http://www.lajollalight.com/news/267153-study-looks-at-brain-cooling-after-s
troke
Study looks at brain cooling after stroke
9:34 AM
By Lynne Friedmann
Researchers at UCSD Medical Center are collaborating with Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center in Los Angeles and University of Texas Health Science Center
at Houston on the largest clinical trial to date of hypothermia (super
cooling) following stroke. Brain cooling has been shown to decrease brain
swelling and reduce loss of neurologic function after an acute stroke. The
trial will look specifically at whether hypothermia improves patient
outcomes.
Cooling is achieved by inserting a special catheter into the inferior vena
cava - the body's largest vein. No fluid enters the patient; instead, an
internal circulation within the catheter transfers heat out. Study
participants are covered with a warming blanket to "trick" the body into
feeling warm, and temperature sensors in the skin and a mild sedative help
suppress shivering. In the study, body temperature will be cooled to 92.4
degrees F and maintained at that level for 24 hours. At the conclusion of
the cooling period, participants will be re-warmed over a period of 12
hours.
The 3 1/2-year study will enroll 400 patients. Most study sites are in the
United States; some in Europe.
More information at http://bit.ly/9QB4pQ.
Chronobiology center launched
Understanding the basic biology of circadian rhythms, or chronobiology, is
vital to our daily lives as one half of the population suffers from some
problem in their daily sleep cycle. The shift to daylight saving time,
medications, artificial lighting, shift-work, airline travel, even 24/7
Internet access all represent chronobiological changes that affect
productivity and physical and mental well-being.
UCSD scientists studying the biological clocks of bacteria, fungi, plants,
and animals have joined forces to apply their knowledge across these diverse
groups of organisms in a newly established Center for Chronobiology.
The center's researchers will investigate the basic mechanisms of the
circadian clock as well as the role of human circadian disorders in
regulating the sleep-wake cycle, glucose stability, and weight control with
the long-term goal of developing new treatments for disorders as diverse as
insomnia, diabetes, and obesity.
More information at http://bit.ly/bSYo5u.
Use of algae explored
Pharmaceutical companies could substantially reduce the expense of costly
treatments for cancer and other diseases by growing these human therapeutic
proteins in algae - rapidly growing aquatic plant cells that have recently
gained attention for their ability to produce biofuels. That's the
conclusion of a study, published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, which
sought to determine whether seven diverse human therapeutic proteins could
be produced in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green alga used widely in
biology laboratories as a genetic-model organism.
Algae cells can be grown cheaply and quickly, doubling in number every 12
hours.
The scientists reported that all of the algal-produced proteins in their
study showed biological activity comparable to the same proteins produced by
traditional commercial culture techniques that use mammalian or bacterial
cells.
UCSD headed the study, which involved scientists at The Scripps Research
Institute, San Diego biofuel company Sapphire Energy, and ProtElix, a
protein engineering company in Hayward.
News release at http://bit.ly/dpR1ax.
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Lynne Friedmann
Columnist of Research Roundup. Lynne Friedmann is a science writer based in
Solana Beach. Her regular column features local science news. Any comments,
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