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University presidents call for restructuring of UCSF Stanford Health Care
NARCOLEPSY - After a decade-long search, a Stanford-led team has identified a gene in dogs that causes narcolepsy - a breakthrough that brings a cure for this condition within reach, say scientists led by Emmanuel Mignot, associate professor of psychiatry. Writing in the Aug. 6 issue of Cell, the researchers report locating two defective versions of the gene, known as hypocretin receptor 2.
PILOTS - Older pilots do not seem to per-form as well as their younger counterparts on simulated flight tests, but a Stanford and federal government study of 100 older aviators suggests that other factors as yet unknown might be a better gauge of pilot safety than age alone. The study, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, was led by Jerome Yesavage, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and director of the Mental Illness Research Educational and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.
CORONARY BLOCKAGE - Heart transplant recipients who received ganciclovir for cytomegalovirus were three times less likely to suffer blockage of their coronary arteries than similar transplant patients who didn't receive the common anti-viral drug, according to a study published in the July 6 issue of Circulation. The research was led by Hannah Valantine, associate professor of medicine, who says these early findings could have important implications for atherosclerosis in non-transplanted hearts.
HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE - Stanford neurology professor Lawrence Steinman and his colleagues have uncovered new evidence that supports a theory that an enzyme called transglutaminase is a key factor in brain structure irregularities that cause Huntington's disease. The research, published in the June 22 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contradicts a competing theory involving the underlying structure of the disease. IVF - Women who have undergone blastocyst transfer are just as likely to get pregnant if doctors transfer two embryos into the womb, as opposed to three, according to a study of 55 patients by Amin Milki, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics, and Barry Behr, assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics. The researchers say that the new in vitro fertilization approach can virtually eliminate the possibility of triplets - which can be risky to the pregnancy - while maintaining, or possibly even increasing, a woman's chances of getting pregnant. The study appeared in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility.
