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:
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Sam Srisatta, a 20-year-old Florida college student, spent a month living inside a government hospital here last fall, playing video games and allowing scientists to document every morsel of food that went into his mouth.
From big bowls of salad to platters of meatballs and spaghetti sauce, Srisatta noshed his way through a nutrition study aimed at understanding the health effects of ultraprocessed foods, the controversial fare that now accounts for more than 70% of the U.S. food supply. He allowed The Associated Press to tag along for a day.
“Today my lunch was chicken nuggets, some chips, some ketchup,” said Srisatta, one of three dozen participants paid $5,000 each to devote 28 days of their lives to science. “It was pretty fulfilling.”
Examining exactly what made those nuggets so satisfying is the goal of the widely anticipated research led by National Institutes of Health nutrition researcher Kevin Hall.
“What we hope to do is figure out what those mechanisms are so that we can better understand that process,” Hall said.
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and their collaborators have developed an experimental, nanoparticle-based vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that can induce potent neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated mice and nonhuman primates. Microscopic particles, known as nanoparticles, are being investigated as potential delivery vehicles for vaccines. The scientists’ findings suggest that using a structure-based vaccine design and self-assembling nanoparticles to deliver a viral protein that prompts an immune response could be a promising approach for developing an EBV vaccine for humans.
Researchers, using novel large-scale imaging technology, have mapped the spatial location of individual genes in the nucleus of human cells and identified 50 cellular factors required for the proper three-dimensional (3D) positioning of genes. These spatial locations play important roles in gene expression, DNA repair, genome stability, and other cellular activities. The study, by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, appeared August 13, 2015, in Cell.
In a recent study, restricting dietary fat led to body fat loss at a rate 68 percent higher than cutting the same number of carbohydrate calories when adults with obesity ate strictly controlled diets. Carb restriction lowered production of the fat-regulating hormone insulin and increased fat burning as expected, whereas fat restriction had no observed changes in insulin production or fat burning. The research was conducted at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results were published August 13 in Cell Metabolism.
Many “medical foods” are designed to help manage patients with rare inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs), and can help prevent serious and life-threatening complications. However, such special foods may cause harm in some patients when their use is not carefully monitored and managed, according to a research team led by scientists at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The researchers contend that there is a need for more rigorous clinical study of dietary management practices for patients with IEMs, including any associated long-term side effects, which may in turn result in the need to reformulate some medical foods.
NIH scientists identify a transport defect in a model of familial ALS
A healthy motor neuron needs to transport its damaged components from the nerve-muscle connection all the way back to the cell body in the spinal cord. If it cannot, the defective components pile up and the cell becomes sick and dies. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) have learned how a mutation in the gene for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), which causes ALS, leads cells to accumulate damaged materials. The study, published in the journal Neuron, suggests a potential target for treating this familial form of ALS.
Researchers suggest physicians consider asking about pain, even during routine visits
A high proportion of reproductive-age women may be experiencing pelvic pain that goes untreated, according to a study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City.
The researchers surveyed more than 400 women who were scheduled to undergo surgery or imaging for such reasons as infertility, menstrual irregularities, tubal sterilization or pelvic pain. As the researchers expected, reports of pain were highest for women diagnosed with endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside of the uterus. However, one-third of those without any pelvic condition also reported a high degree of ongoing pain or pain recurring during the menstrual cycle.
NIH study suggests potential new pathway to target for treating ALS and other diseases
Cells are powered by tiny energy reactors called mitochondria. When damaged, they leak destructive molecules that can cause substantial harm and eventually kill brain cells. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) showed that a protein called PINK1 that is implicated in Parkinson’s disease is critical for helping cells get rid of dysfunctional mitochondria. According to the new research, published in the journal Naturem, PINK1 does this by triggering an intricate process called mitophagy that breaks down and removes damaged mitochondria from the cell.
New research published online August 10 in the journal Nature Genetics found that a mutation-causing enzyme known as APOBEC3A (A3A) may be the main cause of mutations in certain cancers. Previous work from other groups implicated another APOBEC enzyme, known as APOBEC3B (A3B).
VSV-EBOV Appears to Trigger Innate and Adaptive Immunity
National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists report that a single dose of an experimental Ebola virus (EBOV) vaccine completely protects cynomolgus macaques against the current EBOV outbreak strain, EBOV-Makona, when given at least seven days before exposure, and partially protects them if given three days prior. The live-attenuated vaccine, VSV-EBOV, uses genetically engineered vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) to carry an EBOV gene that has safely induced protective immunity in macaques. The experimental vaccine is currently undergoing testing in a global clinical trial in humans. VSV, an animal virus that primarily affects cattle, has been successfully tested as an experimental vaccine platform against several viruses.
Scientists now report a new way to assess cholesterol that shows promise for evaluating the increased heart attack risk observed in patients with psoriasis, a common inflammatory skin disease. The new technique measures the function of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as “good” cholesterol, rather than HDL cholesterol concentration. The study, conducted by researchers from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), could broaden the use of the technique. The study appears in the online issue of the European Heart Journal.
