Category Health/Medical

Members of the UT Southwestern team whose research successfully halted progression of a form of muscular dystrophy in mice included (l-r) Dr. Chengzu Long, Dr. Eric Olson, Dr. Rhonda Bassel-Duby, Dr. Leonela Amoasii, John Shelton, and Alex Mireault. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center

Using a new gene-editing technique, UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists stopped progression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in young mice. If efficiently and safely scaled up in DMD patients, this technique could lead to one of the first successful genome editing Rx’s.

DMD, the most common and severe form of muscular dystrophy among boys, is characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness. It is caused by mutations in the X-linked DMD gene that encodes the protein dystrophin...

For more than a year scientists investigated the development of six groups of mice in an outdoor enclosure. Credit: © MPI f. Ornithology

Mice with deviant internal rhythms due to a genetic mutation have fewer offspring and shorter life spans than normal conspecifics whose rhythms follow the 24hr cycle of a day more accurately. This discovery was made by a team of scientists led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Princeton University. Almost all living things possess internal clocks that govern periods of sleep and waking, and ensure these processes are in synchrony with night and day. This circadian clock evolved to allow the anticipation of regular daily events. Sunlight aligns the internal clock with the 24-hr-rhythm of the rotation of the earth.

Mutations ...

The “Autism & Beyond” app uses an iPhone’s self-facing camera to assess a child’s emotional state while viewing various stimuli. The dots are landmarks automatically placed on a video of the child by the software. Credit: Autism & Beyond

Thanks in part to support from Office of Naval Research (ONR), there’s an app that may screen for autism by reading kids’ facial expressions for emotional cues. “The long-term implications of this research are huge,” said Dr. Predrag Neskovic. “Not only could the app be used to learn more about childhood autism, it could possibly reveal signs of post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and mild traumatic brain injury [TBI] in warfighters—conditions that often have subtle symptoms and are difficult to diagnose.”
The app, called “Autism & Beyond,” was develop...

Micrograph showing a lymph node invaded by ductal breast carcinoma, with extension of the tumour beyond the lymph node. Credit: Nephron/Wikipedia

Palbociclib, a new oral drug whose efficacy in combating breast cancer has been demonstrated alone and in combination with endocrine therapy, also has potential to combat other types of cancer, according to a literature review and original research at Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) in the University of Pennsylvania.

Palbociclib targets the rapid division of tumor cells by inhibiting the activity of the enzymes CDK4 and CDK6, which propel cell division and increase in number in most cancers. It is the first CDK4/6 inhibitor to be approved for the treatment of breast cancer...