Researchers at UTMB find that frustration is an additional factor of addiction based on studies with rats

A team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) focused on drug addiction research have pioneered a new way to study frustration as a factor in substance use disorders.   Traditional addiction research has focused on three aspects of substance use disorders: craving, impulsivity, or habit.  Scientists hypothesized that a fourth factor, frustration, could also lead to escalation of drug use and addiction.   The Psychopharmacology paper noted that research into the role of...

New teamwork model could improve patient health care

Open communication and trust are essential for successful teamwork in challenging health care situations, as detailed in “Building effective healthcare team development interventions in uncertain times: Tips for success.” The paper was authored by researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and The Group for Organizational Effectiveness. The study outlines a new model, developed at MD Anderson under the guidance of the researchers, with recommendations for health care team effectiveness....

Study defines small-cell lung cancer subtypes and distinct therapeutic vulnerabilities for each type

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed the first comprehensive framework to classify small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) into four unique subtypes, based on gene expression, and have identified potential therapeutic targets for each type. SCLC is known for rapid, aggressive growth and resistance to treatment, which leads to poor outcomes. While recent advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapy have improved survival for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), progress for SCLC has been limited. “For decades, small-cell lung cancer...

Researchers at UTMB and Vanderbilt find a weak spot of COVID-19

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered what may be the Achilles’ heel of the coronavirus, a finding that may help close the door on COVID-19 and possibly head off future pandemics. The coronavirus is an RNA virus that has, in its enzymatic toolkit, a “proofreading” exoribonuclease, called nsp14-ExoN, which can correct errors in the RNA sequence that occur during replication, when copies of the...

New CRISPR tech targets human genome’s complex code

Finding a needle in a haystack is hard enough. But try finding a specific molecule on the needle. Rice University researchers have achieved something of the sort with a new genome editing tool that targets the supporting players in a cell’s nucleus that package DNA and aid gene expression. Their work opens the door to new therapies for cancer and other diseases. Rice bioengineer Isaac Hilton, postdoctoral researcher and lead author Jing Li and their colleagues programmed a...

Single-cell analysis of metastatic gastric cancer finds diverse tumor cell populations associated with patient outcomes

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who profiled more than 45,000 individual cells from patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), a specific form of metastatic gastric cancer, defined the extensive cellular heterogeneity and identified two distinct subtypes correlated with patient survival. Based on their findings, the researchers developed and validated a gene expression signature capable of predicting patient survival better than other clinical features. If validated in prospective studies, this tool may be useful...

Immunology study finds protein critical to T cell metabolism and anti-tumor immune response

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that a protein called NF-kappa B-inducing kinase (NIK) is essential for the shift in metabolic activity that occurs with T cell activation, making it a critical factor in regulating the anti-tumor immune response. The preclinical research suggests that elevating NIK activity in T cells may be a promising strategy to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapy, including adoptive cellular therapies and immune checkpoint blockade. In a preclinical melanoma...

Texas Children’s Fetal Center teaches its innovative fetoscopic spina bifida repair technique using telemedicine to international colleagues during COVID-19 pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a global impact, surgeons at Texas Children’s Fetal Center® have turned to technology to continue teaching their innovative, minimally invasive technique for repairing spina bifida in-utero to fetal surgeons worldwide. Pioneered by a team at Texas Children’s in 2014 led by Dr. Michael Belfort, obstetrician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, the paradigm-shifting technique allows surgeons...

Novel antibody-drug conjugate shows promising early results in rare blood cancer

A phase I/II study led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found IMGN632, a novel CD123-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, was tolerable and resulted in a 29% overall response rate in patients with relapsed/refractory blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), a rare, but aggressive, form of leukemia, and a 31% overall response rate in BPDCN patients with prior tagraxofusp treatment. Early results from the study were presented by Naveen Pemmaraju, M.D., associate professor of Leukemia. BPDCN is known as...

New study links increased risk of cancer to proximity to oil refineries

A team of physicians, environmental scientists and students at the University of Texas Medical Branch have completed a multi-year study of cancer rates among individuals living in close proximity to oil refineries and have found statistically significant increases in several cancers among those living nearest to these facilities. The study, Proximity to Oil Refineries and Risk of Cancer: A Population-Based Analysis, was led by Dr. Stephen B. Williams, Chief of Urology and a tenured professor of...

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