http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from Columbia University Medical Center In their quest to learn more about the variability of cells between and within tissues, biomedical scientists have devised tools capable of simultaneously measuring dozens of characteristics of individual cells. These technologies have led to new challenges, however, as scientists now struggle with how to make sense of the resulting trove of data. Now a solution may be at hand. Researchers at Columbia University and Stanford University have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret "high-dimensional" data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry. The method, published in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology, has particular relevance to cancer research and therapeutics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-tool-complex-dimensional-images.html Medical research Sun, 19 May 2013 13:10:01 EST news288172425 Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes appears to increase the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death among people with high blood sugar, partly by stimulating the production of calprotectin, a protein that sparks an inflammatory process that fuels the buildup of artery-clogging plaque. The findings, made in mice and confirmed with human data, suggest new therapeutic targets for reducing heart disease in people with type 1 diabetes. Led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers in collaboration with investigators at New York University and the University of Pittsburgh, the study was published today in the online edition of Cell Metabolism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-diabetes-heart-disease-linked-inflammatory.html Inflammatory disorders Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:01 EST news287139513 A massive study analyzing gene expression data from 22 tumor types has identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer. The analysis, conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, also identified hundreds of potential drug targets that could cut off a tumor's fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesize essential building blocks. The study was published today in the online edition of Nature Biotechnology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-hundreds-potential-drug-starve-cancer.html Cancer Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:00:01 EST news285764870 An excess of the brain neurotransmitter glutamate may cause a transition to psychosis in people who are at risk for schizophrenia, reports a study from investigators at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) published in the current issue of Neuron. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-high-glutamate-brain-kick-start-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:39:15 EST news285503947 African-Americans with a variant of the ABCA7 gene have almost double the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease compared with African-Americans who lack the variant. The largest genome-wide search for Alzheimer's genes in the African-American community, the study was undertaken by the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium and led by neurologists from Columbia University Medical Center. It will be published in the April 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-abca7-gene-alzheimer-african-americans.html Genetics Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:00:08 EST news284735193 Depressive symptoms after heart disease are associated with a markedly increased risk of death or another heart attack. However, less has been known about whether treating heart attack survivors for depressive symptoms could relieve these symptoms, be cost-effective, and ultimately, reduce medical risk? Columbia University Medical Center's Karina W. Davidson, PhD and her research team now report a patient-centered approach that answers these questions in the affirmative. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-coronary-heart-disease-factor.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:45:30 EST news283081523 More symptoms of depression and lower cognitive status are independently associated with a more rapid decline in the ability to handle tasks of everyday living, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center researchers in this month's Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-depression-alzheimer-patients-declining-ability.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:49:07 EST news282905326 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have found the first evidence that selective activation of the dentate gyrus, a portion of the hippocampus, can reduce anxiety without affecting learning. The findings suggest that therapies that target this brain region could be used to treat certain anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), with minimal cognitive side effects. The study, conducted in mice, was published today in the online edition of the journal Neuron. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-portion-hippocampus-role-modulating-anxiety.html Neuroscience Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:05 EST news281792772 Triglyceride lipid emulsions rich in an omega-3 fatty acid injected within a few hours of an ischemic stroke can decrease the amount of damaged brain tissue by 50 percent or more in mice, reports a new study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-omega-lipid-emulsions-markedly-brain.html Neuroscience Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:00:16 EST news280598883 (Medical Xpress)—New findings by Columbia researchers suggest that along with amyloid deposits, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) may be a second necessary factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-amyloid-white-hyperintensities-alzheimer-disease.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:04:03 EST news280515824 Researchers have discovered how the tongue detects high concentrations of salt, the first step in a salt-avoiding behavior common to most mammals. The findings could serve as a springboard for the development of taste modulators to help control the appetite for a high-salt diet and reduce the ill effects of too much sodium. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-animals-high-salt.html Health Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:11:49 EST news279987097 Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified a protein trafficking defect within brain cells that may underlie common non-familial forms of Parkinson's disease. The defect is at a point of convergence for the action of at least three different genes that had been implicated in prior studies of Parkinson's disease. Whereas most molecular studies focus on mutations associated with rare familial forms of the disease, these findings relate directly to the common non-familial form of Parkinson's. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Neuron. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-treatment-non-familial-parkinson.html Parkinson's & Movement disorders Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:17:15 EST news279379025 In the first study of its kind, researchers at the Columbia University School of Nursing have established that poor health literacy among Latino parents is associated with a poor understanding of the proper use antibiotics, particularly for upper respiratory infections (URIs), which can lead to an increase in antimicrobial resistance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-parental-misconceptions-antibiotics-linked-poor.html Medications Mon, 04 Feb 2013 08:56:06 EST news279190443 A new survey of stroke survivors has shown that those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are less likely to adhere to treatment regimens that reduce the risk of an additional stroke. Researchers found that 65 percent of stroke survivors with PTSD failed to adhere to treatment, compared with 33 percent of those without PTSD. The survey also suggests that nonadherence in PTSD patients is partly explained by increased ambivalence toward medication. Among stroke survivors with PTSD, approximately one in three (38 percent) had concerns about their medications. Results of the study, led by Columbia University Medical Center researchers, are published today in the British Journal of Health Psychology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-survivors-ptsd-treatment.html Psychology & Psychiatry Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:00:01 EST news277661759 A new study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in energy metabolism, fertility, and bone mass, also regulates airway diameter. The findings could explain why obese people are prone to asthma and suggest that body weight–associated asthma may be relieved with medications that inhibit signaling through the parasympathetic nervous system, which mediates leptin function. The study, conducted in mice, was published in the online edition of the journal Cell Metabolism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-obese-people-higher-asthma.html Medical research Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:00:05 EST news276862025