Mark Lawrence moved from Utah to San Francisco in 1982 and was living with a friend. Not long after Lawrence arrived, his friend was diagnosed with AIDS. Six months later, he died. It was the early days of what would grow into an epidemic. “It was a completely different attitude [than in Utah] because everyone knew somebody who was sick or who had died,” Lawrence said.... Read More
University of Utah distinguished professor of chemistry Peter Stang and professor of pediatrics Anne Blaschke were two of 168 academic inventors named as Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors for 2019. Stang opened pathways in organic chemistry reactions and now explores ways to form molecules into self-assembled geometric shapes. Blascke played key roles in developing molecular tests for rapidly diagnosing infectious diseases. Deininger is a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies at the University of Utah (U of U). He leads the Center of Excellence in hematology and hematologic malignancies at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). This group encompasses physicians, scientists, students, and support personnel working collaboratively to advance research and training in hematology and develop new approaches to treat blood diseases, including blood cancers.... Read More
The International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation (iCMLf) has awarded the prestigious Rowley Prize to Michael Deininger, MD, PhD. Deininger’s selection as the 2019 awardee was announced in February. Formal presentation of the prize occurred at an international scientific conference in Bordeaux, France, earlier this month. Deininger is a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies at the University of Utah (U of U). He leads the Center of Excellence in hematology and hematologic malignancies at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). This group encompasses physicians, scientists, students, and support personnel working collaboratively to advance research and training in hematology and develop new approaches to treat blood diseases, including blood cancers.... Read More
In this podcast, Vicente Planelles, PhD, answers our questions about the factors contributing to the public's lack of trust in the medical community, the advice he gives to lay people who buy into "fake news," and the role health care practitioners play in reducing the spread of misinformation.... Read More
he Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the six pairs of researchers who will make up its 2019 class of Innovation Fund investigators. These investigators—alumni of Pew’s biomedical programs in the United States and Latin America—partner on interdisciplinary research to tackle some of the most complex questions in human biology and disease. Spanning the spectrum from virology to epigenetics and from microbiology to developmental biology, research teams combine multiple disciplines to advance scientific discovery and improve human health.... Read More
Nanell Mann began getting urinary tract infections in 1971, when she got a hysterectomy following the birth of her sixth child. She would take antibiotics and get better. Get sick again. Take antibiotics. Not get better. Take other antibiotics. Repeat, repeat, repeat for more than 40 years—the list of treatments that worked against her infections getting shorter and shorter and shorter over time. Her UTIs became resistant to multiple antibiotics. And she kept getting sick.... Read More
Researchers at University of Utah Health have identified a specific class of bacteria from the gut that prevents mice from becoming obese, suggesting these same microbes may similarly control weight in people. The beneficial bacteria, called Clostridia, are part of the microbiome — collectively trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that inhabit the intestine.... Read More
Gut microbes produce compounds that prime immune cells to destroy harmful viruses in the brain and nervous system, according to a mouse study published today in eLife. The findings suggest that having a healthy and diverse microbiota is essential for quickly clearing viruses in the nervous system to prevent paralysis and other risks associated with diseases such as multiple sclerosis. A condition that causes progressive damage to nerve cells, multiple sclerosis has become more common over the past several decades. Viral infections in the brain or spinal cord are thought to trigger this disease. Some scientists believe that changes in the way we eat, increased sanitation or growing antibiotic use may be causing detrimental changes in the helpful bacteria that live within the human body, potentially increasing the risk of multiple sclerosis and other related diseases. ... Read More
For decades medical researchers have known that an effective way to combat multiple sclerosis (MS) would be to suppress the human immune system, since the debilitating disease is caused by the immune system 'mistakenly' attacking tissues in the spine and brain. However, this kind of treatment would cripple the body's ability to control ordinary infections, leading to more serious conditions or even death.... Read More
Though already known for their focus on clinical research, the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition has looked to strengthen its research efforts through the development of a translational research program. In 2018, Dr. Ellen Beswick, PhD, was recruited to develop and lead this new research program. Dr. Beswick’s background is in chronic inflammation and the mucosal immune microenvironment, particularly focused on inflammatory bowel diseases and gastrointestinal cancers. She is an National Institute of Health (NIH) funded investigator recently recruited from the University of New Mexico, where she gained experience in translational approaches, mentorship, and building multidisciplinary science teams. ... Read More
Celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, crohn’s disease and anaphylactic are all instigated by food allergies. Doctors order restrictive diets to help patients control inflammation and food reactions. While less well known, eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE) is another inflammatory disease triggered by food allergies. One of the most effective treatments, especially for young children, is a restricted diet that reduces the allergy-induced inflammation. In a new study, University of Utah Health explored the long-term psychological impact of food restrictions on normal eating patterns in patients. The results are available in the April issue of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. ... Read More
Temporal lobe epilepsy is a seizure disorder that may result from head trauma, childhood injuries, tumors, brain malformations, and infections. Karen Wilcox, PhD, Chair of Pharmacology and Toxicology at University of Utah Health, received a $2.6 million Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to explore the role of infection in an intractable, non-genetic-form of epilepsy. Repeated brain injuries, even minor ones, can degrade the health of neurons in the brain, which can lead to memory loss, anxiety, agitation and mood swings. Researchers at University of Utah Health and University of Washington found an FDA-approved cancer drug paclitaxel offers protection to mice after experiencing mild traumatic brain injuries, also referred to as mild TBI. The results of the study are available online on February 2nd in the Journal Alzheimer’s Disease.... Read More
2019 isn’t even halfway over and already this is the worst year for measles cases in 25 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says so far 704 people have been infected –most of them were not vaccinated. There have been no deaths reported yet from measles this year, though. So, is it really that serious? Back before the vaccine was widely available, the whole Brady Bunch came down with measles and it didn’t seem so bad. The Brady kids got to skip school and play monopoly all day. I know that’s just a 1960s TV show, but it’s been circulating online as evidence that all this concern about the measles today is overblown. ... Read More
Autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, arise when the body’s immune cells attack itself. Current treatments eliminate these misfunctioning immune cells, but also destroy normal, protective immune cells, leaving patients susceptible to immune deficiency and opportunistic infections. Researchers at University of Utah Health have developed a new approach that targets the misfunctioning immune cells while leaving normal immune cells in place. The results of their study are available online in the March 4 issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering.... Read More
The human immune system is notorious for overreacting to common infections or going to war with harmless substances like dust or pollen. Its efforts to mount these defenses often exact a toll on the body it was trying to defend. In the February issue of Cell Host & Microbe, researchers from the University of Utah, Department of Human Genetics, have published an investigation into how one component of the immune system might have evolved to limit this collateral damage.... Read More
When you fall and scrape your knee, the injured tissue forms a red bump or lesion. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable autoimmune disease, characterized by lesions in the brain. These lesions, like the scrape on your knee, result from tissue injured as the overactive immune system degrades the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve fibers in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.... Read More
With Super Bowl LIII on the horizon, Americans are gearing up to celebrate the modern-day clash of the titans. For many, football has become a taboo topic, as former fans abandon the sport to protest traumatic brain injuries caused by players hurling their bodies against one another again and again and again. Repeated brain injuries, even minor ones, can degrade the health of neurons in the brain, which can lead to memory loss, anxiety, agitation and mood swings. Researchers at University of Utah Health and University of Washington found an FDA-approved cancer drug paclitaxel offers protection to mice after experiencing mild traumatic brain injuries, also referred to as mild TBI. The results of the study are available online on February 2nd in the Journal Alzheimer’s Disease.... Read More