Blood Stem Cell, Leukemia Link Illuminated in UCSF-Led Study
A UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia.
University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFA UCSF-led team has discovered at least one key reason why blood stem cells are susceptible to developing the genetic mutations that can lead to adult leukemia.
A mutation found in a mouse gene that also appears in humans might provide new insights into the genetic roots of alcoholism, according to a study led by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center and UCSF. The study appears in the August 12, 2010, edition of “<i>PLoS Genetics</i>.”
In neurodegenerative diseases, clumps of insoluble proteins appear in patients’ brains. These aggregates contain proteins that are unique to each disease, such as amyloid beta in Alzheimer’s disease, but they are intertwined with small amounts of many other insoluble proteins that are normally present in a soluble form in healthy young individuals.
A UCSF-led team has discovered a direct link between an inherited genetic mutation, a set of developmental abnormalities and a rare form of childhood leukemia called juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, or JMML.
Stefan Habelitz, an engineer and materials scientist, is blazing a new research trail by investigating tooth enamel in the UCSF School of Dentistry's Marshall Lab, where researchers fruitfully focus on every facet of teeth, knowing they’re nothing to take for granted…
Testosterone in men has become a hot health topic. New studies, including one by UCSF researchers, now are sparking a controversy over the role of testosterone in heart disease.
Young people with even modestly elevated cholesterol levels are more likely to develop coronary artery calcium and atherosclerosis later in life, according to a study by UCSF researchers.
UCSF has hired two senior managers to strengthen the University’s research enterprise.
Larissa Podust, PhD, is working on a new drug for Chagas disease, a neglected scourge.
A novel technique created at UCSF to deliver a growth factor directly to brain cells has shown promising results in treating Parkinson's symptoms and could enter human clinical trials as early as next year.
A commercial brain fitness program has been shown to improve memory in older adults, at least in the period soon after training. The findings are the first to show that practicing simple visual tasks can improve the accuracy of short-term, or “working” visual memory.
The heavy burden of hunger in the United States helps explain why the poor are at higher risk for obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to an editorial in the July 1 <i>New England Journal of Medicine</i> co-authored by two UCSF faculty members.
A new study shows that overweight and obese women who suffer from hot flashes can reduce the severity of their hot flashes if they lose weight through diet or exercise.
A recent book by UCSF sociologist Patrick Fox, PhD, helps us understand a patient’s perspective in Alzheimer’s disease.
Heart disease patients with anxiety disorder were significantly more likely to experience stroke, heart failure, heart attack, transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke), or death than heart disease patients without anxiety, in a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
A new study by UCSF cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, improve the health of blood vessels and increase the number of circulating angiogenic cells in patients with heart disease. The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols – such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables – have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients.
The Veterans Health Research Institute or NCIRE will present “The Brain at War: Neurocognitive Consequences of Combat” today (June 17).
James McKerrow, leader of the Sandler Center for Drug Discovery at UCSF, was honored with the 2009 Mendel Medal for his work identifying the vulnerabilities of disease-causing parasites and for devising new strategies to fight them.
It is well-known that vitamin D is essential for strong and healthy bones. However, in an article in the online “In Press” section of “Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism,” a San Francisco VA Medical Center physician reviews recent scientific literature suggesting that the vitamin may also play a role in preventing cancer, fighting infection, and controlling or preventing auto-immune disease.
For his groundbreaking work on the sensation of touch, David Julius, PhD, professor and chair of the UCSF Department of Physiology, has been named to receive the 2010 Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine.
UCSF scientists have discovered a new stem cell in the developing human brain. The cell produces nerve cells that help form the neocortex - the site of higher cognitive function -- and likely accounts for the dramatic expansion of the region in the lineages that lead to man, the researchers say.
UCSF researchers have created the first transgenic mouse to display the earliest signs of Parkinson’s disease using the genetic mutation that is known to accompany human forms of the disease.
To be a truly comprehensive and successful anti-obesity program, First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign must include interventions that target pregnant women, infants, and pre-school-age children, UCSF experts say.
A UCSF-led study examining the impact of statins on the progression of multiple sclerosis found a lower incidence of new brain lesions in patients taking the cholesterol-lowering drug in the early stages of the disease as compared to a placebo.
A new report by the Institute of Medicine has found that military service in the Persian Gulf War is a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder in some veterans.
An international study published in the March 25 <em>New England Journal of Medicine</em> showed what researchers call a clinical breakthrough in one of the greatest unmet needs for patients with advanced liver disease.
In April 2010, personnel aboard the International Space Station plan to carry out an experiment designed by a San Francisco VA Medical Center researcher that will investigate why the immune system’s T cells stop working in the absence of gravity. The experiment has implications for understanding the body’s ability to mount an immune response on earth, as well.
UCSF scientists have used a novel cell-based strategy to treat motor symptoms in rats with a disease designed to mimic Parkinson’s disease. The strategy suggests a promising approach, the scientists say, for treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders, including epilepsy.
UCSF scientists report that they were able to prompt a new period of “plasticity,” or capacity for change, in the neural circuitry of the visual cortex of juvenile mice.
Taking an innovative path toward personalized medicine, scientists for the first time will be able to eliminate – at an early point in a clinical trial — experimental drugs that show poor efficacy, dramatically shortening the time it takes to get the right medication to the right patient with breast cancer.