Research advances from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) often make headlines. Read the news releases that describe our most recent findings:
Saxophonist Joey Berkley was living his dream: he was playing jazz in New York City. But about 20 years ago, he noticed his left hand wasn’t cooperating. It got worse and worse.
“As soon as I picked my horn up and touched — literally just touched my horn — my hands would twist into pretzel shapes,” Berkley recalled in a conversation with Morning Edition host A Martinez.
Berkley was experiencing focal dystonia, a movement disorder marked by involuntary muscle contractions.
He said he “muscled through it” as best he could. But that meant he wasn’t just pressing down on the keys of his sax — he was crushing them. “My fingers would literally be bleeding afterwards,” he said. “I had to quit playing.”
Joey Berkley learned of an experimental procedure at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, that involved placing an electrode directly into his brain.
The world's largest, most detailed catalog of human genetic variation — used by disease researchers around the world — has more than doubled in size with the 1000 Genomes Project's latest publication in the Oct. 31 issue of Nature. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, helps fund and direct this international public-private consortium of researchers in the United States, Britain, China, Germany and Canada.
Serous endometrial tumors account for some of the most difficult to treat cancers of the uterine lining
Researchers have identified several genes that are linked to one of the most lethal forms of uterine cancer, serous endometrial cancer. The researchers describe how three of the genes found in the study are frequently altered in the disease, suggesting that the genes drive the development of tumors.
NIH research shows exercise as key in reducing body fat while preserving muscle
Exercise and healthy eating reduce body fat and preserve muscle in adults better than diet alone, according to a study funded and conducted by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health.
A bacterial protein in common house dust may worsen allergic responses to indoor allergens, according to research conducted by the National Institutes of Health and Duke University. The finding is the first to document the presence of the protein flagellin in house dust, bolstering the link between allergic asthma and the environment.
Andrew Holmes, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Behavioral and Genomic Neuroscience at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Jacob P. Waletzky Award from the Society for Neuroscience. The $25,000 prize is given in recognition of innovative research into substance abuse and the brain and nervous system.
A free source of evidence-based information for health care professionals and for researchers studying liver injury associated with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbals, and dietary supplements is now available from the National Institutes of Health. Researchers and health care professionals can use the LiverTox database to identify basic and clinical research questions to be answered and to chart optimal ways to diagnose and control drug-induced liver injury.
Results may help improve drugs for neurological disorders
Researchers have published the first highly detailed description of how neurotensin, a neuropeptide hormone which modulates nerve cell activity in the brain, interacts with its receptor. Their results suggest that neuropeptide hormones use a novel binding mechanism to activate a class of receptors called G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).
NIH-supported study first to show reduced risk solely through dietary modification
By sticking to a healthy diet in the years after pregnancy, women who develop diabetes during pregnancy can greatly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health has found.
NIH network study first to compare oral medication, botox for type of incontinence
Oral medication for treating a type of incontinence in women is roughly as effective as Botox injections to the bladder, reported researchers who conducted a National Institutes of Health clinical trials network study, with each form of treatment having benefits and limitations.
GuLF STUDY makes final call for study participants
Time is running out for workers and volunteers who helped with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup to enroll in a long-term study of the possible effects of the oil spill on human health. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is conducting the study, is seeking anyone who helped with the oil spill cleanup in any capacity to call and enroll. Enrollment in the GuLF STUDY (Gulf Long-term Follow-up Study) will close soon and would-be participants have until the end of December 2012 to sign up.
