Endometrial Stem Cells Restore Brain Dopamine Levels

May 6, 2010 | by

Endometrial stem cells injected into the brains of mice with a laboratory-induced form of Parkinson’s disease appeared to take over the functioning of brain cells eradicated by the disease.

The finding raises the possibility that women with Parkinson’s disease could serve as their own stem cell donors. Similarly, because endometrial stem cells are readily available and easy to collect, banks of endometrial stem cells could be stored for men and women with Parkinson’s disease.

“These early results are encouraging,” said Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., acting director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH Institute that funded the study. “Endometrial stem cells are widely available, easy to access and appear to take on the characteristics of nervous system tissue readily.”

Parkinson’s disease results from a loss of brain cells that produce the chemical messenger dopamine, which aids the transmission of brain signals that coordinate movement.

This is the first time that researchers have successfully transplanted stem cells derived from the endometrium, or the lining of the uterus, into another kind of tissue (the brain) and shown that these cells can develop into cells with the properties of that tissue.

Patient’s Whole Genome Reveals Risk of Diseases and Adverse Drug Responses

May 1, 2010 | by

Scientists at Stanford and Harvard Universities collaborated to assess the clinical usefulness of analyzing a patient’s full genome for disease risks and unusual drug responses. The work brings closer to reality the concept that whole-genome sequencing might one day play a clinical role.

The analysis, which was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), appears in the May 1, 2010 issue of Lancet.

The authors evaluated the entire genome of a 40-year old man and compared it to several databases of disease-related gene variants. They also factored in the patient’s medical and family history and statistical disease risks. As part of the work, the researchers provided the patient with genetic counseling and clinical tests relevant to his family history.

The genome analysis revealed variants associated with diseases in the man’s family (osteoarthritis, vascular disease and early sudden death). It also uncovered variants linked to conditions not in his family (iron overload and thyroid and parathyroid diseases). Some variants suggested that he might have unusual responses to certain heart medications, which is meaningful in light of his risk for cardiovascular disorders.

Top 10 Facts Women Should Know About Fibroids

April 27, 2010 | by

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors in females, presenting as benign growths on the muscular wall of the uterus (womb). A uterine fibroid is also known as a fibroleiomyoma, meaning a benign smooth muscle neoplasm that contains collagenous fibrous tissue. As many as 1-in-5 women may have fibroids during their childbearing years. Although non-cancerous, fibroids can grow very large and may fill the entire uterus.

Uterine fibroids

Although most fibroids are asymptomatic, many can grow and cause heavy and painful menstruation, painful sexual intercourse and urinary frequency and urgency. Indeed, uterine fibroids are a major indication for hysterectomy in the U.S. [1].

Earlier this month, the Fibroid Treatment Collective (FTC), a medical group of fibroid experts dedicated to curing fibroids with minimally invasive therapy, published on their blog the Top Ten Fibroid Facts, which we’ve republished below.

The Top 10 Fibroid Facts

  1. Uterine fibroids can affect women of all ages but are most common in women ages 40 to 50.
  2. Common symptoms, depending on size, location and number of fibroids, include:
    • Pelvic pain and pressure
    • Excessive bleeding, including prolonged periods and passage of clots, which can lead to anemia
    • Abdominal swelling
    • Pressure on the bladder, leading to frequent urination
    • Pressure on the bowel, leading to constipation and bloating
    • Infertility
  3. No one is sure why women develop fibroids, which affect 40% of women over 35 years in the U.S. and have a high rate of incidence among African Americans. There is a possible link between uterine fibroid tumors and estrogen production.
  4. Fibroids are diagnosed with an ultrasound in the gynecologist’s office. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is also used to determine how fibroids can be treated and provide information about any underlying disease.
  5. Uterine fibroids can be treated with surgery, including hysterectomy, which removes the entire uterus, and myomectomy, which removes the fibroids but leaves the uterus. Both are major surgeries.
  6. Approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually in the U.S., about 300,000 due to uterine fibroids.
  7. Over 50% of women who get hysterectomies have their ovaries removed, rendering them infertile.
  8. Embolization has emerged as the safest, simplest, cost effective way to treat fibroids. Embolization requires a very small incision. Embolization basically cures fibroids by starving them.
  9. Uterine Fibroid Embolization has an overall success rate of 94%.
  10. Recurrence after embolization has not occurred. This is one of its major advantages over myomectomy, where fibroids which have been surgically removed often grow back.

For news and views on fibroids, follow Dr. Bruce McLucas, founder of the Fibroid Treatment Collective (FTC), a graduate of Yale Medical School and a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist, on Twitter @FibroidDoctor.

To learn more about fibroids and treatment options, watch videos, see important statistics and ask Dr. McLucas questions (all from the comfort of your own home), check out the national fibroid webinar, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 15th at 10 a.m. PT. Visit http://www.fibroids.com/about-ftc/upcoming-events for details and free registration.

For additional independent information on the symptoms of fibroids and questions to ask your doctor, see Uterine Fibroids FAQ on womanshealth.gov

References

  1. Wallach and Vlahos. Uterine myomas: an overview of development, clinical features, and management. Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Aug;104(2):393-406.
    View Abstract

NIH Study Reveals a Genetic Basis for Stuttering

April 22, 2010 | by
ResearchBlogging.org

Although the root cause(s) of stuttering remain unknown, evidence has accumulated from twin and adoption studies that genetics plays a role. Dennis Drayna, a geneticist at the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), undertook a study to identify the genes involved in the disorder with the ultimate goal to elucidate poorly defined neural structures and functions regulating human speech. Results from the study were reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine [1].

Stuttering

The study focused on a Pakistani family in whom previous work had determined that stuttering was linked to the long arm of chromosome 12 (chromosome 12q). In addition to the affected and unaffected members of these families, the study also included 123 Pakistani stutterers who were unrelated and 270 stutterers from the United States and England. Children under the age of eight were excluded, as they often recover from stuttering, as were people with neurologic or psychiatric symptoms. The control group (non-stutterers) consisted of 96 Pakistanis and 276 North American whites.

Chromosome arms: All human chromosomes have 2 arms — a short arm and a long arm — that are separated from each other by the centromere, the point at which the chromosome is attached to the spindle, a cytoskeletal structure in eukaryotic cells, during cell division. The short arm is termed the “p arm” while the long arm of the chromosome is termed the “q arm.”

NIH-led Interagency Group Identifies Research Needs to Study Climate Change and Human Health Impacts

April 21, 2010 | by

A report released today by a federal working group highlights 11 key categories of diseases and other health consequences that are occurring or will occur due to climate change. The report, A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change, provides a starting point for coordination of federal research to better understand climate’s impact on human health. The recommendations of the working group include research to identify who will be most vulnerable, and what efforts will be most beneficial.

“This white paper articulates, in a concrete way, that human beings are vulnerable in many ways to the health effects of climate change,” said Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program, whose institute led the interagency effort. “It lays out both what we know and what we need to know about these effects in a way that will allow the health research community to bring its collective knowledge to bear on solving these problems.”