News_release:

Gazing into your lover’s eyes isn’t only romantic; it also releases a brain chemical called oxytocin that strengthens social bonds in a variety of species.  For some people who suffer from depression, the so-called “hormone of love” might hold out hope. Researchers at the UC San Diego School of Medicine are conducting a clinical trial to study whether oxytocin – the brain hormone released with touches, hugs, or when a mother and her newborn baby bond – might help patients with depression.

Click on the above photo for video of Dr. MacDonald discussing the "love hormone."

“In humans, oxytocin is released when they hug or experience other pleasant physical touch, and it plays a part in the human sexual response cycle,” said Kai MacDonald, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

MacDonald went on to explain that oxytocin appears to change the brain signals related to social recognition via facial expressions, perhaps by changing the firing of the amygdala, the part of the brain that plays a primary role in the processing of important emotional stimuli.  In this way, oxytocin in the brain may be a potent mediator of human social behavior. 

“That’s why oxytocin is sometimes called ‘the love hormone,’” said MacDonald.  “It’s said that the eyes are the window to the soul…they certainly are the window to the emotional brain.  We know that the eye-to-eye communication, which is affected by oxytocin, is critical to intimate emotional communication for all kind of emotions – love, fear, trust, anxiety.”

UC San Diego researchers have previously discovered that oxytocin may help patients with schizophrenia, and MacDonald and colleague David Feifel, MD, PhD, UCSD professor of psychiatry, are now enrolling participants to examine its role in clinical depression. 

“Studies of blood levels and genetic factors in depressed patients point to the possibility that this natural hormone might play a part in helping clinical depression,” said MacDonald.  “Previously, studies of healthy individuals have shown that intranasal doses of oxytocin reduce activation of brain circuits involved in fear, increase levels of eye contact, and increase both trust and generosity,” MacDonald said. “Interestingly, people given oxytocin don’t report feeling any different, but they act differently.”

Early clinical data also indicates oxytocin may help women with anxiety disorders. 

“A hug or a touch that causes a release of this hormone might somehow change brain signals,” MacDonald said.  “We want to see if we can harness this response to help patients who suffer from depression.”

For more information on the clinical trial, contact 1-866-550-UCSD.    

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu  

News_Release_Date: February 13, 2012

News_release:

Of 190 million obese Americans, approximately 10-15 percent engage in harmful binge eating. During single sittings, these over-eaters consume large servings of high-caloric foods. Sufferers contend with weight gain and depression including heart disease and diabetes. A new clinical trial, called Regulation of Food Cues, at UC San Diego Health System, aims to treat binge eating by helping participants to identify real hunger and to practice resistance if the stomach is full.

Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

“Most weight-loss treatments for obese adults focus very little on the reduction of binge eating,” said Kerri Boutelle, PhD, principal investigator and associate professor in the department of psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “With this study we use a variety of techniques to train the brain to identify and respond to hunger and cravings and to learn resistance to highly craved foods.”

The one-year study will recruit 30 participants who will undergo weekly 60–90 minute sessions held over 12 weeks. Participants will learn how food cravings originate, how to detect and monitor true hunger, how emotional factors influence eating habits, and how to manage cravings and impulses to eat.  

“Binge eaters often consume food in response to their environment, even when they are not hungry. This could be a response to watching TV, long commutes, sitting on the couch, time of day, even loneliness,” said Boutelle, who is also a licensed clinical psychologist. “The goal is to reduce cravings to overeat by up to 50 percent.”

Click on the image above to watch Boutelle discuss the Food Cue Trial.

Teaching obese people to recognize hunger signals is based upon the principles of behavioral psychology, which has proven effective in treating conditions such as anxiety and bulimia. Boutelle and her team have developed a treatment model that shows that binge eating often results from response to environmental food cues. Exposure-based treatments help eaters improve their sensitivity to hunger and fullness and reduce their sensitivity to the sight and smell of food.

Similar programs aimed at overweight youths have yielded promising results and an ability to maintain reductions in binge eating at six and 12 months after treatment.

Participants who join the study will be asked to complete interviews and surveys before and after treatment groups. In addition, they will complete food logs in which they will be asked to monitor levels of hunger and fullness as well as cravings.

To learn more about this clinical trial, please call 858-405-0263.

# # #

Media Contacts: Jackie Carr or Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: February 09, 2012

News_release:

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance, published online in the journal Advanced Materials, allows the production of tissue culture scaffolds containing multiple structurally and chemically distinct layers using common laboratory reagents and materials.

According to the UC San Diego researchers, this process is more affordable and widely feasible than previous methods that required expensive equipment and expertise.

The new approach is remarkably simple: solutions of the components of each layer, including polymers, are mixed with varying concentrations of a common inert reagent to control density. The solutions are layered so that the difference in density segregates each solution, and then polymerized so that they form a gel. The structure of each layer can be altered by varying the concentration of polymers, and the discreteness of the transition between layers can be altered by allowing the solutions to diffuse.

Lead author Jerome Karpiak, graduate student in the UCSD Biomedical Sciences Program, said, “We’re excited about the relevance of this method to tissue engineering. Since it offers such straightforward spatial control over structure and composition of stratified tissue scaffolds, including cell type and density, this technology could help the field move much faster.” Tissues cultured in vitro to mimic those in the body can potentially provide an alternative to transplantation for injured or degenerated tissue. 

“We believe this approach will vastly broaden the number of labs capable of culturing complex tissue,” said Adah Almutairi, PhD, assistant professor at the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Department of Nanoengineering and the Materials Science and Engineering Program at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering.  “Because manipulation of structure and concentrations of signal molecules is much easier in this system than in intact organisms, it holds great potential to advance the study of development and disease.” For example, this method may offer a novel approach to study how surrounding molecules affect the growth of axons in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Additional researchers included Yogesh Ner, PhD.  Research was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator program and King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology.

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: February 09, 2012

News_release:

Kim E. Barrett, PhD, professor of medicine and dean of graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego, will become president-elect of the American Physiological Society (APS).  APS is the nation’s premier nonprofit organization devoted to fostering education, scientific research, and dissemination of information in the physiological science – the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create health or disease.

Kim Barrett, PhD

Barrett, former Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology, will assume her new duties at the APS annual meeting being held April 21-25, 2012, in San Diego. 

A native of the United Kingdom, Barrett received her BSc and PhD degrees from the Department of Chemistry at University College London. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, she joined the faculty of UC San Diego School of Medicine in 1985 and became a professor of medicine in 1996.

Her research interests center on the normal and abnormal biology of the intestinal epithelium and their relevance to digestive diseases. She has received a number of honors for her research, including the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa, by Queens University, Belfast, Ireland. She is a former awardee of the science-based Henry Pickering Bowditch and Horace Davenport Lectureships sponsored by the APS.  She is also the recipient of the 2012 Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award.

In 2006, Barrett was appointed Dean of Graduate Studies at UC San Diego where she oversees the recruitment, academic advancement and climate for more than 4,000 masters degree and doctoral students. She also guides the development of new graduate programs and planning for an anticipated 50 percent growth in the graduate population at UC San Diego over the next 10 to12 years. In addition to her long-standing interest in student development and mentoring, she has been actively involved in the issue of women’s status in academia and served as the Chair of the APS’ Committee on Women in Physiology.

The elections come as the APS celebrates its 125th anniversary. The Society is the first society in the biomedical sciences field, with more than 10,500 members.

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: February 07, 2012

News_release:

One of few clinical trial sites, worldwide

Jim Black is fighting the meanest, most aggressive, most common kind of brain tumor in the United States: recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).  In the United States, each year, approximately 10,000 patients are affected by GBM.  Now, a novel investigational device – available only at clinical trial sites – is offering new hope to these patients.

The non-invasive procedure – called Tumor Treating Fields (TTF) – is delivered using a portable device – called the NovoTTF-100A System made by Novocure.  The TTF procedure uses alternating electrical fields to disrupt the rapid cell division exhibited by cancer cells. 
 

Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, director of Neuro-Oncology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

“Patients with recurrent GBM present a significant treatment challenge,” said Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, director of Neuro-Oncology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.  “The initial clinical research for the approval trial demonstrated that, compared to patients who were treated with chemotherapy, patients treated with NovoTTF achieved comparable survival times, had fewer side effects, and reported improved quality of life.”

On average, a patient with GBM survives less than 15 months with optimal treatment and only three to five months without additional effective treatment.  The TTF procedure may provide physicians with a fourth treatment option in addition to surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

TTFs inhibit tumor growth by causing cancerous cells to die.  The TTF procedure is delivered using non-invasive, insulated transducer arrays (electrodes) that are placed directly on the skin in the region of the tumor.  The hat-like collection of electrodes connects to a portable device which is slightly thicker than a laptop and weighs about six pounds.  The device sends a low intensity, alternating electric field into the tumor which prevents the cells from dividing and spreading and causes cancer cells to die. 

The most commonly reported side effect from NovoTTF is a mild-to-moderate scalp rash, beneath the electrodes.  The FDA-approved device is intended as an alternative to standard medical therapy for GBM after surgical and radiation options have been exhausted.

“When all other options have been exhausted, patients are willing to do just about anything to keep the tumor at bay,” said Kesari.  “This device gives them an opportunity to fight back, to feel like they are taking an active, hands-on role in their own treatment, and provides tremendous hope.”

# # #

Media Contact: Kim Edwards, 619-543-6163, kedwards@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: February 03, 2012

News_release:

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) has awarded a grant of $100,000 to the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of blinding eye diseases.  The research will be directed by Robert N. Weinreb, MD, Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and Director of the Shiley Eye Center.

UC San Diego Shiley Eye Center

RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research.  Since 1984, the organization has awarded grants totaling $3,065,000 to the UC San Diego School of Medicine.  Over the past 28 years, this funding has supported research in glaucoma, cornea and retinal diseases.

“These funds are particularly invaluable for enhancing our ability to conduct the most impactful vision research,” said Weinreb.  “They will facilitate existing research, support cross-disciplinary investigative programs and assist in the translation of our research to prevent and cure blindness.”

Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions throughout the United States for research into all blinding eye diseases.  For information on RPB, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, go to rpbusa.org.

Based at the Shiley Eye Center, the UC San Diego Ophthalmology Department includes a complement of outstanding clinicians who provide comprehensive and specialized eye care for the full spectrum of diseases of the eye.  During the past decade, departmental teams of clinicians and scientists have translated their research to improve management of a variety of vision-impairing conditions including glaucoma, macular degeneration, ophthalmic plastic surgery, childhood eye disease, diabetic eye disease, and cataracts. 

# # #

Media contact: Karen Anisko, 858-534-8017, kanisko@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 26, 2012

News_release:

A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that newly discovered mutations in an evolved assembly of genes cause Joubert syndrome, a form of syndromic autism.

The findings are published in the January 26 online issue of Science Express.

Image using an electron microscope shows a cilium growing from a neuron. (Gleeson lab)

Joubert syndrome is a rare, recessive brain condition characterized by malformation or underdevelopment of the cerebellum and brainstem.  The disease is due specifically to alterations in cellular primary cilia – antenna-like structures found on most cells. The consequence is a range of distinct physical and cognitive disabilities, including poor muscle control, and mental retardation. Up to 40 percent of Joubert syndrome patients meet clinical criteria for autism, as well as other neurocognitive disorders, so it is considered a syndromic form of autism.

The cause or causes of Joubert syndrome are not well-understood. Researchers looked at mutations in the TMEM216 gene, which had previously been linked to the syndrome. However, only half of the expected Joubert syndrome patients exhibit TMEM216 gene mutations; the other half did not. Using genomic sequencing, the research team, led by Joseph G. Gleeson, MD, professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at UC San Diego, broadened their inquiry and discovered a second culprit: mutations in a neighboring gene called TMEM138.

“It is extraordinarily rare for two adjacent genes to cause the same human disease,” said Gleeson.  “The mystery that emerged from this was whether these two adjacent, non-duplicated genes causing indistinguishable disease have functional connections at the gene or protein level.”

Through evolutionary analysis, the scientists concluded that the two TMEM genes became joined end-to-end approximately 260 million years ago, about the time some amphibians began transitioning into land-based reptiles. The connected genes evolved in tandem, becoming regulated by the same transcription factors.

 “Prior to this transition, the two genes had wildly different expression levels,” said Jeong Ho Lee, MD, PhD, and first author of the study.  “Following this transition, they became tightly co-regulated.  Moreover, we found that the two encoded proteins coordinate delivery of factors key for cilia assembly.”

Gleeson said the findings suggest the human genome has evolved to take advantage of fortuitous ancestral events like gene translocations to better coordinate gene expression by assembling into specific modules. When these modules are disrupted, however, neurodevelopmental diseases may result. 

This research was funded, in part, by the Simons Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Co-authors are Jennifer L. Silhavy, Ji Eun Lee, Lihadh Al-Gazali, Sophie Thomas, Erica E. Davis, Stephanie L. Bielas, Kiley J. Hill, Miriam Iannicelli, Francesco Brancati, Stacey B. Gabriel, Carsten Russ, Clare V. Logan, Saghira Malik Sharif, Christopher P. Bennett, Masumi Abe, Friedhelm Hildebrandt, Bill H. Diplas, Tania Attié-Bitach, Nicholas Katsanis, Anna Rajab, Roshan Koul, Laszlo Sztriha, Elizabeth R. Waters, Susan Ferro- Novick, Geoffrey C. Woods, Colin A. Johnson, Enza Maria Valente, and Maha S. Zaki.

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 26, 2012

News_release:

UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center researchers examine role of diet and exercise

An active lifestyle and a healthy diet can help you feel more energetic, control your weight, help you sleep better, and reduce your risk of many diseases.  Researchers at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center are interested in discovering the effects of innovative diet and exercise programs on breast cancer survivors, as well as women who are ‘at risk’ for breast cancer.

“It’s like anything else in life; you have to really want it (weight loss),” said participant Lorri Maida, who is enrolled in the Healthy Eeating & Living Program (HELP) Study.  “Portion control, phone counseling and some kind of daily exercise are really working for me.”

STUDY DETAILS for BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS

The ENERGY Study – Exercise and Nutrition to Enhance Recovery and Good Health for You – explores the role of diet and exercise in female breast cancer survivors who are at risk for recurrence.

• 4-year study
• 21 years of age or older
• Overweight
• Diagnosed with Stage I-III breast cancer within the previous 5 years and have completed their initial treatment
• Willing and able to attend group meetings and maintain contact with investigators for two years
• Able to be physically active
• NOT currently enrolled in another nutrition or weight loss study

For more Information on ENERGY, please contact 858-822-2779 or hbarkai@ucsd.edu or visit energytrial.ucsd.edu

The REACH FOR HEALTH Study is testing how the treatments of lifestyle intervention and the drug called metformin, which is used to treat diabetes, affect breast cancer survival.

• 6-month study
• Overweight  
• Diagnosed with Stage I-IIIA
• Not scheduled for or currently undergoing chemotherapy
• Able to communicate dietary and physical activity data via telephone
• If taking statins, tamoxifen, or aromatase inhibitors; able and willing to remain on treatment for 6-month study period

For more detailed information on participating in REACH FOR HEALTH, call 858-822-6799 or contact Jesica Oratowski Coleman at joratowski@ucsd.edu.

STUDY DETAILS for THOSE ‘AT RISK’ (never had breast cancer)

The HELP Study – Health Eating & Living Program for Weight Control – aims to reduce breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women through lifestyle change, using Internet-enhanced telephone counseling intervention.

• 2-year study
• Women between the ages of 45 to 70
• Overweight
• Want to increase their physical activity and improve their diet
• Must have high-speed Internet access

For more information on participating in the HELP Study, contact 858-822-2895, healthyeating@ucsd.edu or visit healthyeatingucsd.org

The MENU Study – Metabolism, Exercise and Nutrition – examining the difference between three diets of differing composition on weight loss and cancer biomarkers.

• 1-year study
• Healthy, overweight women
• Over 21 years of age
• BMI (body mass index) higher than 30, less than 40
• Willing and able to participate in clinic visits, group sessions, and telephone and Internet communications at specified intervals
• Able to provide data through questionnaires and by telephone
• Willing to allow blood collections
• No known allergy to tree nuts
• Able to be physically active

For more information on the MENU study please contact Elizabeth Quitana, MS, RD at 858-822-6162, elquintana@ucsd.edu

# # #

Media Contact: Kim Edwards, 619-543-6163, kedwards@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 25, 2012

News_release:

First-ever feat provides new method to understand cause of disease, develop drugs

Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with the much-dreaded neurodegenerative disorder.

Stem-cell-derived neurons, made from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, provide a new tool for unraveling the mechanisms underlying the neurodegenerative disease. In this image, DNA is shown in blue, dendrites and cell bodies in red and endosomal markers Rab5 and EEA1 in green and orange, respectively.

“Creating highly purified and functional human Alzheimer’s neurons in a dish – this has never been done before,” said senior study author Lawrence Goldstein, PhD, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell Program. “It’s a first step. These aren’t perfect models. They’re proof of concept. But now we know how to make them. It requires extraordinary care and diligence, really rigorous quality controls to induce consistent behavior, but we can do it.”

The feat, published in the January 25 online edition of the journal Nature, represents a new and much-needed method for studying the causes of AD, a progressive dementia that afflicts approximately 5.4 million Americans. More importantly, the living cells provide an unprecedented tool for developing and testing drugs to treat the disorder.

“We’re dealing with the human brain. You can’t just do a biopsy on living patients,” said Goldstein. “Instead, researchers have had to work around, mimicking some aspects of the disease in non-neuronal human cells or using limited animal models. Neither approach is really satisfactory.”

Goldstein and colleagues extracted primary fibroblasts from skin tissues taken from two patients with familial AD (a rare, early-onset form of the disease associated with a genetic predisposition), two patients with sporadic AD (the common form whose cause is not known) and two persons with no known neurological problems. They reprogrammed the fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that then differentiated into working neurons.

The iPSC-derived neurons from the Alzheimer’s patients exhibited normal electrophysiological activity, formed functional synaptic contacts and, critically, displayed tell-tale indicators of AD. Specifically, they possessed higher-than-normal levels of proteins associated with the disorder.

With the in vitro Alzheimer’s neurons, scientists can more deeply investigate how AD begins and chart the biochemical processes that eventually destroy brain cells associated with elemental cognitive functions like memory. Currently, AD research depends heavily upon studies of post-mortem tissues, long after the damage has been done.

“The differences between a healthy neuron and an Alzheimer’s neuron are subtle,” said Goldstein. “It basically comes down to low-level mischief accumulating over a very long time, with catastrophic results.”

The researchers have already produced some surprising findings. “In this work, we show that one of the early changes in Alzheimer’s neurons thought to be an initiating event in the course of the disease turns out not to be that significant,” Goldstein said, adding that they discovered a different early event plays a bigger role.

The scientists also found that neurons derived from one of the two patients with sporadic AD exhibited biochemical changes possibly linked to the disease. The discovery suggests that there may be sub-categories of the disorder and that, in the future, potential therapies might be targeted to specific groups of AD patients.

Though just a beginning, Goldstein emphasized the iPSC-derived Alzheimer’s neurons present a huge opportunity in a desperate fight.  “At the end of the day, we need to use cells like these to better understand Alzheimer’s and find drugs to treat it. We need to do everything we can because the cost of this disease is just too heavy and horrible to contemplate. Without solutions, it will bankrupt us – emotionally and financially.”

Funding for this research came, in part, from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Weatherstone Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Hartwell Foundation, the Lookout Fund and the McDonnell Foundation.

A patent application has been filed on this technology by the University of California, San Diego.  For more information, go to: techtransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/NCD/22199.html

Co-authors are Mason A. Israel and Sol M. Reyna, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and UCSD Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program; Shauna H. Yuan, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and UCSD Department of Neurosciences; Cedric Bardy and Yangling Mu, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Cheryl Herrera, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine; Michael P. Hefferan, UCSD Department of Anesthesiology; Sebastiaan Van Gorp, Department of Anesthesiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Netherlands; Kristopher L. Nazor, Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute; Francesca S. Boscolo and Louise C. Laurent, UCSD Department of Reproductive Medicine; Christian T. Carson, BD Biosciences; Martin Marsala, UCSD Department of Anesthesiology and Institute of Neurobiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia; Fred H. Gage, The Salk Institute of Biological Studies; Anne M. Remes, Department of Clinical Medicine, Neurology and Clinical Research Center, University of Oulu, Finland; and Edward H. Koo, UCSD Department of Neurosciences.

About Alzheimer’s disease
An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Two-thirds are women. By 2050, as many as 16 million Americans are projected to have the disease. In 2011, the economic cost of caring for Alzheimer’s patients exceeded $183 billion, projected to rise to $1.1 trillion by 2050. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 75,000 Americans annually. Currently, there are no drugs to prevent, alter or cure the disease. 

# # #

Media Contact: Scott LaFee, 619-543-6163, slafee@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 25, 2012

News_release:

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have created a new generation of fast-acting fluorescent dyes that optically highlight electrical activity in neuronal membranes. The work is published in this week’s online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The ability to visualize these small, fast-changing voltage differences between the interior and exterior of neurons – known as transmembrane potential – is considered a powerful method for deciphering how brain cells function and interact.

However, current monitoring methods fall short, said the study’s first author Evan W. Miller, a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Roger Tsien, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, UC San Diego professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry and 2008 Nobel Prize co-winner in chemistry for his work on green fluorescent protein.

“The most common method right now monitors the movement of calcium ions into the cell,” said Miller. “It provides some broad indication, but it’s an indirect measurement that misses activity we see when directly measuring voltage changes.”

Leech neurons stained with voltage-sensitive dye.

The new method employs dyes that penetrate only the membrane of neurons, either in in vitro cells cultured with the dye or, for this study, taken up by neurons in a living leech model. When the dyed cells are exposed to light, neuronal firing causes the dye momentarily to glow more brightly, a flash that can be captured with a high-speed camera.

“One of the tradeoffs with using voltage-sensing dyes in the past is that when they were reasonably sensitive to voltage changes, they were slow compared to the actual physiological events,” said Miller. “The new dye gives big signals but is much faster and doesn’t perturb the neurons. We essentially see no lag time between the optical signal and electrodes (used to double-check neuronal activity).”

The new method provides a wider view of neuronal activity, said Miller. More importantly, it makes it possible for neuroscientists to do accurate, single trial experiments. “Right now, you have to repeat experiments with cells, and then average the results, which is physiologically less relevant and meaningful.”

For Tsien, the new dyes address a career-long challenge.

“These results are the first demonstration of a new mechanism to sense membrane voltage, which is particularly satisfying to me because this was the first problem I started working on as a graduate student in 1972, with little success back then,” said Tsien. “Later, we devised indirect solutions such as calcium imaging or dyes that gave big but slow responses to voltage. These techniques have been very useful in other areas of biology or in drug screening, but didn’t properly solve the original problem. I think we are finally on the right track, four decades later.”

Funding for this research came, in part, from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institutes of Health, including the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Co-authors are John Y. Lin, Department of Pharmacology, UC San Diego; E. Paxon Frady, Neurosciences Graduate Group, UC San Diego; Paul A. Steinbach, Department of Pharmacology, UC San Diego and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; William B. Kristan, Jr., Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego.

# # #

Media Contact: Scott LaFee, 619-543-6163, slafee@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 25, 2012

News_release:

UC San Diego Health System has received approval to acquire the Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI), the official cancer institute of the state of Nevada, as an affiliate health care provider. The expansion represents a partnership between California and Nevada in offering lifesaving cancer care to patients through expert diagnosis, novel treatments and clinical trials.

Tom McAfee, MD, CEO, UC San Diego Health System

“We are proud to have Nevada Cancer Institute join UC San Diego Health System,” said Tom McAfee, MD, interim CEO of UC San Diego Health System and dean of clinical affairs. “As a world-class health system for cancer and surgical care, UC San Diego is fulfilling its mission of caring for patients locally, nationally, and around the world.”

Nevada Cancer Institute is a nonprofit organization committed to fighting cancer by offering the best in early detection, high-quality patient care, education and prevention. The Institute has treated more than 17,000 patients since opening in 2005, and offers novel treatment strategies through clinical trials, as well as Hope Coach, a mobile mammography unit. Its state-of-the-art flagship treatment center is a four-story, 142,000-square-foot facility in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas. NVCI also operates a patient clinic at University Medical Center. The Institute is accredited by The Joint Commission, and has earned the organization’s Gold Seal of Approval for quality and safety in health care facilities.

UC San Diego NVCI is a state-of-the-art, 142,000 sq. ft. facility.

“In light of health care reform, innovative partnerships between states and their health systems will be key to increasing access to specialized care while managing health care costs,” said McAfee. “Both Stanford University and Cleveland Clinic have pursued this strategy to care for neurological patients outside of their local areas. UC San Diego Health System is advancing this approach for the full spectrum of cancers, a strength of our clinical enterprise.”

Plans for UC San Diego NVCI include the recruitment of medical and surgical oncologists, as well as beginning a national search for a physician-scientist to serve as director of the institute. Insight Oncology, a management services organization, will assist with the integration of the two organizations and provide operational oversight of the flagship facility.

UC San Diego NVCI

Nevada patients will continue to see their current physician, now with the advantage of potentially qualifying for a wider range of clinical trials. UC San Diego NVCI hopes to partner with the local medical community and develop collaborations that best serve the needs of local doctors and their patients.

UC San Diego Health System purchased NVCI with clinical revenue generated by its hospitals. No state funding was utilized. All philanthropic support for NVCI will be specifically reserved for the Nevada facility and its patients.

In February 2011, UC San Diego Health System acquired San Diego Cancer Center as part of its regional strategy to expand cancer care into the north coastal community of San Diego with locations in Encinitas and Vista. The health system has also opened a radiation oncology site in South Bay, multi-specialty clinics in Murrieta, part of Riverside County, a comprehensive liver clinic in Henderson, Nevada, and telemedicine clinics throughout the state of California.

UC San Diego Health System is comprised of UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, and UC San Diego Thornton Hospital, Moores Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Center, and Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center in La Jolla, as well as other primary and specialty practices of UC San Diego Medical Group. UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center is home to nearly 350 medical and radiation oncologists, cancer surgeons, and researchers. It is one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country, and the only one in the region - a rare honor distinguishing exceptionally high achievement in research, clinical care, education and community outreach and partnerships.

In early 2012, UC San Diego Health System will break ground on the Jacobs Medical Center. The state-of-the-art, 10-story facility will be home to four hospitals: the existing Thornton Hospital, the Hospital for Cancer Care, Hospital for Women and Infants, and Hospital for Advanced Surgery. The specialized center will offer 245 beds and 14 operating rooms including a 4-OR intraoperative imaging suite.

# # #

Media Contacts: Jackie Carr, 619-543-6163, jcarr@ucsd.edu; Hilarie Grey, 702-822-5601, hgrey@nvcancer.org

News_Release_Date: January 23, 2012

News_release:

Rick Hanson, PhD, author of the book Buddha’s Brain and founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, will present his lecture "Taking in the Good: Helping Children Build Inner Strength and Happiness”  at the UC San Diego Medical Center Auditorium on Friday, February 3. The lecture will kick off UC San Diego’s inaugural “Bridging the Hearts and Minds of Youth: Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, Education and Research” conference.

Hanson, a prolific writer and lecturer, maintains a clinical practice in San Rafael, Calif., and serves as a trustee for Saybrook University. He is considered an authority on self-directed neuroplasticity, the art of reshaping the brain through contemplative practice, and is a featured blogger for The Huffington Post and Psychology Today. His writings and teachings focus on “the essential inner skills of personal well-being, psychological growth, and contemplative practice.”

Steven Hickman, PsyD, associate clinical professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine departments of Psychiatry and Family and Preventive Medicine, and director of the UCSD Center For Mindfulness (UCSD CFM) says about Hanson’s lecture, “this is a great opportunity to help clients, parents, friends and others understand the profound impact of contemplative practice on the developing minds of our children and ourselves.”

This “Bridging the Hearts and Minds of Youth: Mindfulness in Clinical Practice, Education and Research” conference is co-presented by UCSD CFM and Stressed Teens and will be held at the Catamaran Resort Hotel in San Diego, February 4 and 5. 

Tickets for the Hanson lecture are $15, pre-registration is encouraged.  To register for the lecture or the conference, visit the UCSD CFM website, cme.ucsd.edu/bridging/, or call 858-334-4636.

# # #

Media Contact: Melanie Peters, 619-543-6163, mopeters@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 20, 2012

News_release:

17 individuals in U.S. recognized for major contributions to science

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will honor 17 individuals with awards in recognition of their extraordinary scientific achievements in a wide range of fields spanning the physical, biological, and social sciences. Among them is Larry R. Squire, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Neurosciences, and Psychology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and research career scientist at VA Medical Center, San Diego. 

Larry Squire, PhD

Squire, a resident of Del Mar, California, is the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Reviewing.  A leader in the field of memory and foremost expert in the anatomical and functional basis of mammalian memory, Squire is honored for “his prolific and comprehensive reviews on memory research, for his seminal books that are standards in the field, and critical reviews of books on neuroscience.”

The prize of $10,000, presented this year in the field of neuroscience, recognizes excellence in scientific reviewing. The award is supported by Annual Reviews, the Institute for Scientific Information, and The Scientist in honor of J. Murray Luck.

Squire and 16 other NAS award recipients will be honored in a ceremony on Monday, April 30, during the National Academy of Sciences’ 149th annual meeting.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and – along with the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council – provides science, technology, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 20, 2012

News_release:

Smoking is a major public health issue and quitting is the single most important thing smokers can do to improve their health.  In the 2012 edition of the prestigious Annual Review of Public Health, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have reviewed the landscape of smoking cessation over the past 20 years.  During this time period, there have been improvements in pharmaceutical medications to aid cessation, and free telephone cessation coaching has become available in every state.  However, recent trends in smoking cessation are troubling to tobacco control researchers.

John Pierce, PhD

“For the past decade, attempts to quit smoking have increased, but the proportion of people who become successful quitters has gone down” said John P. Pierce, PhD, professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and director of Population Sciences at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.  “Widespread dissemination of cessation services has not led to an increase in the probability that a quit attempt will be successful." 

The problem does not appear to be with the cessation services themselves. “Randomized trials continue to demonstrate that innovations in cessation assistance, such as the new text-to-quit service, increase success rates among smokers motivated to be part of clinical studies,” said Sharon Cummins, PhD, director of Evaluation with the California Smokers Helpline and a co-author on the study.  “Indeed, one study showed that heavier smokers are much more likely to quit successfully when a doctor actively monitors the quit attempt, pharmaceutical aids are used, and the smoker receives multiple coaching calls from a quitline service”.

The number of people who quit smoking successfully has stalled in the United States at every age.

However, recent evidence suggests that part of the problem may lie in how cessation aids are marketed by pharmaceutical companies:  many such ads suggest that quitting smoking may be as simple as putting on a patch.  It appears that younger smokers in particular are now more likely to underestimate the amount of work needed in order to quit smoking successfully. 

Traditionally, the majority of smokers who quit successfully have done so without assistance, and recent data suggests that this has not changed.  However, current national policy discourages unassisted quitting, advising clinicians to make sure smokers who want to quit do so with pharmaceutical assistance.  This policy may undermine smokers’ belief in their ability to quit on their own.

Pierce and colleagues noted that some of the earliest texts in psychology – written more than 100 years ago – include chapters on breaking habits such as smoking.  In 1890, William James laid out a series of maxims that were widely recognized then and that still hold true today:  smokers need to make a strong resolution to change; they need to act quickly on that resolution; they will be more successful if they make a personal commitment to another to be successful; and finally, it is important to understand the danger of having even a single cigarette during a quit attempt.

The researchers suggest that policy makers join those in academia for a serious review of tobacco cessation policy.

In addition to Pierce, the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center research team included Sharon E. Cummins, PhD, Martha M. White, Aimee Humphrey and Karen Messer, PhD.
 
Funding support for this study was provided by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP). 

# # #

Media Contact: Kim Edwards, 619-543-6163, kedwards@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 17, 2012

News_release:

Results Show No ‘Safe’ Period For Drinking Alcohol In Pregnancy

Researchers at the California Teratogen Information Service (CTIS) Pregnancy Health Information Line, a state-wide non-profit organization based at the University of California, San Diego, have found new links between the timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and certain characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The results will be published in the April 2012 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View (online version).

The study uses data obtained by counselors at the CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line, a toll-free service offering evidence-based clinical information about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding.  It focuses on 992 California women who contacted the CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line between 1978 and 2005 with questions about a wide variety of exposures and, after being counseled, agreed to participate in a follow-up study of their pregnancy outcome. The study specifically examines the timing of the mother's reported alcohol exposure in relation to known physical features of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Importantly, all infants in the study, whether identified as exposed to alcohol or not, received a special screening for birth defects by Kenneth Lyons Jones, MD, chief of the Division of Dysmorphology/Teratology at the Department of Pediatrics and CTIS Medical Director.

The physical features of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can be very subtle and not easily recognizable, particularly in newborns. These features include a smooth upper lip with thin/smooth red portion of the lip, short eye openings, smaller head size, and reduced birth weight and length.

Researchers found that every pattern of higher prenatal alcohol consumption (no matter the timing in pregnancy) was associated with an increased risk of having an underweight infant or one with a reduced birth length. However, there were also significant associations between higher alcohol consumption in the second half of the first trimester and certain facial features of FAS, in addition to lower birth weight and length. “For every one drink increase in the average number of drinks consumed daily, there was a 25 percent increased risk for smooth upper lip, a 22 percent increased risk for thin red portion of the upper lip border, a 12 percent increased risk for small head size, a 16 percent increased risk for reduced birth weight, and an 18 percent increased risk for reduced birth length,” said Haruna Sawada Feldman, PhD, MPH, CHES, post-doctoral student and lead author of the study.

“These findings show that drinking alcohol between week seven and 12 of pregnancy are clearly associated with a risk for FAS facial features, as well as a decrease in birth weight and length,” said Christina Chambers PhD, MPH, professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego and CTIS program director.  “However, this should not be misinterpreted to mean that drinking during weeks 1 through 7 is safe. This study only looked at data that included live births. It does not include women who had miscarriages or stillbirths possibly resulting from early alcohol exposure,” she explained. “If anything, this further supports the idea that there is no designated ‘safe’ period for drinking alcohol in pregnancy, and that discontinuing alcohol consumption as soon as possible, and, ideally, prior to pregnancy is the best approach to preventing FAS.”

Questions or concerns about alcohol or any other exposure during pregnancy or breastfeeding can be directed to the CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line at 800- 532-3749 or via instant message counseling at CTISPregnancy.org. Outside of California, please call the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS) at 866-626-6847.

# # #

Media contact: Nicole Chavez, 619- 294-6262, ncchavez@ucsd.edu
Spanish language interviews are available

News_Release_Date: January 17, 2012

News_release:

Cell phones aren’t just for talking any more.  Surfing the web, storing music and posting to Facebook have all contributed to the near-mandatory use of a cell phone.  How about using that cell phone to lose weight?  Researchers with Calit2’s Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems (CWPHS) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, at University of California, San Diego are expanding a previous study aimed at finding out if cell phone technology can help with weight loss. 

For one year, researchers with the “ConTxt” study will evaluate the use of cell phone text messages to remind participants to make wise nutritional choices throughout the day.  Participants randomized to the intervention conditions will also be given tailored messages for weight loss and lifestyle changes as well as a pedometer to monitor their daily activity. 

“ConTxt is an innovative, yet straightforward approach to getting people to monitor their diet and physical activity,” says CWPHS project principal investigator Kevin Patrick, MD, MS, professor of Family and Preventive Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine.  “We are trying to make this as pain free as possible.  People won’t stick to something that’s too difficult and they’re all multi-tasking anyway.  We’re doing this study to increase what we know about using the cell phone to get messages to busy people on the go.”

Who Can Participate?

ConTxt is recruiting more than 300 participants who meet these criteria:

• Men and women
• 21 to 60 years of age
• Overweight or moderately obese with Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27-39.9
• Own a cell phone capable of sending and receiving picture and text messages
• English and Spanish speaking participants that reside in San Diego county

Strategy

As a part of tailoring of the program, surveys completed during baseline visit will help assess the participant’s lifestyle, for example, assessing nearby grocery stores, finding opportunities for physical activity and possibly enlisting the support of friends or family. 

The intervention is designed to send “prompts,” text or picture messages, with specific suggestions or tips regarding diet and improving lifestyle habits.   “It seems like everybody has a cell phone.  Those who do usually carry it with them at all times,” explained ConTxt study coordinator Lindsay W. Dillon, MPH, CHES.  “We want to see if we can use that same technology to get people to think differently.”

About CWPHS

The team from CalIT2's Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems.

CWPHS research focuses on how the health of individuals, families, communities, social networks, and populations can be improved through the creative use of wireless and networked technologies. CWPHS is Housed within the UCSD Division of Calit2: The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology.

Collaborators include physicians and scientists with backgrounds in clinical and preventive medicine, computer science and engineering, social networks, political science, clinical and experimental psychology, electrical engineering, health behavior, behavioral exercise and nutrition science and public health.  Center research is supported through public and private sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Science Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and Nokia Research.

To learn more about enrolling in the ConTxt study, call 858-534-8412 or email us at contxtcoach@ucsd.edu. 

# # #

Media Contact: Kim Edwards, 619-543-6163, kedwards@ucsd.edu 

News_Release_Date: January 09, 2012

News_release:

The new UC San Diego-Roche Extending Innovation Network (EIN) program has been launched with selection of its first three research projects at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The UC San Diego-Roche EIN program, which was formalized in June 2011, aims to accelerate the discovery of new drug therapies through research innovation at the interface of industry and academia. The program is slated to grow in the coming years as additional rounds of proposals are solicited.  

Under this partnership, faculty-initiated research projects are selected for funding from proposals solicited campus-wide on a planned bi-annual basis. The program is headed by a joint steering committee comprising two Roche researchers and two UC San Diego faculty members, Joan Heller Brown, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, and Michael K. Gilson, MD, PhD, professor of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences and director of UCSD’s new Drug Discovery Institute.

“We are very pleased about this exciting and innovative partnership, which strengthens UCSD Health Sciences’ strategic goal of broadly advancing our programs in drug discovery,” said David A. Brenner, MD, vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the UCSD School of Medicine. 

The EIN program allows Roche to have the first look at in-licensing opportunities that match the company’s strategy, and is designed to further strengthen the cooperation between university research and pharmaceutical development.   Other academic institutions that are partners with Roche in the EIN program include Harvard University and UC San Francisco.

The three two-year projects selected in this initial round will use innovative molecular technologies recently developed at UC San Diego to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disease and leukemia, with the ultimate goal of developing effective new treatments.

“This funding will help provide important new opportunities to translate basic discoveries and leading-edge technologies from UC San Diego’s research laboratories into needed therapies for patients – an effort being spearheaded by our new Drug Discovery Institute,” said Palmer Taylor, PhD, associate vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The three projects selected for this initial round of funding are as follows.

Xiang-Dong Fu, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular medicine and member of the UCSD Institute of Genomic Medicine, in collaboration with Michael G. Rosenfeld, MD, will use cutting-edge genomic and RNA-based approaches to help identify new potential therapeutic targets.  Coupled with a new gene-signature approach, this research project could identify compounds that will ultimately lead to the discovery of new neuropsychiatric drugs.

Paul Insel, MD, professor of pharmacology and medicine, will investigate the expression of the GPCR family of receptors on the surface of cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). There are limited successful therapies for CLL, which is the most common form of adult leukemia and can progress to a very aggressive form that is rapidly lethal.  Insel seeks to identify new targets for drugs to improve the course of this disease.

Gene Yeo, PhD, assistant professor of cellular and molecular medicine, will apply innovative technologies to detect abnormal patterns of RNA in neurons and discover molecules that reverse these defects. This work has promise for the treatment of a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders.

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 09, 2012

News_release:

A team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, have developed a simple, reliable test for identifying biomarkers for mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), a group of inherited metabolic disorders that are currently diagnosed in patients only after symptoms have become serious and the damage possibly irreversible.

The findings will be published online January 8 in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

MPS is caused by the absence or malfunctioning of a lysosomal enzyme required to break down and recycle complex sugar molecules called glycosaminoglycans, which are used to build bone, tendons, skin and other tissues. If not degraded and removed, glycosaminoglycans can accumulate in cells and tissues, resulting in progressive, permanent damage affecting appearance, physical abilities, organ function and often mental development in young children. The effects range from mild to severe.

There are 11 known forms of MPS, each involving a different lysosomal enzyme. A number of treatments exist, including enzyme replacement therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but efficacy depends upon diagnosing the disease and its specific form as early as possible. That has been problematic, said Jeffrey D. Esko, PhD, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and co-director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center at UC San Diego.

“The typical time from seeing first symptoms to diagnosis of MPS is about three years. Since the early signs of disease are common childhood issues like ear infections and learning disorders, the disease is usually not immediately recognized,” Esko said.

“A child often has multiple visits with their pediatrician. Eventually they are referred to a metabolic disease specialist, where rare diseases are considered. It takes an expert to identify MPS and its most likely form in each patient. Every subclass of MPS has its own specific diagnostic test, so developing better diagnostics is an essential part of effective treatment. ”

In their paper, the scientists describe an innovative method to detect tell-tale carbohydrate structures specific to glycosaminoglycans in the cells, blood and urine of MPS patients. The biomarker assay identifies all known forms of the disease.

Esko is collaborating with Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based biotechnology company, to develop a commercial diagnostic assay for differentiating forms of MPS from urine and blood samples, a screening test for newborns and a tool for measuring the biochemical response of MPS patients to existing and novel therapies.

“Since the severity of the disease is highly variable among patients, this could provide a tool that a doctor can use to optimize dosing or treatment,” said Brett Crawford, Vice President for Research at Zacharon. “Currently, all patients are treated with the same dose of drug.”

The biomarker test may also be used to discover new forms of MPS and better characterize existing ones.

DISCLOSURE: Esko co-founded Zacharon Pharmaceuticals in 2004 with Brett E. Crawford and Charles Glass. He is a scientific advisor to the company.

Co-authors include Roger Lawrence and William C. Lamanna, UCSD Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Glycobiology Research and Training Center; Jillian R. Brown, James R. Beitel and Brett E. Crawford, Zacharon Pharmaceuticals; Geert-Jan Boones and Kanar Al-Mafraji, University of Georgia, Athens.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the National Institutes of Health, a Kirschstein National Research Service Award and the National MPS Society.

# # #

Media Contact: Scott LaFee, 619-543-6163, slafee@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 09, 2012

News_release:

Liver Removed, Reconstructed, Re-Implanted

A team led by Alan Hemming, MD, transplant surgeon at UC San Diego Health System, has successfully performed the west coast’s first ex-vivo liver resection, a radical procedure to completely remove and reconstruct a diseased liver and re-implant it without any tumors. The procedure saved the life of a 27-year old mother whose liver had been invaded by a painful tumor that crushed the organ and entangled its blood supply.

“During a 9-hour surgery the team was able to remove the basketball-sized tumor,” said Hemming, professor and surgical director of the Center for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation (CHAT) at UC San Diego Health System. “This is a surgery that carries a 15 to 20 percent risk of mortality. In this case, the patient would not have survived if she did not have surgery. This was the only way we could save her liver and her life.”

The patient's liver was removed from the body, cooled, treated and returned tumor free.

During the procedure, the diseased liver was detached from the body, flushed with preservation solution and cooled to a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.  This allowed Hemming to carefully  remove the tumor from the liver in a bloodless field while preserving vital structures. Hemming then removed the tumor which weighed as much as the liver itself. Once the tumor was removed, the vessels were meticulously reconstructed. The liver was then successfully reimplanted.

“It was amazing to learn the tumor was so big and growing inside me,” said Clerisa Keirsey, mother of three and Oceanside resident. “I am glad Dr. Hemming was here to perform the surgery and happy to be going home to be with my children.”

Alan Hemming, MD, transplant surgeon.

Hemming specializes in all forms of liver surgery  including split, living-related, and domino  transplant procedures and has performed more than 700 liver transplants and 900 liver resections. He performs all aspects of hepatobiliary surgery including both open and laparoscopic liver resection for tumors, resection of the pancreas and bile duct, and portal decompressive procedures.

The Center for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation at UC San Diego Health System offers full spectrum liver care, from diagnostics and testing to novel therapies and clinical trials not found anywhere else in the United States.

The CHAT team includes: Robert Gish, MD, Alan Hemming, MD, Ajai Khanna, MD, Yuko Kono, MD, Alexander Kuo, MD, Rohit Loomba, MD, Kristin Mekeel, MD, Michel Mendler, MD, Heather Patton, MD, and Rene Pink, RN.

# # #

Media Contact: Jackie Carr, 619-543-6163, jcarr@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 05, 2012

News_release:

Wolfgang H. Dillmann, MD, has been selected as chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.  He has also been named the Helen M. Ranney Endowed Chair, the school's first faculty-funded endowed chair, founded in 1991 in honor of the department’s second chair. 

Wolfgang H. Dillmann, MD

With nearly 470 full-time faculty members and more than 100 academic researchers, the Department of Medicine is one of the inaugural departments in the UCSD School of Medicine and the largest. Nationally recognized for research, teaching and clinical care in internal medicine in specialties ranging from arthritis and respiratory disease to hypertension and cancer, its internal medicine specialty training programs include 108 resident physicians, 83 ACGME fellows, and 131 postdoctoral research fellows.  The department is also engaged in nearly 380 different biomedical research programs with funding awards totaling $113.6 million in fiscal year 2011. 

Dillmann came to UC San Diego in 1979 as an assistant professor, moving up to associate and then full professor by 1987.   He served as chief of the Endocrinology and Metabolism Division from 2005 to 2010, and as interim chair of the Department of Medicine since 2010.  He is the fifth chair in the Department’s 43-year history.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Gymnasium, Aschaffenburg in Germany and his MD degree in medicine from the University of Munich.  He completed his internship at Mt. Sinai Hospital, followed by residencies in medicine and endocrinology, both at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, the academic medical center associated with Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  He began his career as an assistant professor there, and then served as an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota for two years before coming to San Diego.

His research interests in the laboratory include thyroid hormone action in the heart, as well as studies related to diabetic cardiomyopathy and the effects of excessive enzymatic protein glycosylation in cardiac myocytes and their influence on heart function. Dillmann’s lab also conducts studies related to the expression of specific heat shock proteins and protection of the heart against cardiac ischemia.

Dillmann is a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In the field of endocrinology and metabolism he is a member of the Endocrine Society, the American Thyroid Association, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and the International Society for Heart Research.  He is past associate editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, past editorial board member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and served as a member of the Cardiac Hypertrophy and Heart Failure NIH Study Section.

# # #

Media Contact: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 05, 2012

News_release:

Program showed success in training health care, law enforcement

The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine TREDS (Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety) program has been awarded a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to continue their work on driving safety in older adults.  This team of experts, part of UCSD’s Injury Epidemiology, Prevention and Research Center, has been working to keep San Diego County’s highways and senior drivers safe since 2007.
 
“Both health care and law enforcement can play an important role in the identification and referral of drivers who may be at risk for a collision,” said Linda Hill, MD, MPH, clinical professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UCSD School of Medicine. “Physicians have knowledge of a patient’s medical history and the medications that can impact driving, while law enforcement witnesses and responds to unsafe driving first hand.” 

Family members of older drivers often seek guidance from these professionals in an effort to keep their loved ones safe behind the wheel. TREDS educates health care providers on the American Medical Association’s screening guidelines that assess for vision, strength and cognitive impairment in adults over age 70.  The focus of the law enforcement training is to increase recognition of medical conditions that can impact driving and referral resources.

“We have trained more than 1000 health professionals and more than 700 law enforcement officers in Southern California Counties.  Now, these successful programs will benefit the most traffic-congested areas in the state, Los Angeles and Orange Counties,” said Hill. “And soon health professionals throughout California will have the opportunity to receive the training online.”
 
Early identification of conditions is paramount to the continuation of safe driving.  Treatment may be as simple as a new pair of glasses, some adaptive equipment for the car, or physical therapy to improve range of motion.  Training health care practitioners and law enforcement officials will better equip them to help older drivers maintain mobility for as long as safely possible.
   
“Older adults have positive driving attributes like experience, being more likely to follow laws and less likely to take risks; however, as a group, their rates of death per distance driven and per population is as high as that of teenage boys,” Raul Coimbra, MD, PhD, FACS, chief of the Division of Trauma at UC San Diego Health System and founder of the UCSD Injury Epidemiology, Prevention and Research Center.  “In addition, elderly drivers and their passengers are four times more likely to die than their 20-year-old counterparts in crashes of similar intensity.”

“The California Highway Patrol appreciates the training provided by the University of California, San Diego.  This training has enabled our officers to better serve our older drivers by recognizing driving impairment and make referrals to community resources.  We are grateful for the contributions senior drivers have made to our communities over the past decades and want to best serve them while they continue to enjoy their driving experiences," said Chief Jim Abele from the California Highway Patrol.

“The goal of these programs is to improve driving safety in older adults by increasing awareness, education and management of the health-related impairments which result from the aging process,” explained Richard Kohr, Senior Driver Ombudsman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles – Southern Region. 

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  The DMV Senior Ombudsman Program and the San Diego Driver Safety Office collaborated with and support UC San Diego’s efforts to engage health professionals and law enforcement in this endeavor.
 
The grant team, led by Hill, includes Coimbra; Jill Rybar, MPH, project manager; and Tara Styer, MPH, training coordinator. For additional information or to schedule trainings, email TREDS@ucsd.edu or call 858-534-9330.

# # #

Background/Data

The AARP states that beginning in 2011, eight thousand Baby Boomers will be turning 65 each day and these projections are expected to continue for the next 18 years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that by the year 2020, there will be more than 40 million licensed drivers over the age of 65, and six million drivers over 65 in California by the year 2030.   

Older adults often experience a decline in cognition, vision and motor skills required to complete many tasks associated with driving.  AAA reports that nearly 70 percent of older adults surveyed were using one or more prescription medications that could impair driving ability.

According to San Diego County, 1408 individuals over 65 years of age were involved in traffic crashes, accounting for 10 percent of all people injured and 16 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2008.

The Injury Epidemiology, Prevention and Research Center

The UCSD Injury Epidemiology, Prevention and Research Center is a combined effort of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Burns with its Level-1 Trauma Center and the Regional Burn Center and the UCSD Department of Preventive Medicine to make our communities safer and to decrease the burden of injuries to our society.

Media Contact: Kim Edwards, 619-543-6163, kedwards@ucsd.edu

News_Release_Date: January 04, 2012

News_release:

Jérôme Lejeune Foundation U.S. Scientific Committee Chair acknowledged by U.S. Congress, honored with international prize in Paris

William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Chairman of the U.S. Scientific Advisory Committee of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, was recognized by U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions from the floor of the House of Representatives in December.  Sessions said of Mobley – who received the International Sisley-Jérôme Lejeune Prize in a ceremony at the Museum of Medical History in Paris on December 8 – “Dr. Mobley's many contributions in the field of Down syndrome have been truly valued in the special needs community. His research to identify causes of neurodegenerative disorders has brought new optimism to those afflicted with diseases, from Alzheimer's to Down syndrome.”

William C. Mobley, MD, PhD

The International Sisley-Jérôme Lejeune award was given to Mobley in recognition of his ambitious and innovative research into treatments for neurological disabilities, in particular Down syndrome.  In his acceptance speech, Mobley commented that “Today, we have not yet developed an effective treatment, but our work shows that it will soon be possible.”

“His commitment and expertise in this area are a guarantee of excellence for the Foundation,” said Jean-Marc Guilloux, Executive Director of the U.S. Jérôme Lejeune Foundation. “We are honored that a researcher of Dr. Mobley’s stature has agreed to assist us at this critical stage of launching this new initiative in the United States on behalf of those with genetic intellectual disabilities.” Mobley will be joined on the U.S. Scientific Advisory Committee by Randi Hagerman, MD, professor of the M.I.N.D. Institute at the University of California, Davis, and a research specialist in Fragile X syndrome, and by David Patterson, PhD, professor at the University of Denver, a researcher in the fields Down syndrome and autism.

The International Sisley-Jérôme Lejeune Prize carries a cash award and is made possible by a generous grant of the Sisley Foundation, Paris.

The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation (Paris/U.S.) was founded in 1996 and is the world’s largest private funder of Down syndrome research, providing some $21 million worldwide. In 2010 alone the Foundation invested $4 million in research, and funded over 60 research projects which together are breaking new ground in both the understanding and management of Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and other intellectual disabilities of genetic origin. The Foundation’s mission is based upon three closely joined pillars of activity: research, care, and advocacy, all carried out in a spirit of profound respect for the dignity of all human persons.

# # #

Media Contacts:
UC San Diego Health Sciences: Debra Kain, 619-543-6163, ddkain@ucsd.edu
U.S. Press contact, Lejeune Foundation: Mark Bradford, 215-983-8763, mbradford@LejeuneUSA.org  

News_Release_Date: January 04, 2012