UNC Scientists discovered the anti-inflammatory protein NLRP12 helps protect mice against obesity and insulin resistance when fed a high-fat diet. The researchers also reported the NLRP12 gene is underactive in people who are obese, making it a therapeutic target for treating obesity and diabetes.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Sept. 17, 2018 – In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and continued challenging conditions across much of the state, UNC Health Care has extended its offer of free access to its virtual care service, UNC Urgent Care 24/7. Free access will be available for persons physically located in the State of North Carolina through Sunday, September 23rd at 11:59 pm.
Scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have developed a powerful method for exploring the properties of mysterious molecules called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), some of which have big roles in cancer and other serious conditions.
A new study finds that patients who underwent TAVR had a significantly shorter length of stay and were significantly less likely to be transferred to a skilling nursing facility compared to patients who underwent SAVR.
Researchers examined the costs associated with screening for prostate cancer, including treatment, for three years after diagnosis. They estimated that for men diagnosed in each of 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, the total cost for treating and screening for each group would be $1.2 billion for three years after diagnosis.
Researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have made important discoveries that could lead to better treatment for a rare blood cancer in children that has features of both acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The NIH has awarded the UNC HIV Cure Center and Cell Microsystems a Small Business Innovation and Research contract to develop an automated platform to quantify the latent HIV reservoir, a key step in finding a cure for the virus.
UNC researchers say the results from the multi-site phase 2 and 3 trials of brexanolone injection are not only promising, but could change the way postpartum depression is treated.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers showed they could shrink tumors in laboratory models of medulloblastoma. The study, published in PLOS ONE, is a necessary step toward developing clinical trials that would see if the approach works for children.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that crowdsourced campaigns can motivated men at-risk of HIV infection in China to get tested.
In 2013, UNC School of Medicine researchers were first to show an association between variants in gene FKBP5 and posttraumatic chronic pain. Now a new study by the same research group has confirmed this association in a cohort of more than 1,500 people of both European American and African American descent who experienced motor vehicle collision trauma.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) and UNC Health Care’s UNC Health Alliance announced today a partnership that reduces premium costs for Affordable Care Act (ACA) customers in the Triangle by more than $1,680 a year on average, before subsidies. The North Carolina Department of Insurance (NCDOI) today approved an average rate decrease of more than 21 percent for these customers.
Scientists discovered why some drugs activate serotonin receptor 5-HT2B to cause serious heart problems while other very similar drugs don’t. This research, led by UNC School of Medicine scientists, provides drug developers with insights that should help them create safer more effective drugs.
Researchers discovered a gene mutation underlying hydrops fetalis – a fatal condition to fetuses. The proteins at the center of this finding are implicated in a number of diseases, opening avenues of potential drug discovery related to migraines, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other conditions.
Although national guidelines advise doctors to discuss the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening with high-risk patients because of a high rate of false positives and other factors, those conversations aren’t happening the way they should be, according to a study by researchers from the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
A new systematic review provides the most comprehensive assessment to date on the scientific evidence estimating the effectiveness of various fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) for contraception.
All living things use the genetic code to “translate” DNA-based genetic information into proteins. Precisely how the process of translation arose in the earliest stages of life on Earth has long been mysterious, but two theoretical biologists have now made a significant advance in this field.
A small population of brain cells called "mossy cells" deep in a memory-making region of the brain controls the production of new neurons and may have a role in common brain disorders, according to a study from scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
In a study published in the journal Science, researchers suggest that ZHX2 is a potential new therapeutic target for clear cell renal cell carcinoma, which is the most common type of kidney cancer.
Researchers with UNC Lineberger’s Carolina Cancer Screening Initiative, in collaboration with the Mecklenburg County Health Department in Charlotte, examined the impact of mailing tests to more than 2,100 people insured by Medicaid who were not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening.
In late June, UNC Health Care became the first organization in North Carolina to integrate its Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) system with the NC Controlled Substance Reporting System, a giant step forward in empowering the system’s physicians to address the opioid epidemic.
Researchers investigated whether the location of the mutation within the sequence of the PIK3CA gene affected the mutation’s ability to help drive glioblastoma growth. They also tested whether mutations within certain sequences of the gene were linked to better responses to particular drugs. They found mutational status was not linked to a response to a single targeted drug, but it was to a combination of treatments.
University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers have discovered that a protein called Spt6 facilitates RNA degradation so that cells have just the right amount of RNA for the creation of proteins, a key component to human health and the avoidance of disease.
A study led by UNC’s Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH, reviewed more than 675,000 pregnancies in the U.S. to determine if the Tdap vaccine given to a mother will reduce the chances of her child developing pertussis during the first 18 months of life. The results show a decrease in overall cases of pertussis, and most notably, in pertussis hospitalization in infants whose mothers were immunized during pregnancy.
Parents ranked cancer prevention as the most compelling reason health care providers can give for recommending the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, according to a survey led by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.
The Chronic Pancreatitis and Autologous Islet Cell Transplant Program, created by Chirag S. Desai, MD, is helping patients improve their quality of life by eliminating severe pain and reducing or ending the use of narcotic pain medications, while preventing brittle diabetes.
In a collaborative, multi-institution effort to map the genetic and genomic changes in cancer, researchers led by UNC Lineberger's Katherine Hoadley, PhD, analyzed 137 testicular germ cell tumors for potential mutations and other molecular changes. They identified molecular features of testicular germ cell cancers that could inform future efforts to improve treatment decisions, and help monitor patients to see if their cancer has come back. Their findings were published in Cell Reports.
Heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, and can be caused by mutations in the gene CHD4. Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have now revealed key molecular details of how CHD4 mutations lead to heart defects.
A new study by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers has found that T cells, a type of white blood cell and an essential part of the immune system, are sufficient by themselves to establish and maintain an HIV infection in the brain.
A study by UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center's Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, and colleagues assessed whether monitoring prostate cancer patients following treatment with a PSA test every three months versus once a year would provide a long-term survival benefit.
The UNC AFib Care Network has launched a new clinic that coordinates all of the services needed by patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) in one convenient location.
In the journal Nature Communications, researchers report for a particular subset of lung cancer tumors, there is a high prevalence of immune cells called inflammatory monocytes. These immune cells, which normally help to build clotting scaffolds to promote wound healing, also make it possible for tumor cells to migrate and spread to other parts of the body.
In the journal Cancer Research, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers report they have developed a model of luminal bladder cancer, one of the two subtypes of advanced bladder cancer. The researchers said this model may help them to determine which patients may respond to checkpoint inhibitors.
A new case report led by Maya Styner, MD, of the UNC School of Medicine describes how a patient's use of a common over-the-counter biotin supplement caused clinically misleading test results and almost resulted in an unnecessary, invasive medical procedure.
UNC School of Medicine researchers have delineated the details of one major barrier to a promising vaccine. It’s something we all have – a natural body temperature of about 98.6 degrees.
For the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists led by Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar analyzed whole-genome DNA repair in an animal over 24 hours to find which genes were repaired, where exactly, and when, laying the groundwork for a more precise use of anti-cancer drugs.
A new study from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that parenting concerns have a significant impact on the mental and emotional health of women with advanced cancer. In particular, they found that a mother’s emotional well-being was significantly linked with whether she had communicated with her children about her illness, and her concerns about how her illness will financially impact her children.
Medical aid-in-dying is now legal in eight U.S. jurisdictions, but patients still face substantial barriers to access, according to a new analysis by Dr. Mara Buchbinder of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
A new meta-analysis of more than 135,000 people with major depression and more than 344,000 controls has identified 44 genomic variants, or loci, that have a statistically significant association with depression.
Research led by UNC School of Medicine student Wesley Stepp, PhD, shows how more detailed genetic testing of head and neck tumors could lead to more personalized treatments for patients.
In the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and colleagues report they have developed tissue-engineered models for cancer metastases that reflect the microenvironment around tumors that promotes their growth. They believe their models, which were developed to study colorectal cancer that had spread to the liver and lung, will help scientists studying why cancers tend to spread to certain organs rather than others.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers surveyed 2,664 young adults who were current users, never users, or past users of little cigars and cigarillos, finding cigarillo packs with colors and containing a flavor descriptor were rated more positively for taste and smell, and warnings didn’t fully mitigate the draw of the packaging.
UNC School of Medicine scientists led by Nikolay Dokholyan add to evidence that small aggregates of SOD1 protein are the brain-cell killing culprits in ALS, but the formation of larger, more visible, and fibril-like aggregates of the same protein may protect brain cells.
UNC Health Care has achieved Stage 7 designation – the highest rank possible – for hospitals, outpatient practices, and advanced analytics from HIMSS Analytics, a global healthcare research advisory firm. The Stage 7 honors confirm UNC Health Care’s place as a national leader in health IT and analytics.
In preliminary findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018, researchers from the lab of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center member Stephen Hursting, PhD, reported on a number of studies examining possible ways to reverse obesity-linked biological changes.
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and their collaborators are reporting preclinical findings for a potential two-treatment strategy to block multiple mechanisms of cancer cell metabolism in pancreatic cancer at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago. The findings will be presented from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center experts are available to provide expert commentary and feedback on research presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018.
Compared to physicians who didn’t receive any payments, those who received general payments for meals and lodging from a drug manufacturer had higher odds of prescribing that company’s particular drug for metastatic renal cell carcinoma and for chronic myeloid leukemia.