Tandra Allen, M.S., head of virtual reality training programs at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas, plays a game designed to assess and improve social cognition skills. By Matt Petronzio2014-10-23 09:03:21 UTC When Carly McCullar, 32, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as an adult, she wanted to improve her social and communication skills before heading into the next stage of her life. Never having received such help before, she volunteered to participate in a unique treatment program: virtual reality. Sitting at a computer that tracked her facial expressions, the game tested her social cognition and provided feedback, McCullar played through various realistic scenarios, including a job interview, a confrontation with a loud neighbor and even dating. The program, a collaborative effort from gaming technology experts and health researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas, simulates everyday experiences and social situations that are typically difficult for those with autism or anxiety disorders. And it's just one example in a growing trend in which video games are forms of therapy. "The program starts to not feel like a game ... It feels real," McCullar tells Mashable. "You know it is … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise MORGANTOWN, W.Va. With the help of a major federal grant, West Virginia University is bolstering its faculty and scientific research on stroke to mitigate the devastating effects of the disease across the state and the nation. The grant of $10.7 million over the next five years, including more than $2.1 million this year, will have a transformational effect on basic and translational stroke research at WVU. The funding will enhance mentoring and development of five junior investigators and their research programs as well as support core resources. The American Heart Association ranks stroke as the fourth highest killer in the nation and one of the leading causes of long-term disability. The burden of stroke is particularly heavy in West Virginia, with the state having one of the highest incidence rates in the country. Risk factors of stroke and stroke itself affect a lot of people with particular prevalence in Appalachian populations. These populations are seeing stroke events occur at younger ages and with longer-lasting effects, Jim Simpkins, Ph.D., director of the WVU Center for Basic and Translational Stroke Research (CBTSR) and professor in the WVU School of Medicine Department of Physiology and … Continue reading →

Health and Medicine for Seniors Many Elderly Found with Puzzling Mutations Linked to Leukemia, Lymphoma Researchers find no connection with blood cancer that seldom strikes senior citizens Oct. 22, 2014 A surprisingly large percentage 5 percent of senior citizens over age 70 have been found to have genetic mutations linked to leukemia and lymphoma in their blood cells. The vast majority won't get blood cancer, however, as the incidence of these cancers is less than 0.1 percent among the elderly, according to the researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Mutations in the body's cells randomly accumulate as part of the aging process, and most are harmless. For some people, genetic changes in blood cells can develop in genes that play roles in initiating leukemia and lymphoma even though such people don't have the blood cancers, the scientists reported Oct. 19 in Nature Medicine. "But it's quite striking how many people over age 70 have these mutations," said senior author Li Ding, PhD, of The Genome Institute at Washington University. "The power of this study lies in the large number of people we screened. We don't yet know whether having one of these mutations causes a higher … Continue reading →

16 hours ago The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute, through the launch of its repository in 2015, will provide for the first time the largest-ever number of stem cell lines available to the scientific research community. Initially, over 600 induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines and 1,000 cultured fibroblasts from over 1,000 unique human subjects will be made available, with an increasing number available in the first year. To collect these samples, NYSCF set up a rigorous human subjects system that protects patients and allows for the safe and anonymous collection of samples from people interested in participating in research. A pilot of over 200 of NYSCF's iPS cell lines is already searchable on an online database. The pilot includes panels of iPS cell lines generated from donors affected by specific diseases such as type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis, as well as a diversity panel of presumed healthy donors from a wide range of genetic backgrounds representing the United States Census. These panels, curated to provide ideal initial cohorts for studying each area, include subjects ranging in age of disease onset, and are gender matched. Other panels that will be available in 2015 include … Continue reading →