize, along with Joanne Chory, a plant biologist at Salk Institute for Biological Studies and adjunct professor in the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego.

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The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) unanimously approved yesterday two grants worth a total of almost $8 million to University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers investigating novel stem cell-based treatments for acute myeloid leukemia or AML.

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Glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, typically fails to respond to treatment or rapidly becomes drug resistant. In a paper published online in the journal Cancer Cell on November 30, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identified a strategy that pinpoints a genetically distinct subpopulation of patients with glioblastoma that is particularly sensitive to drugs like cilengitide that target a cell adhesion receptor known as integrin αvβ3.

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A team of University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers studying new drugs designed to break resistance to cancer immunotherapy has been awarded a V Foundation for Cancer Research translational grant of $600,000 over three years.

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The UC San Diego Health International Patient Program was recognized as the 2017 Medical Provider of the Year by the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal (ITIJ). ITIJ recognizes leading health systems from around the globe for their ability to provide comprehensive, culturally-sensitive care to patients from international destinations.

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That “to do” list of chores and errands could actually provide a variety of health benefits, according to researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. The study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, found women over age 65 who engaged in regular light physical activity had a reduction in the risk of mortality.

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UC San Diego Health has expanded its treatment of rare brain tumors by launching a specialized program in the diagnosis and treatment of acoustic neuromas and complex skull base tumors. The new program will be led by Rick Friedman, MD, PhD, and Marc Schwartz, MD, internationally recognized authorities on the effective treatment of these challenging cases. Patients are currently being accepted into the program.

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In an unprecedented move, UC San Diego Health and UCI Health have formed a strategic partnership to increase operational efficiencies and decrease patient care costs by sharing a single electronic medical records (EMR) platform.

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Primary liver cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and its incidences and mortality are increasing rapidly in the United Stated. In late stages of the malignancy, there are no effective treatments or drugs. However, an unexpected finding made by a team of University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers sheds light on the development of a new strategy for prevention of liver cancer.

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Chronic inflammation is known to drive many cancers, especially liver cancer. Researchers have long thought that’s because inflammation directly affects cancer cells, stimulating their division and protecting them from cell death. But University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have now found that chronic liver inflammation also promotes cancer by suppressing immunosurveillance — a natural defense mechanism in which it’s thought the immune system suppresses cancer development. The study is published November 8 in Nature.

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The five University of California medical centers, including Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, have joined together to recruit 100,000 women in California to be part of WISDOM: a clinical trial to uncover whether annual mammograms are the best way to screen for breast cancer, or whether a more personalized approach could deliver better results.

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In the Earth Microbiome Project, an extensive global team co-led by researchers at University of California San Diego, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory collected more than 27,000 samples from numerous, diverse environments around the globe. They analyzed the unique collections of microbes — the microbiomes — living in each sample to generate the first reference database of bacteria colonizing the planet. Thanks to newly standardized protocols, original analytical methods and open data-sharing, the project will continue to grow and improve as new data are added.

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Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Brazil, report that the Zika virus is transmitted from mother to fetus by infected cells that, ironically, will later develop into the brain’s first and primary form of defense against invasive pathogens.

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Scientists and physicians at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, in partnership with colleagues at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and elsewhere, have been awarded a $7 million grant over four years by Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) to create a “dream team” to develop new ways to prevent pancreatic cancer — one of the nation’s deadliest malignancies.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that a single infusion of wildtype hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) into a mouse model of Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) measurably halted cellular damage caused by the degenerative disease.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have expanded a statewide program called Training, Research and Education Driving Safety (TREDS) with the goal of reducing deaths from vehicular crashes.