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Released: 3-Jul-2023 3:05 PM EDT
Researchers Identify a New Mechanism, Cancer Hijacks Enzyme Substrate Motif Mutations
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Enzyme mutations have been of great interest to scientists who study cancer. Scientists in the Liu and Tan labs at UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have been studying mutations of enzyme recognition motifs in substrates, which may more faithfully reflect enzyme function with the potential to find new targets or directions for cancer treatment.

Newswise: COVID-19 Vaccines Produce Antibody Response in the Nasal Mucosa
Released: 27-Jun-2023 9:40 AM EDT
COVID-19 Vaccines Produce Antibody Response in the Nasal Mucosa
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

A new study by researchers in the UNC School of Medicine, including Meghan Rebuli, PhD, Ilona Jaspers, PhD, and Kevin T. Cao, lead author, has found that SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination induces an immune response in the mucosal lining of the nasal cavity, offering new insights into potential vaccine strategies in the future.

Newswise: Higher Doses of Oral Semaglutide Improves Blood Sugar Control and Weight Loss
Released: 26-Jun-2023 5:05 PM EDT
Higher Doses of Oral Semaglutide Improves Blood Sugar Control and Weight Loss
University of North Carolina Health Care System

John Buse, MD, PhD, the Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and an international team of researchers have presented new findings about new higher-dose formulations of oral semaglutide. Their study found that once-daily oral semaglutide taken at 25 mg and 50 mg did a better job in lowering blood sugar levels and promoting weight loss than the lowest dose of 14 mg.

Newswise: New Research Shows HIV Can Lie Dormant in the Brain
Released: 16-Jun-2023 2:30 PM EDT
New Research Shows HIV Can Lie Dormant in the Brain
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

New research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigations confirms that microglial cells – which are specialized immune cells with a decade-long lifespan in the brain - can serve as a stable viral reservoir for latent HIV.

Released: 12-Jun-2023 4:15 PM EDT
Penile HIV Infection is Effectively Prevented by Antiretroviral Treatment
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine’s International Center for the Advancement of Translational Science and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases have developed a new approach for the detailed evaluation of HIV infection throughout the entire male genital tract, HIV acquisition via the penis and the efficient prevention of penile HIV infection. The study was published in mBio by the American Society of Microbiology.

Released: 9-Jun-2023 2:05 PM EDT
UNC Researchers Receive NIH Grant to Study Drug-Resistant Malaria in Ethiopia
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

This study is expected to generate critical evidence about the rise and expansion of drug-resistant parasites in Ethiopia. Results will help policymakers and advance malaria elimination efforts in Ethiopia and beyond.

Newswise: Researchers Target Proteins, Pathways Behind Congenital Heart Disease
Released: 6-Jun-2023 10:05 AM EDT
Researchers Target Proteins, Pathways Behind Congenital Heart Disease
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

The research provides scientists with much-needed information to identify biological causes for congenital heart disease, or CHD.

Newswise: Adolescents are Aware of and Invested in the Potential Impacts of Abortion Restrictions, Study Says
Released: 1-Jun-2023 2:15 PM EDT
Adolescents are Aware of and Invested in the Potential Impacts of Abortion Restrictions, Study Says
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that many adolescents – across a diversity of ages, genders, and geographies – are aware of and concerned about the potential impacts of abortion restrictions.

Released: 24-May-2023 10:05 AM EDT
Study Shows Key Role for Human T Cells in the Control of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

A new study published in JCI Insight, led by Angela Wahl, PhD, Raymond Pickles, PhD, and J. Victor Garcia, PhD, with the International Center for the Advancement of Translational Science (ICATS), the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) at the UNC School of Medicine has shown that human T cells have an important role to play in controlling infection.

Newswise: A New Strategy to Break Through Bacterial Barriers in Chronic Treatment-Resistant Wounds
Released: 22-May-2023 9:45 AM EDT
A New Strategy to Break Through Bacterial Barriers in Chronic Treatment-Resistant Wounds
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Researchers in UNC’s School of Medicine’s department of Microbiology and Immunology and the UNC-NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering have developed a new strategy to improve drug-delivery into chronic wounds infections.

Newswise: HPV Self-Collection Kits Increase Screening Among Under-screened, Under-served Women in North Carolina
Released: 12-May-2023 8:05 AM EDT
HPV Self-Collection Kits Increase Screening Among Under-screened, Under-served Women in North Carolina
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a global call to eliminate cervical cancer. Because nearly all cervical cancers are caused by an initial infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV), screening for the virus is critical to preventing and treating the disease.However, providing HPV screening only within clinical settings may limit access to screening for many under-served women across the United States and here, in North Carolina.

Newswise: Mammalian Evolution Provides Hints for Understanding the Origins of Human Disease
Released: 27-Apr-2023 2:00 PM EDT
Mammalian Evolution Provides Hints for Understanding the Origins of Human Disease
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Even though it is important to know where these variations are located in the genome, it's also useful to know how or why these genetic variations happened in the first place. Sullivan hopes that other researchers will make use of the new and extensive document to reach their own conclusions regarding the genetics underlying a variety of human diseases.

Newswise: A New Primary Care Model Proves Effective for Patients with Severe Mental Illness
Released: 10-Apr-2023 4:15 PM EDT
A New Primary Care Model Proves Effective for Patients with Severe Mental Illness
University of North Carolina Health Care System

A new analysis led by Alex K. Gertner, MD, PhD, psychiatry resident at UNC Hospitals, has added further evidence that the new model is effective.

Newswise: Scientists Enhance New Neurons to Restore Memory, Elevate Mood in Alzheimer’s Disease Research Model
Released: 10-Apr-2023 1:45 PM EDT
Scientists Enhance New Neurons to Restore Memory, Elevate Mood in Alzheimer’s Disease Research Model
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

UNC School of Medicine scientists demonstrated that stimulating a brain region called Supramammilary nucleus (SuM) located in the hypothalamus effectively enhanced adult-born neurons in the otherwise impaired Alzheimer’s brains of mice.

Newswise: Researchers Leverage Cell Self-Destruction to Treat Brain Tumors
Released: 7-Apr-2023 8:05 AM EDT
Researchers Leverage Cell Self-Destruction to Treat Brain Tumors
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Dominique Higgins, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery, and a team of researchers at Columbia University have found that glioblastoma tumor cells are particularly sensitive to ferroptosis - a type of cell death that can be triggered by removing certain amino acids from the diet.

Newswise: Researchers Announce Findings from Landmark Clinical Trial for Pediatric Crohn’s Disease
Released: 3-Apr-2023 5:15 PM EDT
Researchers Announce Findings from Landmark Clinical Trial for Pediatric Crohn’s Disease
University of North Carolina Health Care System

A significant clinical trial under the direction of Michael Kappelman, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics at UNC School of Medicine, found that patients receiving the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor adalimumab combined with a low dose of methotrexate, a second immunosuppressant, did better than those treated with infliximab alone. Patients who received infliximab, another tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, had similar outcomes with or without methotrexate.

Newswise: New Research Shows That Bacteria Get “Hangry,
Released: 3-Apr-2023 11:00 AM EDT
New Research Shows That Bacteria Get “Hangry," Too
University of North Carolina Health Care System

The findings, published in Nature Microbiology, are particularly important in understanding how and why bacterial communities defer duties to certain cells – and could lead to new ways to tackle antibiotic tolerance further down the line.

Newswise: Reducing the Appeal of Smoking: Study Confirms Tobacco Warnings on Packages Need Improvement
Released: 30-Mar-2023 4:05 PM EDT
Reducing the Appeal of Smoking: Study Confirms Tobacco Warnings on Packages Need Improvement
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Research has been underway to assess adoption of warning labels for combustible tobacco products worldwide.

Newswise: How to Help Your Gut Microbiome, With and Without Probiotics
Released: 28-Mar-2023 4:20 PM EDT
How to Help Your Gut Microbiome, With and Without Probiotics
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Bacteria have thousands of genes and functions that we, the human host, do not have. For instance, bacteria can help us digest fiber, provide support to our immune systems, and absorb important nutrients. But reaping the benefits of “good bacteria” is easier said than done.

Newswise: What You Should Know about the Lone Star Tick’s Impact on Our Gut and Diet
Released: 21-Mar-2023 5:00 PM EDT
What You Should Know about the Lone Star Tick’s Impact on Our Gut and Diet
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Along with UNC colleagues Scott Commins, MD, PhD, and Michael Croglio, MD, McGill was one of the first to describe the condition in gastroenterology patients. McGill has now published a national clinical practice update in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the American Gastroenterological Association.

Newswise: Novel Peanut Allergy Treatment Shown to be Safe, Effective, and Lasting
Released: 17-Mar-2023 12:30 PM EDT
Novel Peanut Allergy Treatment Shown to be Safe, Effective, and Lasting
University of North Carolina Health Care System

A four-year phase 2 clinical trial demonstrated that a peanut allergy treatment called sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT, is effective and safe, while offering durable desensitization to peanuts in peanut-allergic children.

Newswise:Video Embedded new-focused-ultrasound-effective-for-treating-parkinson-s-movement-disorders
VIDEO
Released: 14-Mar-2023 3:00 PM EDT
New Focused Ultrasound Effective for treating Parkinson’s, Movement Disorders
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine co-authored by Vibhor Krishna, MD, associate professor of neurosurgery at the UNC School of Medicine, researchers show that a new focused ultrasound treatment improved dyskinesia and motor impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Released: 1-Mar-2023 3:15 PM EST
Researchers Examine Career Confidence in Underrepresented Biomedical Scientist Trainees
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

After polling 6,000 graduate and postdoctoral respondents across 17 US institutions, researchers found that self-efficacy was generally lower than anticipated, particularly among those with higher levels of expertise and experience. Their results were recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Newswise: Grad Student Kaitlan Smith Reflects on Lumbee Heritage While Embarking on Curiosity-driven Science
Released: 27-Feb-2023 11:30 AM EST
Grad Student Kaitlan Smith Reflects on Lumbee Heritage While Embarking on Curiosity-driven Science
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Pharmacology graduate student Kaitlan Smith was recently awarded a diversity supplement from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to study the effects of aging and necroptosis. She shares her resilient journey into scientific research while reflecting on her Lumbee roots.

Newswise: How a New Blood-Vessel-on-a-Chip Can Help Researchers Further Understand Vascular Malformations
Released: 24-Feb-2023 1:40 PM EST
How a New Blood-Vessel-on-a-Chip Can Help Researchers Further Understand Vascular Malformations
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Vascular malformations (VMs), a group of rare genetic disorders that causes an abnormal formation of veins, arteries, capillaries, or lymphatic vessels at birth, can interfere with the duties of our circulatory system by causing blockages, poor drainage, and the formation of cysts and tangles.

Newswise: Scientists Discover New Protein Activity in Telomeres
Released: 21-Feb-2023 12:30 PM EST
Scientists Discover New Protein Activity in Telomeres
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Reporting in the PNAS, UNC School of Medicine researchers made the stunning discovery that telomeres contain genetic information to produce two small proteins, one of which they found is elevated in some human cancer cells, as well as cells from patients suffering from telomere-related defects.

Newswise: Researchers Uncover Mechanisms of Brexanolone and the Role of Inflammation in Post-partum Depression
Released: 20-Feb-2023 2:45 PM EST
Researchers Uncover Mechanisms of Brexanolone and the Role of Inflammation in Post-partum Depression
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Brexanolone, an IV infusion comprised of a derivative of progesterone, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of PPD in 2019. The fast-acting medication significantly reduces depression symptoms and provides effects for up to 90 days. However, exactly how the drug provides these therapeutic effects has remained a mystery – until now.

Newswise: Novel Optical and fMRI Platform Identifies Brain Regions that Control Large-scale Brain Network
Released: 15-Feb-2023 2:00 PM EST
Novel Optical and fMRI Platform Identifies Brain Regions that Control Large-scale Brain Network
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Neuroimaging techniques, like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), are not able to directly measure neuronal activity. To address this knowledge gap, a research team led by Ian Shih, PhD, professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurology and associate director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center, has created a novel experimental platform that is able to optically record local neuronal activity during brain-wide fMRI in rodents.

Newswise: CDC-UNC Collaboration Yields Potential Long-term HIV Protection
Released: 9-Feb-2023 8:45 AM EST
CDC-UNC Collaboration Yields Potential Long-term HIV Protection
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Since 2017, the lab of Rahima Benhabbour, PhD, MSc, associate professor in the UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been working with a research team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others at UNC to develop an injectable implant that can release HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications into the body for a long period of time. Their latest research, published in Nature Communications, shows that the team’s latest formulation can provide up to six months of full protection.

Newswise: How Do Cancer-Causing Viruses Evade Immune Responses?
Released: 6-Feb-2023 12:00 PM EST
How Do Cancer-Causing Viruses Evade Immune Responses?
University of North Carolina Health Care System

This research suggests that BAF and related proteins could be therapeutic targets to prevent these viruses from spreading and leading to cancers, such as Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, multicentric Castleman disease, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and gastric cancer.

Newswise: Scientists Document Two Separate Reservoirs of Latent HIV in Patients
Released: 31-Jan-2023 12:05 PM EST
Scientists Document Two Separate Reservoirs of Latent HIV in Patients
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

UNC-Chapel Hill scientists and colleagues provide indirect evidence for the existence of a distinct latent reservoir of CD4+ T cells in the central nervous system, by analyzing rebound virus in the cerebral spinal fluid during the period when people had just stopped taking ART.

Newswise: Researchers Unveil New Collection of Human Brain Atlases that Charts the Early Developing Brain in Fine Detail
Released: 26-Jan-2023 10:35 AM EST
Researchers Unveil New Collection of Human Brain Atlases that Charts the Early Developing Brain in Fine Detail
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Human brain atlases can be used by medical professionals to track normative trends over time and to pinpoint crucial aspects of early brain development. By using these atlases, they are able to see what typical structural and functional development looks like, making it easier for them to spot the symptoms of abnormal development, such as attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, and cerebral palsy.

Newswise: Scientists Publish New Findings in Quest to Build a Better Opioid
Released: 18-Jan-2023 5:00 PM EST
Scientists Publish New Findings in Quest to Build a Better Opioid
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

This basic scientific research provides a comprehensive structural framework that should help drug developers rationally design safer drugs to relieve severe pain.

Newswise: Getting to the Heart of Chemotherapeutic Cardiotoxicity
Released: 9-Jan-2023 11:05 AM EST
Getting to the Heart of Chemotherapeutic Cardiotoxicity
University of North Carolina Health Care System

On any given Tuesday, you will find Brian C. Jensen, MD, cardiologist and physician-scientist, tending to patients in his cardio-oncology clinic. His schedule is packed to the brim with cancer patients. But not patients with heart cancer. The largest number of patients he sees are cancer patients who have developed, or are at risk of developing, heart damage in response to their chemotherapy regimens.

Newswise: UNC Researchers Tackle the E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use–associated Lung Injury (EVALI) Epidemic
Released: 4-Jan-2023 10:05 AM EST
UNC Researchers Tackle the E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use–associated Lung Injury (EVALI) Epidemic
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Although doctors and researchers sympathize with smokers wanting to quit smoking, scientists are discovering that vaping might not be a healthier alternative to smoking, especially in adolescents. E-cigarette products have recently been linked to a new, serious lung condition known as E-cigarette or Vaping Product Use-associated Lung Injury, or EVALI, which primarily affects youth and young adults. In 2019, the illness was declared an epidemic by the CDC.

Newswise: UNC Health Provider Ushers in First FDA-Approved Medication for Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Released: 22-Dec-2022 3:45 PM EST
UNC Health Provider Ushers in First FDA-Approved Medication for Eosinophilic Esophagitis
University of North Carolina Health Care System

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergic condition of the esophagus that is on the rise throughout the United States. Patients with the condition typically have inflammation throughout their esophagus and trouble swallowing food – known as dysphagia.Without proper treatment, the lining of the esophagus becomes fibrous, and the passage becomes so narrowed, or strictured, that food can lodge in the esophagus, requiring medical attention.

Newswise: Why Don’t T Cells Destroy Solid Tumors during Immunotherapy?
Released: 19-Dec-2022 3:05 PM EST
Why Don’t T Cells Destroy Solid Tumors during Immunotherapy?
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Jessica Thaxton’s group at the UNC School of Medicine found that T cells exposed to the environment of solid cancers undergo a natural response to stress that shuts off their function, limiting T cell ability to kill tumors.

Newswise: Nedergaard Named 21st Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize Recipient
Released: 14-Dec-2022 11:00 AM EST
Nedergaard Named 21st Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize Recipient
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

The University of North Carolina School of Medicine has awarded the esteemed 21st Perl-UNC Neuroscience Prize to Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, from the University of Rochester, for the “discovery of the glymphatic system.”

Newswise: Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Offers Long-term Protection Against Severe Disease
Released: 1-Dec-2022 2:30 PM EST
Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Offers Long-term Protection Against Severe Disease
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines protected infant rhesus macaques against 1 severe lung disease after high dose challenge one year after vaccination.

Newswise:Video Embedded scientists-elucidate-how-dreadd-technology-highjacks-neuronal-activity
VIDEO
Released: 30-Nov-2022 1:05 PM EST
Scientists Elucidate How DREADD Technology Highjacks Neuronal Activity
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Reported in Nature, UNC School of Medicine scientists used cryogenic electron microscopy to determine the detailed, high-resolution structures of four designer receptors bound to three drug-like but inert compounds, a major advance in chemogenetics research.

Newswise: Scientists Link Rare Genetic Phenomenon to Neuron Function, Schizophrenia
Released: 30-Nov-2022 11:45 AM EST
Scientists Link Rare Genetic Phenomenon to Neuron Function, Schizophrenia
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

UNC School of Medicine's Jin Szatkiewicz, PhD, and colleagues conducted one of the first and the largest investigations of tandem repeats in schizophrenia, elucidating their contribution to the development of this devastating disease.

Newswise: Multiple Stressors Contributed to Physician Burnout During First Wave of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Released: 10-Nov-2022 12:25 PM EST
Multiple Stressors Contributed to Physician Burnout During First Wave of COVID-19 in the U.S.
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Front-line physicians who cared for COVID-19 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in New York City and New Orleans reported multiple factors that contributed to their occupational stress during this extraordinarily trying time in their careers.

Newswise: Scientists Reveal Role of Key Brain Protein in Childhood Movement Disorder
Released: 3-Nov-2022 2:50 PM EDT
Scientists Reveal Role of Key Brain Protein in Childhood Movement Disorder
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Scientists in the U.S. and UK illuminated the molecular events underlying an inherited movement and neurodegenerative disorder known as ARSACS – Autosomal recessive spastic ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay, named for two Quebec valleys where the first cases were found.

Newswise: Scientists Discover Protein Partners that Could Heal Heart Muscle
Released: 6-Oct-2022 4:40 PM EDT
Scientists Discover Protein Partners that Could Heal Heart Muscle
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have made a significant advance in the promising field of cellular reprogramming and organ regeneration, and the discovery could play a major role in future medicines to heal damaged hearts.

Released: 29-Sep-2022 12:05 PM EDT
UNC-led Initiative Set to Gain Insights to Improve Posttraumatic Outcomes
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Led By Sam McLean, MD, MPH, director of the UNC Institute for Trauma Recovery, researchers have established an $8-million initiative funded through the U.S. Department of Defense to overcome this lack of understanding.

Newswise: Can Scientists Take the Trip out of Psychedelics, Leaving only the Anti-depressant Effect?
28-Sep-2022 9:40 AM EDT
Can Scientists Take the Trip out of Psychedelics, Leaving only the Anti-depressant Effect?
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Published in Nature, this research in animal models show it’s possible to create a compound that hits the same exact target as psychedelic drugs hit – the 5-HT2A serotonin receptors on the surface of specific neurons – but does not cause the same psychedelic effects when given to mice.

Newswise: Majority of Clinicians in U.S. Safety Net Practices Report ‘Moral Distress’ During COVID-19 Pandemic
Released: 26-Aug-2022 8:05 AM EDT
Majority of Clinicians in U.S. Safety Net Practices Report ‘Moral Distress’ During COVID-19 Pandemic
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

UNC School of Medicine’s Donald Pathman, MD, MPH, found that most healthcare providers experienced either mild or intense levels of moral distress during the first year of the pandemic due to issues related to patient care and their workplaces.

Newswise: Scientists Discover Surprise Anticancer Properties of Common Lab Molecule
Released: 23-Aug-2022 2:15 PM EDT
Scientists Discover Surprise Anticancer Properties of Common Lab Molecule
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

UNC School of Medicine scientists discovered that a molecule called EdU, which is commonly used in laboratory experiments to label DNA, is in fact recognized by human cells as DNA damage, triggering a runaway process of DNA repair that is eventually fatal to affected cells, including cancer cells.

Newswise: Scientists Create New Map of the Developing Cerebral Cortex
Released: 18-Aug-2022 12:30 PM EDT
Scientists Create New Map of the Developing Cerebral Cortex
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have mapped the surface of the cortex of the young human brain with unprecedented resolution, revealing the development of key functional regions from two months before birth to two years after.

Released: 8-Aug-2022 12:30 PM EDT
Scientists Create Long-acting Injectable Drug Delivery System for Tuberculosis
University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Research in animal models showed the potential of delivering a TB drug with one injection that lasts at least four months, in lieu of the current standard treatment requiring constant adherence to a daily drug regimen.



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