When Edna Zak of Killam had a stroke on April 24, she could have been in for a stressful recovery, either as an inpatient in an unfamiliar community or driving long distances to receive care. However, the St. Marys Hospitals Stroke Unit Equivalent Care (SUEC) and Early Supported Discharge (ESD) program changed all that. Instead of clients remaining in hospital, theyre able to get home faster and receive all of the rehab they need within their home, explained team lead Melissa Sztym. The idea of the program is to be able to provide the the intensity of rehab that somebody would get at an inpatient rehab program within their own home with the support of your family and community. Zak was well aware what her recovery could have been like without therapy; she was the sole carer for her husband, Alben, when he had a stroke years ago. I had no therapy except the wife and the children, said Alben. The wife had to work on me every four hours, close my eyes because I didnt blink. Zak, by contrast, was back in her home the day after after her stroke, having received leading edge care at St. Marys from … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 10-Sep-2014 Contact: Glenna Picton picton@bcm.edu 713-798-4710 Baylor College of Medicine @bcmhouston HOUSTON (Sep. 10. 2014) With the completion of the sequencing and analysis of the gibbon genome, scientists now know more about why this small ape has a rapid rate of chromosomal rearrangements, providing information that broadens understanding of chromosomal biology. Chromosomes, essentially the packaging that encases the genetic information stored in the DNA sequence, are fundamental to cellular function and the transmission of genetic information from one generation to the next. Chromosome structure and function is also intimately related to human genetic diseases, especially cancer. The sequence and analysis of the gibbon genome (all the chromosomes) was published today in the journal Nature and led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center and the Washington University School of Medicine's Genome Institute. "Everything we learn about the genome sequence of this particular primate and others analyzed in the recent past helps us to understand human biology in a more detailed and complete way," said Dr. Jeffrey Rogers, associate professor in the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor and a lead author on the report. "The gibbon sequence … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in partnership with ViaCyte, Inc., a San Diego-based biotechnology firm specializing in regenerative medicine, have launched the first-ever human Phase I/II clinical trial of a stem cell-derived therapy for patients with Type 1 diabetes. The trial will assess the safety and efficacy of a new investigational drug called VC-01, which was recently approved for testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The 2-year trial will involve four to six testing sites, the first being at UC San Diego, and will recruit approximately 40 study participants. The goal, first and foremost, of this unprecedented human trial is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of various doses of VC-01 among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, said principal investigator Robert R. Henry, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at UC San Diego and chief of the Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Diabetes at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. We will be implanting specially encapsulated stem cell-derived cells under the skin of patients where its believed they will mature into pancreatic beta cells able to … Continue reading →