Natchez Hanson considers one of her proudest accomplishments walking across the stage to receive her college diploma earning a bachelors degree in math education. Hansen, 24, now a high school math teacher in Polk County, lives daily with the challenges of Friedreichs ataxia. Friedreichs ataxia, a rare debilitating neuromuscular disease, typically strikes between the ages of 5 and 15, causing vision, balance, speech and cardiac problems and progressively robbing a young person of their energy, strength and ability to walk. While physical therapy helps Hanson work on core strength and balance, there is no approved treatment for Friedreichs. Thats why she is so excited to be part of a USF-led national clinical trial of a drug that researchers, clinicians and patents hope will be the first to improve the symptoms of the life-shortening disease. USF Health neurologist Dr. Theresa Zesiewicz, left, with patient Natchez Hanson, one of the participants in the USF-led national clinical trial for a potential Friedreichs ataxia drug. I dont want anyone else to feel the way I did (when I was diagnosed) if they dont have to, Hanson said. I just cried because it was scary. A lot of people died being really young, and I … Continue reading →

Public release date: 5-Sep-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Dan Meyers dan.meyers@ucdenver.edu 303-724-7904 University of Colorado Denver An international team of scientists, including University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado researchers, has discovered a new disease related to an inability to process Vitamin B12. The disorder is rare but can be devastating. "Some people with rare inherited conditions cannot process vitamin B 12 properly," says CU researcher Tamim Shaikh, PhD, a geneticist and senior author of a paper about the new disease. "These individuals can end up having serious health problems, including developmental delay, epilepsy, anemia, stroke, psychosis and dementia." The discovery is important because it could help doctors diagnose the disease and, eventually, could lead to prevention or treatment. But there is more to the story than that. A 9-year-old Colorado boy named Max Watson, who because of his metabolic disease uses a computer to communicate, was the first patient in whom this discovery was made. His older sister Abbey, 15, volunteered in the CU lab that helped achieve this medical breakthrough. His parents cooperated with the study knowing that the results likely would not help their son but might help future patients. The … Continue reading →

Washington, Sept. 05 (ANI): A genetic factor that blocks the blood vessel inflammation that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and other potentially life-threatening events has been identified by a Indian origin researcher. The breakthrough involving Kruppel-like factor (KLF) 15 is the latest in a string of discoveries from the laboratory of professor of medicine Mukesh K. Jain, MD, FAHA, that involves a remarkable genetic family. School of Medicine instructor Yuan Lu, MD, a member of Jain's team and colleagues observed that KLF-15 blocks the function of a molecule called NF-kB, a dominant factor responsible for triggering inflammation. "It had been suspected that smooth muscle cells were related to inflammation, but it hadn't been pinpointed and specifically linked to disease," Jain, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair and director, Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine said. He said that this work provides cogent evidence that smooth muscle cells can initiate inflammation and thereby promote the development of vascular disease. Smooth muscle cells are only one of two major cell types within blood vessels walls. The other cell type, endothelium, has traditionally taken the blame for inflammation, but Jain's study suggests that both cells are critically important in … Continue reading →

Sep. 4, 2013 Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a genetic factor that blocks the blood vessel inflammation that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and other potentially life-threatening events. The breakthrough involving Kruppel-like factor (KLF) 15 is the latest in a string of discoveries from the laboratory of professor of medicine Mukesh K. Jain, MD, FAHA, that involves a remarkable genetic family. Kruppel-like factors appear to play prominent roles in everything from cardiac health and obesity to metabolism and childhood muscular dystrophy. School of Medicine instructor Yuan Lu, MD, a member of Jains team, led the study involving KLF-15 and its role in inflammation, which appears online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Lu and colleagues observed that KLF-15 blocks the function of a molecule called NF-kB, a dominant factor responsible for triggering inflammation. This finding reveals a new understanding of the origins of inflammation in vascular diseases, and may eventually lead to new, targeted treatment options. It had been suspected that smooth muscle cells were related to inflammation, but it hadnt been pinpointed and specifically linked to disease, said Jain, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair and director, Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of … Continue reading →

Newswise Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a genetic factor that blocks the blood vessel inflammation that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and other potentially life-threatening events. The breakthrough involving Kruppel-like factor (KLF) 15 is the latest in a string of discoveries from the laboratory of professor of medicine Mukesh K. Jain, MD, FAHA, that involves a remarkable genetic family. Kruppel-like factors appear to play prominent roles in everything from cardiac health and obesity to metabolism and childhood muscular dystrophy. School of Medicine instructor Yuan Lu, MD, a member of Jains team, led the study involving KLF-15 and its role in inflammation, which appears online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Lu and colleagues observed that KLF-15 blocks the function of a molecule called NF-kB, a dominant factor responsible for triggering inflammation. This finding reveals a new understanding of the origins of inflammation in vascular diseases, and may eventually lead to new, targeted treatment options. It had been suspected that smooth muscle cells were related to inflammation, but it hadnt been pinpointed and specifically linked to disease, said Jain, Ellery Sedgwick Jr. Chair and director, Case Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. Jain … Continue reading →

MS Video (before stem cell therapy) Raising money to get to Panama. By: jo80hanna … Continue reading →