After decades investigating a rare, life-threatening condition that cripples the muscles, Duke Health researchers have developed a gene therapy they hope could enhance or even replace the only FDA-approved treatment currently available to patients. The therapy uses a modified virus to deliver a gene to the liver where it produces GAA, an enzyme missing in people with Pompe disease.
A new tool -- a type of ultraviolet light called UVC -- could aid hospitals in the ongoing battle to keep drug-resistant bacteria from lingering in patient rooms and causing new infections.
Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke -- even before conception -- appears to have a lingering impact that can later impair the brain development of a fetus, researchers at Duke Health report.
Although both group and individual therapy can ease post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in active-duty military service members, individual therapy relieved PTSD symptoms better and quicker, according to a study led by a Duke University School of Medicine researcher. The randomized clinical trial is the largest to date to examine an evidence-based treatment for active-duty military service members, with 268 participants from the U.S. Army’s Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. Findings will be published Nov. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.
A Connecticut law enacted in 1999 to allow police to temporarily remove guns from potentially violent or suicidal people likely prevented dozens of suicides, according to a study by researchers at Duke and Yale universities and the University of Connecticut.
When patients suffer from atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, they are at considerably higher risk for blood clots and stroke. However, when hospitalized, half of these patients do not receive medications that could help prevent such complications, according to research being presented Nov. 14 at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
Scientists at Duke Health and Zhejiang Chinese Medical University have developed a strategy to stop the uncontrollable itch caused by urushiol, the oily sap common to poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak and even mango trees. The team found that by blocking an immune system protein in the skin with an antibody, they could halt the processes that tell the brain the skin is itchy.
“This study is a good wake-up call that health care personnel need to concentrate on the idea that the health care environment can be contaminated,” said Deverick Anderson, M.D., the study’s lead author and associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. “Any type of patient care, or even just entry into a room where care is provided, truly should be considered a chance for interacting with organisms that can cause disease.”
A head-to-head comparison of sacral neuromodulation and botulinum toxin led by a Duke Health researcher shows that Botox provides more daily relief for women suffering from urge incontinence, but might also be associated with more adverse events.
Using a national network and gene mapping tools, Duke Health researchers led a study identifying a new genetic disorder, which still has no name. It shares similarities to two other rare genetic disorders arising from related genes.
A research team led by Duke Health, using mice as the models, has described the cellular processes that occur during “rush desensitization.” The approach involves giving a small dose of the allergy trigger – peanuts or bee poison or even chemotherapy -- to the susceptible patient in small, yet increasing doses over a short period.
Does eating too much sugar cause type 2 diabetes? The answer may not be simple, but a study published Sept. 26 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation adds to growing research linking excessive sugar consumption -- specifically the sugar fructose -- to a rise in metabolic disease worldwide. The study, conducted in mice and corroborated in human liver samples, unveils a metabolic process that could upend previous ideas about how the body becomes resistant to insulin and eventually develops diabetes.
The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) has been named the coordinating center as part of a $157-million federal initiative involved in studying how environmental factors affect childhood health.
While searching for a non-invasive way to detect prostate cancer cells circulating in blood, Duke Cancer Institute researchers have identified some blood markers associated with tumor resistance to two common hormone therapies.
Patients suffering from noninfectious uveitis, a group of diseases that causes eye inflammation, can get effective treatment from a corticosteroid alternative that has previously been approved for treatment of arthritis and Crohn’s disease, according to a study led by a Duke Health researcher.
Researchers at Duke Health have identified a new mechanism of aspirin’s action that appears to explain the drug’s diverse benefits.
Gastric bypass surgery is more effective for weight loss and long-term weight maintenance than are other surgical procedures and non-surgical treatment, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Health and the Durham VA Medical Center.
Heart abnormalities linked to immersion pulmonary edema were present in a greater-than-expected proportion of triathletes who died during the competition’s swim portion, according to a study led by researchers at Duke Health.
Molecules that scavenge debris from dying cells appear to halt the cycle of chronic inflammation in lupus, while also enhancing the body’s ability to combat flu, according to Duke Health studies in mice.
Surgeons operating on patients with advanced thyroid cancer are often conflicted when deciding how many lymph nodes they should remove to reduce the patient’s risk of recurrence.
Eight people who have spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial sensation and muscle control in their lower limbs after training with brain-controlled robotics, according to a study published Aug. 11 in Scientific Reports.
In the search for new ways to attack recurrent prostate cancer, researchers at Duke Health report that a novel compound appears to have a unique way of blocking testosterone from fueling the tumors in mice.
Warfarin prescribed to prevent strokes in atrial fibrillation may not adequately control blood clotting over the long-term, even when patients have been historically stable on the drug, according to a study from the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Duke Health-led researchers have discovered new information about the signaling mechanism of cells that could one day help guide development of more specific drug therapies.
Patients suffering from deadly heart attacks can be spared more extensive heart damage when emergency responders and hospitals work together to standardize their treatment processes, according to a study published August 1 in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).
One of the main mysteries confounding development of an HIV vaccine is why some people infected with the virus make the desired antibodies after several years, but a vaccine can’t seem to induce the same response.
Researchers at Duke Health have identified a potential new avenue for treating Pompe disease, a rare condition caused by the build-up of glycogen, a storage form of sugar, in cardiac and skeletal muscle, the liver and other tissues, due to deficiency of a particular enzyme.
Physical declines begin sooner in life than typically detected, often when people are still in their 50s, according to a Duke Health study that focused on a large group of U.S. adults across a variety of age groups.
Duke University could receive up to $19 million to lead early-stage clinical trials for new drugs to treat neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and neuropathy.
The process cells use to secrete chemicals also appears to be the way to clear urinary tract infections, or UTIs, according to a study by researchers from Duke Health and Duke-National University of Singapore.
Walking briskly on a regular basis may be more effective than vigorous jogging for improving glucose control in individuals with pre-diabetes, according to research from Duke Health.
Scientists at Duke Health are part of a team that has discovered a type of cell surrounding blood vessels can also serve as a starting point for sarcoma, a form of cancer that occurs in bones and connective tissues.
Women who carry the BRCA1 gene mutation that dramatically increases their risk of breast and ovarian cancers are also at higher risk for a lethal form of uterine cancer, according to a study led by a Duke Cancer Institute researcher.
People with serious mental illnesses who use guns to commit suicide are often legally eligible to purchase guns, despite having a past record of an involuntary mental health examination and brief hospitalization, according to a new Duke Health analysis.
Scientists at the Duke Cancer Institute have identified a molecular key that breast cancer cells use to invade bone marrow in mice, where they may be protected from chemotherapy or hormonal therapies that could otherwise eradicate them.
A new mouse model of a genetically-linked type of autism reveals more about the role of genes in the disorder and the underlying brain changes associated with autism’s social and learning problems. Scientists at Duke Health who developed the new model also discovered that targeting a brain receptor in mice with this type of autism could ease repetitive behaviors and improve learning in some animals.
A new registry that launches this month gives women who have uterine fibroids the opportunity to help determine which strategies are most effective in treating the common condition.
A research team from Duke Health has developed an antibody from the body’s own immune system that preferentially attacks cancer cells. The antibody works by targeting a natural defense mechanism that cancer tumors exploit. Cells in the body essentially use a home security system that relies on certain proteins to protect the cell surface and keep it safe. These proteins help the cell avoid injury and even death from unwanted activation of the immune system.
Whether a child is complaining of intense stomach pain or has a head injury after a car crash, doctors may recommend a computed tomography, or CT scan, to investigate possible injuries. CT scans use ionizing radiation to create images of bones, organs, blood vessels and other soft tissues. The technology is widely available, provides quick and detailed results, and its use is growing worldwide, according to a recent report from the World Health Organization.
The alarming increase in U.S. childhood obesity rates that began nearly 30 years ago continues unabated, with the biggest increases in severe obesity, according to a study led by a Duke Clinical Research Institute scientist.
Giving early-stage prostate cancer patients a slightly higher daily dose of radiation can cut more than two weeks from the current treatment regimen without compromising cancer control, according to a national study led by a Duke Cancer Institute researcher.
Tests used to diagnose and assess the severity of coronary artery disease appear to function differently for women and men who have stable symptoms, according to researchers from Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Despite messages to the contrary, most women being seen by a doctor for the first time with suspected heart disease actually experience the same classic symptoms as men, notably chest pain and shortness of breath, according to a study led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.
Most high-risk lung cancer patients might not need annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screenings if they are cleared of disease in their initial test, according to a study led by a Duke Cancer Institute researcher.
Patients recovering from heart attacks or other heart trouble could cut their risk of another heart incident by half if they incorporate stress management into their treatment, according to research from Duke Health.
A new study from Duke Health suggests that patients who need to have their thyroid gland removed should seek surgeons who perform 25 or more thyroidectomies a year for the least risk of complications.
In the largest analysis of its kind, researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute and other top cancer centers have found that the organ site where prostate cancer spreads has a direct impact on survival.
Contralateral prophylactic mastectomies (CPMs) were associated with slightly higher satisfaction in women’s perception of how their breasts looked and felt, but primarily among women whose mastectomies were followed by reconstructive surgery.
One of the most crucial and elusive goals of an effective HIV vaccine is to stimulate antibodies that can attack the virus even as it relentlessly mutates. Now a research team, led by investigators at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has tracked rare potent antibodies in an HIV-infected individual and determined sequential structures that point to how they developed.
Neuroscientists at Duke Health have developed a brain-machine interface (BMI) that allows primates to use only their thoughts to navigate a robotic wheelchair.
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