Cigarette smoke causes breaks in DNA and defects to a cell's chromosomes, Pitt study finds
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 30 The amount of smoke in just one or two puffs of a cigarette can cause breaks in DNA and defects to a cell's chromosomes, leading to irreversible changes in genetic information being passed to a newly divided cell, according to University of Pittsburgh researchers. Their findings, to be reported Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the 35th Annual Meeting of the Environmental Mutagen Society,...University of Pittsburgh receives $10 million grant for head and neck cancer
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 26 The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) has received a five-year, $10 million Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) federal grant to examine innovative treatment strategies designed to improve survival outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer. The grant, awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the second SPORE awarded to UPCI the f...University of Pittsburgh medical center among first to implant heart assist device
PITTSBURGH, July 20 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) today is discharging its first patient who was successfully implanted, on July 2, with the Heartmate XVE Left Ventricular Assist System (LVAS). It was implanted as a permanent implant in lieu of a heart transplant, as opposed to the traditional use for this type of device....... The patient, 58-year-old John Didion, has recov...Pitt researchers find men and women have different genes behind depression
PITTSBURGH, March 28 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have found evidence that men and women have different genes that anchor the roots of depression, a revelation that could have a major impact on the way doctors treat patients in the future.... ...The researchers are the first to report the results of a systematic search for chromosomal regions that harbor genes that affect suscepti...Mouse study yields clue to why liver is less prone to rejection, say Pitt researchers
BOSTON, May 17 Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute believe they have identified a mechanism that may help to explain why the liver enjoys privileged immunological status over other organs, making it the least vulnerable to rejection when transplanted. ... ...Playing a central role in this mechanism is the dendritic cell, known for its abilit...University of Pittsburgh receives NIH funding to develop heart assist device for infants
PITTSBURGH, April 28 The University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has been awarded a five-year $4.5 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a heart assist device for infants. Working with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and industry partners, the Pitt researchers envision the pediatric ventricular...Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research at Carnegie Mellon
The Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research has received a five-year, $6.7 million grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to pursue innovative work in applying nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to biomedical sciences. ... The Pittsburgh NMR Center for Biomedical Research is a joint endeavor of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh an...University of Pittsburgh Medical Center acquires biotechnology firm Rheogene Inc.
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 17 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has acquired important gene regulation technology, thanks to a donation from specialty chemical company Rohm and Haas Co. The donation is the first of its kind for UPMC and includes intellectual property, equipment, compounds, biological materials, research and commercial agreements and licenses that have been consolidated in...Pittsburgh researchers engineer and successfully test SARS corona vaccine in animal model
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 4 -- Research by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) in collaboration with colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has shown that an adenoviral-based vaccine can induce SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-specific T-cell and virus-neutralizing antibody responses. ... ...The stu...Protein biomarkers accurately and quickly diagnose ALS, find Pittsburgh researchers
MILAN, Italy, Nov. 17 Detection of protein abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may allow physicians to more rapidly diagnose and better monitor drug efficacy in clinical trials for the disease, according to a novel study presented by a University of Pittsburgh researcher in Milan, Italy, today. ... ...These findings may lead to the firs...University of Pittsburgh scientist honored for major accomplishment in cancer research
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 26 Yuan Chang, M.D., professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been awarded the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for her work investigating Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the most recently discovered virus linked to human cancer. ...... KSHV is the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma, a co...Worlds largest scientific society to hold regional meeting in Pittsburgh
The American Chemical Society will hold its 35th Central regional meeting in Pittsburgh, Penn., Oct. 19-22. Over 400 scientific presentations will be made to approximately 500 scientists and students. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton Hotel Station Square, 300 West Station Square Drive (412-261-2000). ...... A special highlight of the meeting is the Society's National Chemistry Week celebr...University of Pittsburgh named cooperative research center for muscular dystrophy
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 14 The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is among three medical schools nationwide to be named as a cooperative center for muscular dystrophy research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).... ...The centers, also at the University of Washington, Seattle and the University of Rochester School of Medicine, New York, are each being funded for five years at up to ......Infectious disease study findings presented by University of Pittsburgh scientists
HYANNIS, Mass., Aug. 7 Clinical and basic science findings of several studies are being presented by University of Pittsburgh and Magee-Women's Research Institute scientists at a meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology (IDSOG). Scientific sessions take place Aug. 7 to 9 at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis, Mass. Findings include the following:...... ...... Poten...Carnegie Mellon partners with Pitt to host Bone Symposium
PITTSBURGH--More than 150 of the world's medical elite will come to Pittsburgh August 20-23 at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel to showcase and discuss some of the latest technologies used in wound healing and tissue engineering developed to improve patient care. The symposium, co-sponsored by Carnegie Mellon and Pitt, is designed to stimulate increased interaction among academic clinicians and...University of Pittsburgh study links gynecological complaint to increased risk for herpes
PITTSBURGH, July 22 A recent investigation from the Magee-Womens Research Institute has found an apparent link between a common gynecological disorder called bacterial vaginosis (BV) and an increased risk for the acquisition of herpes. The researchers, who are affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh, report their findings in the August issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, the journal of t...Pitt researchers find genes for depression; Play role in mood disorders, shorter lifespan
PITTSBURGH, July 2 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have completed the first survey of the entire human genome for genes that affect the susceptibility of individuals to developing clinical depression....... George S. Zubenko, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and adjunct professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon Universi...Artificial organ research findings presented by University of Pittsburgh researchers
WASHINGTON, June 18 The clinical and basic science findings of more than a dozen studies are being presented by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at a joint meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs and the International Society for Artificial Organs. Scientific sessions take place June 18 to 21 at the Hilton Washing...University of Pittsburgh scientists awarded for outstanding cancer research contribution
PITTSBURGH, June 9 Yuan Chang, M.D., and Patrick S. Moore, M.D., M.P.H., have been awarded the Charles S. Mott Prize, bestowed annually by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation (GMCRF), for the most recent outstanding contribution to the cause or prevention of cancer. The husband-and-wife team is from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where Dr. Chang is professor of patholo...Hypothermia helps brain heal after cardiac arrest, finds University of Pittsburgh study
BOSTON, May 30 Cooling body temperature to levels consistent with hypothermia improves survival when induced after cardiac arrest and also promotes growth factors important for the brains recovery, suggests a study performed by researchers in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Preliminary results of their study were reported today at the 2003...Pitt researchers develop non-invasive glucose sensor
PITTSBURGH, April 14 Millions of people suffering from diabetes mellitus may be spared the ordeal of pricking their fingers several times a day to test blood sugar levels, thanks to a breakthrough by University of Pittsburgh researchers who have developed a non-invasive method to measure the glucose level in bodily fluids....... Researchers Sanford A. Asher, Ph.D., professor of chemistry in the...Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center leads group buying PPL'S cloning, stem cell business
PITTSBURGH, April 8 The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and other investors have formed Regenecor Holdings, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation, to acquire PPL Therapeutics, Inc., of Blacksburg, Va., a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL Therapeutics Plc of Scotland. ... ...PPL is considered one of the world's leading companies in the application of transgenic technology for th...Univ. of Pittsburgh receives $6.3M NIH grant to study oral health disparities in Appalachia
PITTSBURGH, March 31 Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, in cooperation with West Virginia University's School of Dentistry, have received a 7 year, $6.3 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to determine factors that contribute to oral health disparities in Appalachia. The grant is the largest NIH grant made to the Sch...Costly tests unnecessary for some miscarriages, University of Pittsburgh geneticist says
HOT SPRINGS, Va., Jan. 27 Current standard practice in cases of repeated pregnancy loss frequently involves a lengthy series of diagnostic tests that often still do not pinpoint a cause yet amass thousands of dollars in unnecessary costs, according to a geneticist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine....... With a minor adjustment concerning those patients who are recommended for a...Pittsburgh researchers discover genetic link between two juvenile onset renal diseases
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 5 Geneticists from the University of Pittsburgh have identified mutations in a gene that are responsible for two heritable kidney diseases. The discovery of four novel gene mutations in the uromodulin (UMOD) gene which are responsible for medullary cystic kidney disease 2 (MCKD2) and familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy (FJHN) proves that these two diseases are actually t...Wake Forest, Pittsburgh doctors find gene behind two kidney diseases
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh report in the current Journal of Medical Genetics that they have found defects in the gene that produces a common protein in urine and that these defects are linked to two inherited kidney diseases. ... For six years, the researchers had studied a family from Western North Carolina t...University of Pittsburgh findings published in Science illustrate how KSHV causes cancer
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 14 Findings published in this week's issue of the journal Science by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) illustrate how the virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, or KSHV inhibits the body's immune response and causes cancer cells to grow through a technique called immune evasion. KSHV causes Kaposi's sarcoma...Pittsburgh researchers target genetic, environmental threats to maternal and fetal health
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 28 The Pittsburgh Development Center of the Magee-Womens Research Institute, and four other Oakland-based health care and academic institutions will share a $5.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Office of Research on Women's Health to study genetic and environmental causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes over five years.... ...Researchers from the Pittsburgh...University of Pittsburgh focuses on building careers in womens health
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 14 The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute are among a dozen institutions nationwide to share in an innovative effort to foster the expansion of women's health research and training through the National Institutes of Health's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program. The Pittsburgh team is receivin...University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute discovers proteins linked to colon cancer
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 7 Findings published in this month's issue of Clinical Cancer Research and featured on the journal's cover, may bring researchers one-step closer to the development of tumor markers to detect colon cancer early, before it has had a chance to spread and when it is easier to cure, say researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI). These tumor markers eleva...University of Pittsburgh scientist discusses blood cell damage from biomedical devices
ANTALYA, Turkey, Sept. 26 While biomedical devices such as prosthetic heart valves, heart-assist devices, oxygenators, vascular grafts and hemodialysis systems can help to save or significantly extend lives, these same devices also can damage the blood cells which travel through them. Severe consequences can result when blood cells are damaged or broken down, said Marina Kameneva, Ph.D., researc...Transplant patients from 40 years ago cause Pittsburgh doctors to take an about-face
MIAMI, Aug. 26 In a radical departure from the standard way of treating transplant patients, doctors from the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute have gone back to the future, so to speak. ... ...Instead of the current practice of giving patients high doses of multiple drugs to suppress the immune system as soon as the organ is transplanted, the Pittsburgh team...Amplified genome area mapped; New gene is overexpressed in oral cancer, say Pittsburgh researchers
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 1 Investigators from the University of Pittsburgh have used a new technique to map a region of the genome chromosomal band 11q13 that is present in extra copies, or amplified, in a large percentage of oral cancers. They also have identified a new gene that is expressed at abnormally high levels in oral cancers when the segment is amplified. Their results are to be published th...Not all enlarged prostates are the same, say University of Pittsburgh researchers
PITTSBURGH, May 23 Men with asymptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), symptomatic BPH, and BPH with prostate cancer express different genes according to a study published by the University of Pittsburgh in the May 28 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). These findings are the first to investigate the molecular differences underlying BPH, commonly referred t...Muscle derived cell transplants offer alternative incontinence therapy says Pitt study
ORLANDO, May 25 Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found that, in animal models, autologous skeletal muscle derived cell (MDC) transplants offer a safer, more effective and longer lasting treatment for urinary incontinence than existing methods. In the procedure, muscle cells are taken from the individual, purified and cloned, and then reinjected into the bladd...University of Pittsburgh discovers gene mutation responsible for hereditary gingival fibromatosis
PITTSBURGH, April 1 A mutation in a gene that signals for cellular growth is responsible for the rare hereditary disease that causes the gums to grow over the teeth. The results, published in the April American Journal of Human Genetics, may help researchers explain the mechanisms by which such gingival overgrowth occurs.... ...An international team of researchers from the United States and Braz...University of Pittsburgh researchers define precursors to cells that control the immune response
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 11 - University of Pittsburgh researchers have identified the precursors of epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs), cells that reside in the skin and play a key role in the initiation and regulation of the immune response throughout the body. Researchers may now be able to use these cells to manipulate and control the immune response, according to the groundbreaking study to be publish...... ... ...PITTSBURGH, July 5 To realize the vast potential of tissue engineering and other techniques aimed at repairing damaged or diseased tissues and organs, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Health System have established the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM). As an entity, the MIRM will serve as a single base of operations for the university.... . . PITTSBURGH, June 5 -- University of Pittsburgh researchers have identified a new cellular target for aspirin, shedding light on the mechanisms of the most widely used drug in the world and raising a set of intriguing questions, including whether aspirin could be useful for preventing organ rejection.. . In the June 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology, the researchers report for the fi....CHICAGO, May 15 -- In one of the few studies of its kind, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute have found that a subtype of dendritic cell plays a key role in preventing organ rejection and may be associated with transplant tolerance, the long-term survival of a transplanted organ without the need for immunosuppressant drugs. .Researchers wi...