University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSFAn experimental drug called Ocrelizumab has shown promise in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 220 people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an often debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease that affects an increasing number of people in North America.
A large, international clinical trial led by doctors at UCSF indicates that a vaccine to prevent anal cancer is safe and effective, according to a study reported in the October 27, 2011 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.
<p>UCSF's top scientists will engage in five discussions about cutting-edge science from October 31 through November 4 as part of the University's participation in the first-ever Bay Area Science Festival, which culminates on November 6 with a big fair at AT&T Park.</p>
<p>Aging of individual cells in the body leads to aging of the whole person, according to new evidence from studies of very rare children born with a genetic mutation that wrinkles, ages and kills them before they reach adulthood.</p>
During a decade of receiving mammograms, more than half of cancer-free women will be among those summoned back for more testing because of false-positive results, and about one in 12 will be referred for a biopsy.
<p>Sperm penetrates egg to complete fertilization is a happy ending hard to reach for many couples, but recent research findings — including the discovery of how progesterone attracts sperm to the egg — are engendering new ideas about birth control and infertility.</p>
<p>African American women have lower breast cancer survival rates than white women and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) scientists are studying why – as well as how to increase their life spans.</p>
<p>A type of fat known as brown fat combined with a stimulating environment appears to help burn calories, at least in a mouse, and maybe even in humans. The findings further fuel enthusiasm for research aimed at converting white fat to brown fat.</p>
<p>Obesity research in overweight humans may soon be guided by genetic studies of eating behavior, metabolism and fat storage in the nematode worm, <em>C elegans</em>.</p>
Frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease -- two fatal neurodegenerative disease with distinct symptoms -- are triggered by a common mutation in many cases, according to researchers who say they have identified the mutated gene.
<p>Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite transmitted from person to person by the bite of a mosquito. In the past two centuries, numerous research and public health efforts worldwide have sought to combat this ancient scourge as this timeline shows.</p>
UCSF researchers say their analysis of the age-specific, long-term effects of chemotherapy on women provides new insights that will help patients and clinicians make more informed decisions about future reproductive options, such as egg harvesting.
A scientist at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes has discovered how a gene contributes to a suite of health problems sweeping across America, offering new insight into how to combat these potentially fatal conditions.
<p>Asthma risk genes, inluding one in African Americans, have been identified in a new analysis of several large genome-wide studies of ethnically diverse populations.</p>
<p>A consortium of scientists is reporting that genetic secrets of multiple sclerosis may be buried in 50 “hot spots” in the human genome, a finding that will guide future efforts to assess an individual’s risk of susceptibility and may help develop new drugs for treating this complex disease.</p>
A UCSF-led pilot study in San Francisco has found the highest levels ever reported among pregnant women worldwide of banned chemicals used in flame retardants, a likely result, they believe, of California’s strict flammability regulations.
Elderly women who suffer from sleep apnea -- characterized by disrupted breathing and sleep and a reduction in the intake of oxygen -- are about twice as likely to develop dementia in the next five years as those without the condition, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.
Scientists have known for years that when vampire bats tear through an animal’s skin with their razor-sharp teeth, their noses guide them to the best spots – where a precise bite will strike a vein and spill forth nourishing blood. But nobody knew exactly how bats knew where to bite – until now.
The completion of a massive genotyping on a large and diverse population marks an unprecedented milestone in population-based genetics research and offers a unique and powerful resource to help answer research questions about aging, health and disease.