Category: Uncategorized

Mechanism Found That Promotes Melanoma Spread CHICAGO—Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a key signaling mechanism that may promote the ability of highly aggressive malignant melanoma cells to metastasize, or spread from a primary tumor to distant sites within the body. Results of their study, published in the November issue of Cancer Research, suggest that[…]

Primrose Oil Component Cuts Levels of Cancer Gene CHICAGO—Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a substance in evening primrose oil and several other plant oils used in herbal medicine, inhibits action of Her-2/neu, a cancer gene that is responsible for almost 30 percent of all breast cancers, Northwestern University researchers report. “Breast cancer patients with Her-2/neu-positive tumors have[…]

November 7, 2005 Searle Family Commits $10M to Recruit Biomedical ResearchersCHICAGO—Northwestern University has received a $5 million grant from the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust to support recruitment of outstanding biomedical faculty at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The Searle family anticipates that this award will be followed by successive grants to[…]

November 21, 2005 Stem Cell Microenvironment Reverses Malignant MelanomaCHICAGO—Northwestern University researchers have demonstrated how the microenvironments of two human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines (federally approved) induced metastatic melanoma cells to revert to a normal, skin cell-like type with the ability to form colonies similar to hESCs. The researchers also showed that these melanoma cells[…]

November 21,2005 Viagra® Improves Urinary Tract SymptomsCHICAGO—Viagra® (sildenafil citrate), known for improving erectile dysfunction (ED), also effectively treats the prostate and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with prostate enlargement that often occur with ED, a Northwestern University study has found. Kevin T. McVary, MD, professor of urology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine,[…]

Contact: Megan Fellman at (847) 491-3115 or atfellman@northwestern.edu Protein in Lou Gehrig’s Disease Linked to Neuron Death EVANSTON, Ill.—French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot first described amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 1869, but nearly 140 years later little is known about the cause of the devastating neurodegenerative disease, and there is no cure. What is known about[…]

In Memoriam (Melvyn Bayly Jr.) Melvyn A. Bayly Jr., MD ’71, emeritus associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the Feinberg School, died October 31 of cancer. He was 60. A faculty member since 1978, Dr. Bayly received emeritus status shortly before he passed away. Dr. Bayly spent his career at his alma mater[…]

November 8, 2005 Researchers Discover New Form of Cancer Gene RegulationCHICAGO—The Quaking gene, first described as a mutation in mice that causes rapid tremor, is thought to suppress tumor formation and protect humans from cancer. Now, a team of researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin has shown that the Quaking gene likely[…]

Estrogen Alters Brain ‘Wiring’ EVANSTON, Ill.—Researchers at Northwestern University and Columbia University have found that “wiring” in female rat brain memory area expands and retracts in relation to the amount of estrogen present during the estrous/menstrual cycle. A study describing this research was presented November 14 by Northwestern’s Aryeh Routtenberg, PhD, professor of psychology and[…]