|
Making Headlines |
Does Diabetes Make the Mind Go to Pieces?
USA Today January 28, 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-28-diabetes-alzheimers_N.htm
Sweet sugar. That’s the Greek translation of the word glucose, the substance our bodies make to use for energy. Glucose and the glucose-regulating hormone insulin have long been studied by scientists looking for a cure for diabetes. Now the substances are increasingly coming under the study of brain scientists because it appears they might just be golden keys to brain health as we age.
A number of studies have suggested that people with diabetes—when the body either does not make enough insulin or cannot process it—are more prone to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s.
Studies are getting closer to understanding the link between the two conditions and which parts of the brain are most affected by glucose and insulin…
Another study, published in December in the journal Neuron, suggests that slow, chronic starvation of the brain—when it doesn’t get enough sugar—may set off a biochemical process that causes sticky Alzheimer’s plaques to form. Author Robert Vassar, a professor of cell and molecular biology at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, discovered that a key brain protein called elF2alpha is altered when the brain is energy-poor. The protein appears to increase the production of an enzyme that flips the switch that produces the plaques.
“This finding is significant because it suggests that improving blood flow to the brain might be an effective therapeutic
approach to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s,” Vassar says. He suggests getting exercise, reducing cholesterol and managing hypertension: “If people start early enough, maybe they can dodge the bullet.”…
Attractive Solution: Magnetic Bursts Treating Woman’s Depression
Upstate Today (South Carolina) January 28, 2009
http://www.upstatetoday.com/news/2009/jan/28/attractive-solution/
Once a week, Lucinda Smith tucks earplugs into both ears, flips her auburn hair over a neck rest and waits for a powerful magnetic burst to be aimed at her skull.
The magnet’s jolts arrive with a rattle, like a woodpecker drilling into a tree. Timed and positioned just right, they could chase away the depression that has darkened her life…
“We have a lotleft to learn about which specific kinds of depression respond to TMS,” said Dr. Joshua Rosenow, a neurosurgeon at NORTHWESTERN University in Chicago studying TMS as a way to help reactivate brains after serious injury.
TMS also requires lots of time and careful placement. “The effect is very dependent on who is delivering the TMS,” Rosenow said. “The way you hold the coil, where you put it, the rotation, the angle” affect what happens in the brain…
FDA Approves a Stem Cell Trial
New York Times January 23, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/business/23stem.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
In a research milestone, the federal government will allow the world’s first test in people of a therapy derived from human embryonic stem cells.
Federal drug regulators said that political considerations had no role in the decision. Nevertheless, the move coincided with the inauguration of President Obama, who has pledged to remove some of the financing restrictions placed on the field by President George W. Bush…
Even as some researchers hailed the onset of clinical trials, others expressed trepidation that if the therapy proves unsafe—or even if it is safe but does not work—it could cause a backlash that would set the field back for years.
“It would be a disaster, a nightmare, if we ran into these kinds of problems in this very first trial,” said Dr. John A. Kessler, the chairman of neurology and director of the stem cell institute at NORTHWESTERN University.
Dr. Kessler, whose own daughter was paralyzed from the waist down in a skiing accident, said he thought Geron’s therapy was not the ideal candidate for the first trial. He said results showing the therapy worked in moderately injured animals might not apply to more seriously injured people.
“We really want the best trial to be done for this first trial, and this might not be it,” he said…
Therapy That Might Have Helped Christopher Reeve to Walk Again
The Times (London) January 23, 2009
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5569645.ece
The first patients to receive a therapy based on embryonic stem cells are people who do not yet know that they will need it.
The paralysis treatment that has been cleared to begin clinical trials is designed to work best in the first two weeks after a spinal cord injury—so those who may benefit are fit and healthy at the moment…
Richard Fessler, Professor of Neurological Surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at NORTHWESTERN University, said the approach was extremely promising. “The neurosurgical community is very excited by this new approach to treating devastating spinal cord injury,” he said. “Demyelination is central to the pathology of the injury, and its reversal by means of injecting oligodendrocyte progenitor cells would be revolutionary. If safe and effective, the therapy would provide a viable treatment option for thousands of patients who suffer severe spinal cord injuries each year.”…
This story was also carried on the following news outlets:
Government Approves Study Using Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Washington Post January 24, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012300584.html
FDA OKs Embryonic Stem-Cell Human Trial
UPI January 23, 2009
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/01/23/FDA_OKs_embryonic_stem-cell_human_trial/UPI-56161232728584/
FDA Approves Embryonic Stem Cell Trials at Geron
Chicago Tribune January 24, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat-geron-embryonic-0124-jan24,0,3496624.story
The Latest Drug Safety Checklist
Ladies Home Journal February 2009
Unintentional medication overdoses rose 360 percent in the past 20 years. They’re the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the United Sates (only car crashes kill more). One reason? Drug interactions.
“Patients have to be more informed,” says Michael Wolf, PhD, director of NORTHWESTERN University’s Center for Communication in Healthcare…
Whooping Cough Vaccine Urged for New Moms
USA Today January 21, 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-21-whooping-cough-vaccine-newborn_N.htm
Doctors should routinely give all new mothers a vaccine to protect their newborns from whooping cough, a sometimes deadly illness that has made a recent comeback, according to a study in today’s Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Although experts recommend that mothers receive the shot before taking their babies home from the hospital, few women even know about the vaccine, which can help protect unvaccinated infants, says study co-author Tina Tan, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Newborns, who aren’t vaccinated until they’re 2 months old, are increasingly vulnerable to whooping cough, or pertussis, which has made a comeback in recent years as more parents opt out of vaccinating their kids, Tan says. While some fear that childhood vaccines may contribute to autism, scientists say there is ample proof that this isn’t true….
This story was also carried on the following news outlets:
WLS-TV and WBBM-TV (Chicago), KBTX Radio (Texas), 21 WKBT-TV (La Crosse), WLTX-TV (Columbia), KMEG-TV (Sioux City), WSBT-TV (South Bend), WDEF-TV (Chattanooga),WDBJ-TV (Roanoke), WFRV-TV (Green Bay), KYTX-TV (Tyler), WSHM-TV (Springfield), KSLA-TV (Shreveport), KIRO-TV (Seattle), KEYE-TV (Austin), WWTV-TV (Traverse City), WTKR-TV (Norfolk), WRGB-TV (Albany), WNEM-TV (Flint), WAGM-TV (Preque Island), KTVN-TV (Reno), WUSA-TV (Washington,D.C.), WTOC-TV (Savannah), WRDW-TV (Augusta), WRBL-TV (Columbus), WPRI-TV (Providence), WJZ-TV (Baltimore), WIBW-TV (Topeka), WDJT-TV (Milwaukee), WCBS-TV (New York), WBNG-TV (Binghamton), KWTX-TV (Waco), KWCH-TV (Wichita), KVAL-TV (Eugene), KUTV-TV (Salt Lake City), KTHV-TV (Little Rock), KRCG-TV (Columbia), KPHO-TV (Phoenix), KOSA-TV (Odessa) KOLR-TV (Springfield), KNOE-TV (Monroe), KMTV-TV (Omaha), KIMT-TV (Rochester), KGPE-TV (Fresno),KGMB-TV (Honolulu), KCOY-TV (Santa Barbara), KCCI-TV (Des Moines), KCBS-TV (Los Angeles), WVLT-TV (Knoxville), WTSP-TV (Tampa), WKMG-TV (Orlando), WGCL-TV (Atlanta), KWTV-TV (Oklahoma City), KKTV-TV (Colorado Springs), KBCI-TV (Boise), KCAL-TV (Los Angeles), KPIX-TV (San Francisco)
Endometriosis Linked to Embryo Defects
UPI January 20, 2009
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/01/20/Endometriosis_linked_to_embryo_defects/UPI-24671232492200/
A U.S. researcher links endometriosis to abnormalities resulting from defects in the early embryo. Endometriosis is a disease that can cause pain and infertility in woman.
Dr. Serdar Bulun of NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago links the disease to molecular abnormalities including a progesterone receptor that is inappropriately turned off and the presence of a enzyme—aromatase—that triggers estrogen production.
“This may be a disease that women are born with,” Bulun says in a statement. “Perhaps when a baby girl is born, it has already been determined that she is predisposed to have endometriosis. Maybe research can now be directed toward the fetal origins of the disease and raise the awareness of how the disease develops.”…
Study to Test if Fading Sense of Smell Signals Onset of Parkinson’s
PhysOrg January 20, 2009
http://www.physorg.com/news151689638.html
Nearly one million people in the United States are affected by Parkinson’s disease, which stems from premature aging of dopamine-producing cells in the brain, and the number is likely to grow as the population ages. By the time Parkinson’s disease is detected, most individuals have already experienced a 60 to 70 percent loss of dopamine-producing cells in the brain.
“Very little is known about the early stages of this disease,” says Tanya Simuni, MD, director of NORTHWESTERN’s Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center and associate professor of neurology at the Feinberg School. “By utilizing smell testing in conjunction with other tests, we hope to develop a system that identifies the presence of Parkinson’s before it develops into problematic symptoms.”…
NORTHWESTERN is one of 15 sites nationwide and the only center in Illinois to participate in the Parkinson’s Associated Risk Study (PARS), the largest long-term study in the United States of relatives of individuals with Parkinson’s disease…
Walking Is Good for Blocked Leg Arteries
U.S. News & World Report January 13, 2009
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/01/13/walking-is-good-for-blocked-leg-arteries.html
Anyone looking for proof that a planned program of walking is good for people with the leg blood-vessel blockage called peripheral arterial disease (PAD) should check the results of a new U.S. government-funded study.
The study of 156 people with PAD—many of whom didn’t have the pain that is the classic symptom of artery blockage—showed that regular six-minute walks on a treadmill improved their endurance and quality of life.
While walking is a standard recommendation for people with PAD, the study was different in two ways, said study lead author Dr. Mary M. McDermott, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
“All prior studies have focused on patients with intermittent claudicating—the symptom of PAD,” McDermott said. “Some of the patients in this study were asymptomatic. Also, we included testing of leg strength. This is the largest trial to do so.”
The findings were published in the Jan. 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association….
This story was also carried in the following news outlets:
Walking Is Good for Blocked Leg Arteries
Forbes.com January 12, 2009
http://www.forbes.com/health/feeds/hscout/2009/01/13/hscout623034.html
Walking Is Good for Blocked Leg Arteries
Washington Post January 13, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011302186.html
Finding It Hard to Walk? Try Walking
Reuters (also in Edmonton Journal, Alberta) January 13, 2009
http://uk.reuters.com/article/email/idUKTRE50C6QH20090113
New Mouse Model Found for Allergy
UPI January 13, 2009
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/01/13/New_mouse_model_found_for_allergy/UPI-68181231874523/
Researchers in Chicago say they have developed a new way to get mice to mimic symptoms of humans having an allergic reaction to peanuts.
Peanut allergies affect many people, particularly young children, so finding an animal model that mimics a severe reaction will help scientists develop better treatment strategies, said Paul Bryce, who led the mouse model team at the Feinberg School of Medicine at NORTHWESTERN University.
For reasons not clearly understood, the prevalence of food allergies in children increased by 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, with the most common allergies linked to milk, eggs, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and soy, Bryce said…
A Device to Avert Strokes Lacks Proof That It Works
New York Times January 13, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/health/research/14heart.html
Every year, experts estimate, about 80,000 seemingly healthy people in this country under the age of 55 have a stroke for no apparent reason. Some researchers have long suspected that one culprit is a cardiac defect that 40 percent of those people share—a tiny congenital opening between the upper chambers of their hearts.
Based on that theory, doctors in recent years have implanted a small flexible seal in the hearts of thousands of stroke patients…
…But other medical experts say the widespread off-label use of devices could be a waste of money and even potentially dangerous. “We need to know whether this is the right thing to do, and the only way we are going to find out is through trials,” said Dr. Mark Alberts, a neurologist at NORTHWESTERN University Medical School.
Brain Jolt More Effective for Treating Parkinson’s
Bloomberg News January 6, 2009
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/health/ny-hspark07-nws,0,437254.story
Implanting electrodes to shoot electrical impulses into the brains of Parkinson’s patients improved their physical function more than the best drug therapy, a study showed.
Patients who received the deep brain stimulation had an average of 4.6 more hours a day free of involuntary Parkinson’s movements than peers being treated only with drugs, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The brain-stimulated patients were also more likely to have serious side effects, such as an infection in the head where electrodes were implanted, the study showed.
Parkinson’s disease, which has no cure, afflicts people with involuntary moving, shaking and tremors. Deep brain stimulation began being used as a treatment in the 1990s and became more widespread after winning regulatory approval without a large scientific trial to compare it with drug therapy. This is the first major study to compare the two treatments, said the study’s lead author, Frances Weaver, a neurology professor at NORTHWESTERN University in Chicago.
“There’s no cure for Parkinson’s, and when the medication’s not working, patients are looking for something else,” said Weaver, the deputy director for policy research at Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital in Illinois. “This might be an appropriate treatment.”…
Electronic Therapy Shortens Treatment for Uterine Cancer
Chicago Tribune December 28, 2008
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-cancer-faster-1228dec28,0,6718229.story
A breakthrough radiation technique is being used to treat women with endometrial cancer, which doctors say results in shorter treatment times, reduced recurrence of cancer and safer outcomes.
In September, Swedish Covenant Hospital treated its first patient using electronic brachytherapy, which delivers therapy directly to cancer sites with minimal exposure to surrounding healthy tissue, said Dr. Gary Schreiber, radiation oncologist at Swedish Covenant Hospital. Electronic brachytherapy uses electricity to generate very low-powered X-rays, similar to a chest X-ray…
Other treatment options exist too. “We’ve been using high-dose-rate brachytherapy following surgery, an alternative that has worked very well for a long time,” said Dr. William Small Jr., professor of radiation oncology at NORTHWESTERN University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Small believes more study is needed on electronic brachytherapy. “My main concern is whether the new machine is delivering a different dose of radiation than traditional brachytherapy to the regions at risk for recurrence and the normal tissues. The current way of delivering brachytherapy that we use has been done in many institutions very well. Can you reproduce those outcomes with electronic brachytherapy?”
Blood Sugar Loss May Trigger Alzheimer’s: Study
Reuters December 24, 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4BN3MF20081224?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews
A slow, chronic reduction of blood sugar to the brain could trigger some forms of Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
The study of human and mice brains suggests a reduction of blood flow deprives energy to the brain, setting off a process that ultimately produces the sticky clumps of protein researchers believe is a cause of the disease, they said.
The finding could lead to strategies such as exercise, reducing cholesterol and managing blood pressure to keep Alzheimer’s at bay, Robert Vassar and colleagues at NORTHWESTERN University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago reported.
“This finding is significant because it suggests that improving blood flow to the brain might be an effective therapeutic approach to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s,” Vassar, who led the study, said in a statement. “If people start early enough, maybe they can dodge the bullet.”…
The story was also carried in the following news outlets:
Boosting Blood Flow May Fight Alzheimer’s
United Press International December 24, 2008
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/12/24/Boosting_blood_flow_may_fight_Alzheimers/UPI-52731230152845/
What Provokes Alzheimer’s?
Agence France-Presse December 25, 2008
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Top%20Stories&set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=nw20081225153028458C298538
Boosting Blood Flow May Fight Alzheimer’s
United Press International December 24, 2008
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/12/24/Boosting_blood_flow_may_fight_Alzheimers/UPI-52731230152845/
Blood Sugar Loss May Trigger Alzheimer’s
NBC “Today” December 24, 2008
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28380970/
Slow Starvation of Brain Triggers Alzheimer’s
Yahoo! News December 24, 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20081224/sc_livescience/slowstarvationofbraintriggersalzheimers;_ylt=A0wNcxKw8FRJY1EB6QwPLBIF
Blood Flow to Brain May Affect Alzheimer’s Risk
ABC7 (WLS-TV) December 24, 2008
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/health&id=6572215
WJW-TV (Cleveland), KWGN-TV (Denver), KMPH-TV (Fresno), WOGX-TV (Gainesville), WGFL-TV (WGFL-TV (Gainesville), WOFL-TV (Orlando), KSEV-AM (Houston), WDIV-TV (Detroit), KMSP-TV (Minneapolis), KXRM- TV (Colorado Springs), WHBQ-TV (Memphis), WJBK-TV (Detroit), KRQE-TV (Albuquerque), Dec. 24.
Reference to research by Robert Vassar, professor of cell and molecular biology, on Alzheimer’s disease.
|
The full text of most stories can be accessed in the Lexis-Nexis database via the Northwestern network at http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe. Stories from major newspaper, wire, television and radio sources can be obtained by selecting “News.” Stories from other media, including local outlets, can be accessed by selecting “Sources” instead of “News.” In both cases, you can search by keywords from the article’s headline. If you are searching by source, you will need to enter the name of the publication in which the article appeared before you enter keywords. Stories that include an html address with the headline can be accessed directly by clicking on the html address. |
