Jefferson Lab medical imager spots breast cancer
Newport News, VA - A study published in the February issue of the journal Radiology shows that a positron emission mammography (PEM) device designed and built by the Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab scientists is capable of imaging breast cancer tumors. In the pilot study, conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers, the unit imaged 18 malignant tumors in 23 patients receiving add...Jefferson scientists uncover potential trigger of diabetic kidney disease
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a protein that plays a leading part in triggering kidney disease in diabetic patients, a condition known as diabetic nephropathy and the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide. The finding, which they report February 22 in the journal ...According to study co-author Kumar Sharma, M.D., director of the C...Jefferson Researcher Finds New Digital X-Ray Technology May Cut Costs And Improve Patient Care
A new digital X-ray technology being studied at Thomas. Jefferson University Hospital, and to be unveiled next week,. has the potential to replace the current film X-ray. technology, while reducing health care costs and improving. patient care, says Gary S. Shaber, M.D., research professor. of Radiology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and. director, Division of Genera...Uric acid may help reduce effects of spinal cord injury, Jefferson researchers find
Increasing levels of uric acid, a metabolic breakdown product found in blood and urine, may help cut some of the potentially devastating "secondary" cellular damage that occurs following a spinal cord injury, say researchers at Jefferson Medical College. The finding may lead to new treatments for such injuries. ...After a spinal cord injury, the body's inflammatory response may actually make thin...Jefferson scientists help explain statins' effects in Alzheimer's disease
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have taken another step in understanding the potential effects of anti-cholesterol drugs on Alzheimer's disease. They have identified a biochemical pathway that explains the activity of statins, particularly their ability to break down an early form of the protein amyl...Jefferson scientists find zinc may help prevent esophageal, oral cancers
Cancer researchers at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have found that zinc treatment may help prevent esophageal and oral cancers in those individuals at high risk. ...Oral and esophageal cancers are associated with nutritional zinc deficiency, and a rise in the expression of the enzyme COX-2 is connected with these cancers. ....Jefferson virologists coax HIV out of hiding
When researchers came up with the powerful cocktail of anti-HIV drugs known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), they hoped they had found a way to finally rid the body of the virus. But they were wrong. The virus instead goes into hiding, dormant and practically undetectable in the body and impervious to attack. While HAART manages to keep the virus at bay, it's still quite capable...Jefferson scientists find way to see breast cancer activity from outside the body
Using precise, radioactively labeled genetic probes, researchers at Jefferson Medical College have seen cancer gene activity from outside the body in laboratory mice. The probes, which work by attaching to genetic codes copied from an active cancer gene, may someday aid physicians and scientists in cancer detection and in determining the appropriate treatment for a cancer.... "Patients might be...Jefferson and Molecular Targeting Technologies, Inc. scientists create vaccine for wildlife rabies
While the raccoon that raids your trash at night may look cute and mischievous, think again. Its claws can be nasty. Even worse, it might carry rabies. ...Now, scientists at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and at Molecular Targeting Technologies, Inc. (MTTI) in West Chester, Pa., are taking steps to prevent the disease. They have created a more powerful, safer vaccine than currently is...Jefferson scientists use gene therapy to rescue failing hearts in animals
Heart researchers at Jefferson Medical College have used gene therapy to bring failing rat hearts back to normal. ...Scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine in the Department of Medicine in Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, used a virus to insert the gene for a protein called S100A1 into failing rat hearts. ....Jefferson scientists reveal how some types of rabies invade the brain
Virologists at Jefferson Medical College have found that certain elements of bat rabies virus genes make the virus more adept at invading the brain. ...Bat rabies is an emerging problem in North America. It's different from other rabies viruses: It seems able to reach the brain much more quickly than other strains of rabies, and it takes less virus to initiate the brain infection. In many cases o...Jefferson neuroscientists studying new type of Alzheimer's drug to halt disease progression
Neuroscientists at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia will begin a clinical trial testing a new type of drug that attacks amyloid, the protein substance that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. The buildup of amyloid and the formation of tangles and plaques in the brain are thought to be major causes of the mind-robbing rav...Jefferson scientists uncover new evidence to help explain statins' effects in Alzheimer's disease
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have taken another step in understanding the potential effects of anti-cholesterol drugs on Alzheimer's disease. They have identified a biochemical pathway that affects the activity of statins, particularly their ability to break down an early form of the protein amylo...Jefferson neuroscientists find evidence of lead exposure affecting recovery from brain injury
Lead exposure at a young age can hurt the brain's development and cause learning and behavioral problems. It may also interfere with recovery from a brain injury. A new study by scientists at Jefferson Medical College shows that young rats exposed to low levels of lead take significantly longer to recover from a brain injury than those animals that weren't lead-exposed. ... ...According to Jay Sc...Jefferson scientists find new way to convert adult human stem cells to dopamine neurons
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found a new way to coax bone marrow stem cells into becoming dopamine-producing neurons. If the method proves reliable, the work may ultimately lead to new therapies for neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease, which is marked by a loss of dopamine-making cells in the brain. ...Developmental biologist Lorraine Iacovitti, Ph.D., associate dir...Jefferson-based technology promises to help find hard-to-diagnose appendicitis cases
About half of the 700,000 annual cases of suspected appendicitis in the United States lack the usual symptoms pain in the lower right abdomen, fever and a rising white blood cell count making the decision to operate somewhat problematic. Now, thanks to a new imaging agent based on technology developed by nuclear medicine researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, doctors may fi...Jefferson researchers find combining two types of radiation therapy is better for brain cancer
Adding stereotactic radiosurgery which entails delivering radiation to specific points in the brain while sparing normal tissue after whole brain radiation therapy helps certain patients with cancer that has spread to the brain live longer, says a new study by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia....In as many as one-third of all patients with lung and breast canc...Jefferson researchers announce recommendations on when to test blood pressure in young children
Children as young as three years old should have their blood pressure checked as part of their routine pediatric examinations--according to new treatment guidelines to be presented at the American Society of Hypertension's (ASH) Annual Scientific Meeting on Thursday, May 20, in New York City. ......"The long-term health risks for hypertensive children and adolescents can be substantial. If left...NCI grant supports Jefferson trial to study test for colorectal cancer recurrence
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia are determining if a new test is more accurate than current methods in finding early recurrence of advanced colorectal cancer.... If they're right, they could change the face of colorectal cancer treatment.... Armed with a new five-year, $5.6 million grant from the National Cancer...Jefferson scientists find how HIV causes dementia
Ever since the AIDS epidemic began more than two decades ago, scientists have been trying to understand why as many as one-quarter of those infected with HIV develop dementia. ... Now, researchers at Jefferson Medical College may have an answer. ... Investigators led by virologist Roger J. Pomerantz, M.D., director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine at Jefferson Med...Jefferson scientists use zebrafish to show effects of ionizing, UV radiation differ in development
Zebrafish may prove to be an invaluable animal model with which to screen the effects of radiation, Jefferson Medical College researchers have found.... ...Adam Dicker, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Mary Frances McAleer, M.D., Ph.D., a resident in the Departme...Jefferson researchers discover novel gene profile that may identify colon stem cells
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have uncovered a novel pattern of gene expression in the stem cell-rich bottom of tiny "crypts" in the tissue lining the colon. By identifying these patterns, the scientists hope to be able to identify mechanisms through which stem cells contribute to the development of colon cancer.... ... "Having a genetic signature for the colonic stem cell will give u...Jefferson-led study shows transdermal system as effective as IV pump for post-surgical pain
A needle-free, self-contained fentanyl patient-controlled transdermal system (PCTS) is as effective for post-surgical pain management as the traditional intravenous pump (IV), while giving patients more mobility and freeing nurses to devote more time to patient care. The study led by researchers from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, appears in the March 17 i...Jefferson Alzheimer's vaccine shows promise in animal model
A new vaccine for Alzheimer's disease created by researchers at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has shown promise in initial testing in primates. Vaccinating the animals with beta-amyloid, the sticky protein substance that builds up in the Alzheimer's brain that is thought to play a major role in destroying nerve cells and in cognitive and beh...Those infected with HIV may benefit from infection with another virus, says Jefferson virologist
Another virus could hold a key to helping researchers devise new strategies against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. A new study appearing March 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that individuals infected with two viruses HIV and the little known GBV-C actually do better than those infected with only HIV. ...According to Roger J. Pomerantz, M.D., professor of medicine, biochemistr...Jefferson scientists unlocking secrets of cholesterol transport in body
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered one part of the mechanism behind a popular anti-cholesterol drug. ...Steven Farber, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Eric Smart, Ph.D., at the University of Kentucky and their co-workers have found that t...Jefferson researchers find immune response, dosing keys to vaccine's success against melanoma
How well a patient's immune system reacts to his own cancer cells and the schedule by which the vaccine is given are two key factors in the success of a custom-made vaccine created from the cancer cells of patients with malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer and fastest growing cancer in the United States. ...Nearly one-half 44 percent of malignant melanoma patients enrolled in...Most men over 40 take steps to try to prevent prostate cancer, Jefferson survey shows
A new survey by researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center shows that most men over 40 attempt to protect themselves against prostate cancer. The steps they take range from prostate cancer screening to exercising, taking supplements and stopping smoking. ..."Surprisingly, when asked, most men say they are doing something to protect themselves," says Ronald E. Myers, Ph.D., professor of medic...New drug may help cancer patients in need of stem cell transplants, Jefferson trial shows
A new drug may help patients restore their blood-forming system after high-dose chemotherapy, according to results from a clinical trial at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.... In the phase II trial, which is being conducted at several centers in the United States, researchers are attempting to determine if patients with multiple myeloma or non-Hodg...Jefferson scientists find radiation and blood vessel inhibitor more effective against brain tumors
Combining radiation with an agent that blocks VEGF, a protein that promotes the development of blood vessels and the growth of cancerous tumors a process known as angiogenesis may be more effective against brain tumors than either treatment alone, researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found.... ...Scientists led by Phyllis Wachsberger, Ph.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology at...Jefferson scientists use gene therapy to restore function of damaged heart cells in laboratory
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College and Duke University have used gene therapy to help damaged heart cells regain strength and beat normally again in the laboratory. The work takes the scientists one step closer to eventual clinical trials in humans.... Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine of the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas J...Jefferson scientists show low lead levels can affect development of brain cells
Neuroscientists at Jefferson Medical College have shown for the first time that low levels of lead have a profound effect on the growth and development of embryonic stem cells. ...According to Jay Schneider, Ph.D., professor of neurology, pathology, anatomy and cell biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, researchers have known for years the potentially devastating e...Jefferson Scientists define new cell type that may lead to clues about Kaposi's sarcoma
For years, the origin of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), a rare cancer that sometimes afflicts those infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, has puzzled researchers. Now, pathologists at Jefferson Medical College may be uncovering some of its secrets.... George Murphy, M.D., professor of pathology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and Masatoshi Deguchi, M.D., visiting...Poorer performing Philadelphia schools have more undiagnosed asthma, Jefferson study finds
A new study by researchers at Jefferson Medical College shows that poorer performing schools in the Philadelphia School District have higher percentages of students with unrecognized symptoms of asthma, leading researchers to suggest that those students at risk receive screening for the disease. ... Sal Mangione, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jeffer...Rabies remains a costly public health threat, says Jefferson virologists
No one in this country gets rabies anymore. It's a Third World problem. Everyone vaccinates their cats and dogs and there's a safe, effective albeit expensive vaccine for people. Most of us hardly think about rabies at all. ... ...Maybe we should start. Rabies, an ancient viral disease that conjures up images of mad dogs foaming at the mouth, hasn't really gone away. ... ..."Rabies continues to...Jefferson and Michigan scientists identify gene defect behind muscle-wasting disease
Scientists at Jefferson Medical College and the University of Michigan have uncovered a gene defect responsible for a muscle-wasting, neurodegenerative disease in mice known as mnd2. Their results may provide insights into the molecular origins of other such diseases in humans, including Parkinson's disease.... In an online report on October 8 in the journal Nature, the researchers, led by Emad A...Jefferson scientists find anemia drug may help lessen effects of heart attack
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found that the anemia drug erythropoietin (EPO) may lessen the effects of a heart attack due to ischemia, or lack of oxygen, by protecting heart cells from dying. ......EPO is a naturally occurring hormone that stimulates the body to produce more red blood cells.... ...Scientists led by Walter Koch, Ph.D., director of the newly created Center for Tra...Jefferson surgeons turning to light therapy for advanced lung cancer
Surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia are finding success by combining light-based cancer therapy with surgery to treat patients with advanced lung cancer that has spread within the chest. While the number of patients treated to date is small, many patients are living three to four times longer than did those patients who did not receive the therapy. ...Non-small cell...Jefferson scientists find evidence of greater sensitivity to addictive drugs in adolescence
Researchers at Jefferson Medical College have evidence in animals that the young, adolescent brain may be more sensitive to addictive drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines than either the adult or newborn. The work may help someday lead to a better understanding of how the adolescent human brain adapts to such drugs, and provide clues into changes in the brain that occur during drug addiction......Jefferson researchers find uterine artery embolization may negatively affect future pregnancies
A study in the November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology by physicians at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia found that women who undergo uterine artery embolization (UAE)--a relatively new procedure that is increasingly used as an alternative to myomectomy and hysterectomy to treat uterine fibroids--are at an increased risk for a number of complications if they later become pre...