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.
Science-based technology provides users greater customizing to help reach and sustain a healthy weight
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Institutes of Health have partnered to add the NIH Body Weight Planner to USDA’s SuperTracker online tool as a goal-setting resource to help people achieve and stay at a healthy weight. Created in 2011, the SuperTracker tool empowers people to build a healthier diet, manage weight, and reduce risk of chronic disease. Users can determine what and how much to eat; track foods, physical activities, and weight; and personalize with goal setting, virtual coaching, and journaling. With science-based technology drawing on years of research, the Body Weight Planner will enable SuperTracker’s more than 5.5 million registered users to tailor their plans to reach a goal weight during a specific timeframe, and maintain that weight afterward.
A clinical trial has shown that patients with a specific molecular subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are more likely to respond to the drug ibrutinib (Imbruvica) than patients with another molecular subtype of the disease. The study appeared online July 20, 2015, in Nature Medicine.
In this phase II trial, patients with the activated B-cell-like (ABC) subtype of DLBCL were more likely to respond to ibrutinib than patients with the germinal center B-cell-like (GCB) subtype of DLBCL. The trial was jointly conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and Pharmacyclics, Sunnyvale, California.
An experimental aerosolized (inhalable) vaccine fully protected nonhuman primates against Ebola virus disease, according to new findings published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Aerosolized vaccines are delivered using a nebulizer, a device that transforms liquid into a mist that can be inhaled into the lungs. This type of noninvasive, needle-free vaccine may offer certain advantages for populations in remote areas. The study, conducted in part by scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is the first published test of aerosol delivery for an Ebola virus vaccine.
Findings may help improve understanding schizophrenia, depression and epilepsy
Stimulating a type of brain cell receptor launches a series of events that ultimately lead to the receptor’s deactivation in a subset of cells important for coordinating the activity of brain networks, report a team of scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
NIH research points to microglia as potential therapeutic target in retinitis pigmentosa
Spider-like cells inside the brain, spinal cord and eye hunt for invaders, capturing and then devouring them. These cells, called microglia, often play a beneficial role by helping to clear trash and protect the central nervous system against infection. But a new study by researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) shows that they also accelerate damage wrought by blinding eye disorders, such as retinitis pigmentosa. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health.
Scientists have identified a group of genetic mutations in patients with aplastic anemia, which likely will help doctors optimize treatment for this rare and deadly blood condition. The study, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, could lead to tailor-made treatment plans for aplastic anemia patients as part of the emerging precision medicine movement. It is the largest study of its kind to examine gene mutations in aplastic anemia, the scientists note.
The unprecedented Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which has claimed more than 11,000 lives, prompted many NIH physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and lab technicians to assist with the crisis both at home and abroad. Among them were NIAMS staffers Paul H. Plotz, MD; Cheryl Talar-Williams, MPH, PA-C; Alice Fike, NP; April Brundidge, BSN, RN; and Lorena Wilson, NP. Some, like Fike and Wilson, spent countless hours caring for the Ebola patients admitted to the NIH Clinical Center’s Special Clinical Studies Unit (SCSU) in Bethesda, Md. "Volunteering at the SCSU helped me gain an appreciation for those taking care of patients overseas, especially those working in high-risk areas with minimal resources and assistance," reflected Wilson.
A clinical trial investigating a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) was announced by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The study will assess the safety and efficacy of gabapentin enacarbil (HORIZANT) in extended-release tablets for treating moderate to severe AUD. NIAAA is part of the National Institutes of Health.
An HIV vaccine research team led by scientists from the National Institutes of Health has engineered a protein to maintain the particular shape predicted to be most effective at stimulating the immune system to produce powerful antibodies against the virus. The work was led by John R. Mascola, M.D., and Peter D. Kwong, Ph.D., of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of NIH.
NIH team and colleagues believe microdevice may improve upon existing placenta models
National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers and their colleagues have developed a “placenta-on-a-chip” to study the inner workings of the human placenta and its role in pregnancy. The device was designed to imitate, on a micro-level, the structure and function of the placenta and model the transfer of nutrients from mother to fetus. This prototype is one of the latest in a series of organ-on-a-chip technologies developed to accelerate biomedical advances.
