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Tag Health & medicine

Breaching a gateway to the cell, drug discovery

March 13, 2007

With support from the Discovery Seed Grant Program, Wisconsin scientists are poised to bring a novel approach to finding new medicines by deploying the atomic force microscope — the foremost tool of the nanotechnologist — to screen agents as they dock with critical cell receptors. Read More

UW launches study testing adult stem cells for heart damage repair

March 12, 2007

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is among the first medical centers in the country taking part in a novel clinical trial investigating if a subject's own stem cells can treat a form of severe coronary artery disease. Read More

Nanoscale packaging could aid delivery of cancer-fighting drugs

February 15, 2007

A University of Wisconsin–Madison pharmacy professor aims to improve the delivery of cancer-fighting drugs by targeting them more selectively to tumors and boosting their solubility in water. Read More

Study looks at benefits of two cochlear implants in deaf children

February 13, 2007

Nature has outfitted us with a pair of ears for good reason: having two ears enhances hearing. University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists are now examining whether this is also true for the growing numbers of deaf children who've received not one, but two, cochlear implants to help them hear. Read More

Fragile X protein may play role in Alzheimer’s disease

February 13, 2007

A brain afflicted by severe Alzheimer's disease is a sad sight, a wreck of tangled neural connections and organic rubble as the lingering evidence of a fierce internal battle. A new study has now uncovered an unexpected link between this devastating neural degeneration and a protein whose absence causes a different neurological disease - the inherited mental retardation disorder called fragile X syndrome. Read More

Dieting meets DNA: Nutrition gets personal in new studies

November 15, 2006

Ushering nutritional science into the biotech age, UW–Madison researchers are exploring the complex interactions between food and genes to uncover new modes of disease prevention, drug development and, eventually, personalized diet advice tailored to one’s DNA. Read More

Scientists find gene in obese mice that increases type 2 diabetes

May 8, 2006

In a painstaking set of experiments in overweight mice, scientists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison have discovered a gene that appears to play an important role in the onset of type 2 diabetes. Read More

Illuminating Alzheimer’s: Research sheds light on creatine’s presence in brain

December 21, 2005

A team of Canadian and American scientists working at the UW–Madison Synchrotron Radiation Center reports the first-ever finding of elevated levels of creatine — the newly discovered agent of Alzheimer's disease - in brain tissue. Read More

Protective protein may hold key to halting progression of neurological diseases

January 11, 2005

Patients who suffer from neurological diseases such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease have dramatically different symptoms. An Alzheimer's patient, for instance, will lose memory and cognitive function, while an ALS sufferer will gradually lose motor control. Read More

Medical School announces findings in diabetes therapy

November 3, 2004

Forty-two years ago, Dan Quigley injected his first insulin shot to treat his Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, a routine repeated three times a day, every day until recently. On Oct. 29, the 55-year-old Door County man stood with Medical School physicians Luis Fernandez and Jon Odorico to announce that he is finally insulin-free after receiving the first islet cell transplant performed in the state. Quigley had the transplant in 2002. Read More

Discovery may halt progression of Alzheimer’s

September 2, 2004

In a finding that may cause a dramatic shift in the way scientists and researchers search for a therapy for Alzheimer's disease, a team of researchers led by Jeff Johnson, an associate professor at the School of Pharmacy, has discovered that increased expression of a protein called transthyretin in the brain appears to halt the progression of the disease. The findings appear in the current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Read More

ES cell model could provide clues to causes, cures for diabetes

July 28, 2003

By studying embryonic stem cells from a mouse, researchers at UW–Madison have identified a potential model system for elucidating the stages of normal pancreatic development, as well as for developing a much-needed source of insulin-producing cells for the millions of people who need them to treat their diabetes. Read More

Obesity, smoking and inactivity top health concerns

January 14, 2003

In a recent informal poll of UW Health primary care experts, obesity, smoking and inactivity were ranked the health problems most patients need to take seriously. Depression, diabetes and hypertension were not far behind. The good news: tackling even one of these problems will likely improve your health in several areas. Read More

Subtract a gene and feasting mice add no fat

August 13, 2002

Scientists have created an animal that can eat a rich, high-fat diet without adding weight or risking the complications of diabetes Read More

New Alzheimer’s study to focus on children

January 29, 2002

As the number of new Alzheimer's cases balloons to a projected 14 million by 2050, the Medical School is establishing the nation's first comprehensive research study of children of people with Alzheimer's disease. Read More

Disarming Alzheimer’s Toxic Proteins

April 14, 1997

A new study of the proteins that may be responsible for the brain lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease promises a new understanding of its underlying cause, and may someday yield new treatments for the devastating and deadly disease. Read More