Surgery can cure epilepsy, but it’s rarely used. In the United States, only about 1% of people with epilepsy will ever be evaluated for surgery, and fewer than that undergo it. At the same time, some centers oversell surgery, offering it to patients without fully explaining the consequences.
A new clinical trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is the first in the world to investigate whether infusing an infant’s own umbilical cord blood cells, or autologous cells, can protect the brain, mitigating the risk of neurodevelopmental challenges in babies with severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).
Though Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy have long been considered separate conditions, research is suggesting they could be related in certain ways. ILAE talks with Dr. Andrew Cole, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Epilepsy Service and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
Millions of Americans have no idea that they have fatty liver disease. This growing problem will soon be the number one reason for liver transplantation, overtaking hepatitis C. Holiday overindulgence in alcohol and food could make the problem dramatically worse.
Two leaders in the field of melanoma treatment – a surgeon and an oncologist – from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Are there changes that affect genes and fuel a person’s propensity to develop obesity? That’s a question under study at Texas Biomedical Research Institute. Associate Scientist Melanie Carless, Ph.D., is Principal Investigator of a $3 million, four-year grant from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases to research this hypothesis.
If you have epilepsy, should you stop drinking coffee? ILAE speaks with researcher Astrid Nehlig, who reviewed the latest research at the 2018 European Congress on Epileptology in Vienna.
Executive functions of the brain’s frontal lobes help individuals regulate their behavior and work toward long-term goals. Working memory (WM), the ability to maintain and process information during short periods of time, is a critical executive function. Alcohol is known to impair executive functioning, which can in turn contribute to alcohol use disorder (AUD) progression and to poorer treatment outcomes. This study investigated whether WM training could reduce alcohol use through improved cognitive functioning.
The temptation to overindulge at Thanksgiving is immense, but before going overboard, it’s worth pausing and remembering you can eat, drink, and be merry – as well as healthy – over the holiday season.
In November, some men grow mustaches to bring attention to men’s health issues. It’s also a good time for young men to learn about testicular cancer, the cancer that is most likely to strike them in the prime of life.
UT Southwestern researchers have found that an enzyme on the surface of some lung cancer cells helps feed the cancer, making it a tempting treatment target.
Research on a new way of deploying the immune system against pancreatic cancer, an exceptionally lethal cancer that has so far resisted new immunotherapies, will receive $1 million in initial funding from Stand Up to Cancer.
The project led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine will collect T cells – the immune system’s targeted warriors -- from tumors, expand their number by the billions and then customize them to resist being shut down by a common substance that’s abundantly produced in tumor tissue
A DNA vaccine tested in mice reduces accumulation of both types of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to research that scientists say may pave the way to a clinical trial.
Michael McGee, Ph.D., has made UTEP the focal point of efforts to significantly improve public safety and bolster border security through the utilization of drone technology. His ability to bridge communication between various governmental agencies has not only elevated UTEP’s drone program, it has also increased the campus’ footprint.
Flaring issues vary across the U.S. with complex regulatory, economic and infrastructure frameworks. A team comprised of researchers from the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) will evaluate the current state of technologies and regulatory and economic environments, to identify technical and economic solutions for further investigation and demonstration.
With temperatures dipping below freezing, consider the toll that frost is taking on your skin. The good news is experts from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) can help keep your skin in tip-top condition as the winter weather takes hold.
With temperatures dipping below freezing, consider the toll that frost is taking on your skin. The good news is experts from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) can help keep your skin in tip-top condition as the winter weather takes hold.
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center applauds new actions announced today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to limit the sale of most flavored electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) to age-restricted locations and require age-verification for online sales to lower the use of these products in children. In addition, the FDA plans to restrict the marketing of these products toward youth.
Using an innovative quality improvement project to determine how to design an effective emergency trauma clinical trial, a team of surgeons at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) was able to launch the first-ever study on a high-risk damage control surgery for critical abdominal injuries.
A new “buddy system” of nursing education — in which two students work together as one nurse to share ideas, set priorities and make clinical decisions for patient care in the “real world” of nursing — is effective, according to a study by Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing. The research is published in the Journal of Nursing Education.
Automobile crashes related to driving while intoxicated (DWI) account for approximately 30 percent of fatal crashes, and 10,000 deaths annually. Social support – defined as emotional, informational, or instrumental help from individuals' social networks – can be helpful to individuals recovering from alcohol use disorders (AUDs). However, it is unclear what impact social support may have on reducing the risk of recidivism of alcohol-impaired driving. This study examined the role of social support in motivating individuals with histories of DWI arrests to reduce their alcohol use.
In collaboration with the Houston Health Department and Epic (electronic medical records company), Houston Methodist is the first hospital system in eight U.S. pilot sites to successfully test and launch an approach to electronic case reporting (eCR) that can automatically send case reports directly from a hospital to public health agencies.
African-Americans are known to have certain cardiac conditions that are linked to a greater occurrence of heart failure at a younger age than Caucasians. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center analyzed data from the Dallas Heart Study to determine why.
“Eureka” moments still happen in scientific research.
David P. Cistola, MD, PhD, had his moment in August 2014 when he and his research team discovered a blood biomarker that identifies individuals who could be at risk for Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. That discovery could revolutionize how the early changes that lead to diabetes are detected—giving patients the opportunity to make lifestyle modifications or initiate therapies that prevent the disease from developing in the first place.
Two UT Southwestern faculty members have been selected to receive 2019 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST).
A Phase I/II study, led by investigators at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, reports an investigational drug called tagraxofusp has demonstrated high response rates in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), a rare but highly aggressive – and often fatal bone marrow and blood disorder – for which there are no existing approved therapies.
A triple therapy combining two immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) with the standard-of-care chemotherapy, a hypomethylating agent called azacitidine, has shown promising results for treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to findings from a Phase II study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Just as the population of older adults is increasing worldwide, so too is the number of older adults who consume alcohol. Older adults are more sensitive to the adverse effects of alcohol due to age-related health impairment and physiological changes in metabolism and body composition. This study looked at how at-risk drinking among older adults changes over time.
For the first time, transplanting gut bacteria from healthy donors was used to successfully treat patients suffering from severe colitis caused by treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, which includes two patients, suggests fecal microbiota transplantation is worth investigating in clinical trials as a therapy for this common side effect of immunotherapy.
Antibiotic resistance is predicted to be the No. 1 cause of death in the world by 2050, but a team of scientists and physicians at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is determined to help stop this grave prediction from becoming a reality.
A new oral drug significantly reduced menstrual bleeding for women with the most common gynecologic tumors in the United States – benign tumors that disproportionately affect African-Americans, an international clinical trial found.
A small clinical trial using gold nanoparticles that act as tumor-seeking missiles on a mission to remove prostate cancer has begun at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). It is the first trial of its kind in the world.
The amended agreement is an expansion of one originally signed in April 2015, which made UTEP the first America Makes Satellite Center. The updated pact expands the Keck Center’s national impact by providing additional services to America Makes member institutions that will add significant value to their association.
A combination of the standard-of-care chemotherapy drug known as azacitidine, with nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, demonstrated an encouraging response rate and overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) according to findings from a Phase II study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
UT Southwestern Medical Center has been awarded a four-year grant from the Amgen Foundation to provide hands-on laboratory experience to undergraduate students across the North Texas region through the Amgen Scholars Program.
UT Southwestern Medical Center has been awarded a four-year grant from the Amgen Foundation to provide hands-on laboratory experience to undergraduate students across the North Texas region through the Amgen Scholars Program.
The Master of Science in Information Technology & Management is excited to announce a five-year partnership with KORE Wireless, a leader in business performance and Internet of Things technologies.
The Master of Science in Information Technology & Management is excited to announce a five-year partnership with KORE Wireless, a leader in business performance and Internet of Things technologies.
Using a new mental-profiling technique, psychology researchers at The University of Texas at Austin shed light on five questioned plays of 17th century playwright Aphra Behn, determining that only two were actually written by the prolific English dramatist. The method, they say, could be applied broadly, from forensic work to identifying critical mental health events on social media.
A new study from UT Southwestern quantifies for the first time how quickly these rapid advancements in genomics may benefit patients. Research published in JAMA Pediatrics includes a five-year review of more than 300 epilepsy cases that showed nearly a third of children had a change in diagnosis based on new data.
Individuals who seek help for an alcohol use disorder (AUD) may be presented with either of two treatment goals: abstinence or no heavy-drinking days, which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in testing medications to treat AUD. However, these goals may fail to work for individuals who seek to reduce their drinking. An alternative approach uses the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking risk levels – very high, high, moderate, and low – which are defined in terms of average alcohol consumption in grams per day. A reduction in these levels may provide a useful third option in assessing the success of AUD treatment. This study examined the association between reductions in WHO drinking risk levels and improvements in physical health and quality of life among individuals with alcohol dependence.
Rajkumar Lakshmanaswamy, Ph.D., dean of TTUHSC El Paso’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, has been appointed to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Graduate Education Advisory Committee. The 24-member committee, which meets up to four times a year, reviews issues relating to graduate education at public universities and health-related institutions in Texas.
Research shows that many soldiers who have never been deployed experience negative emotions such as feelings of guilt and decreased value, connectedness, and camaraderie within their unit. Additional research shows that US Army Reserve/National Guard (USAR/NG) soldiers are at high risk for alcohol misuse. This study examined whether emotions related to non-deployment among USAR/NG soldiers contributed to an increased risk of alcohol misuse.
When comparing standard-of-care surgical options for women with early-stage cervical cancer, two studies led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered that minimally invasive radical hysterectomy is associated with higher recurrence rates and worse overall survival (OS), compared to abdominal radical hysterectomy.
In its first year, an innovative virtual program has substantially increased mistreated elderly Texans’ access to elder mistreatment and geriatric experts with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).