Johns Hopkins Medicine News http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/index.html News about Johns Hopkins Medicine activities in patient care, research, and education. en-us Johns Hopkins Copyright 2009 High Blood Pressure Easy to Miss in Children with Kidney Disease-11/20/09 Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension – even during doctor’s office visits — increasing a child’s risk for serious heart problems, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and other institutions. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/High-Blood-Pressure-Easy-to-Miss-in-Children-with-Kidney-Disease.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/High-Blood-Pressure-Easy-to-Miss-in-Children-with-Kidney-Disease.aspx Kenneth L. Baughman, M.D., 63, Former Johns Hopkins Faculty Physician, Remembered by Fellow Cardiologists-11/20/09 The Johns Hopkins Medicine community mourns the sudden death of cardiologist Kenneth L. Baughman, M.D., who was killed in an accident Monday while running in Orlando, Fla. He was attending the annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, and had attempted to cross a street when a car struck him. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_20_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_20_09.html Mother’s Depression a Risk Factor in Childhood Asthma Symptoms, Study Suggests-11/19/09 Asthma symptoms can worsen in children with depressed mothers, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center published online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/asthma-symptoms-worse-in-children-with-depressed-mothers.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/asthma-symptoms-worse-in-children-with-depressed-mothers.aspx Sweet! Sugared Polymer a New Weapon Against Allergies and Asthma-11/19/09 Scientists at Johns Hopkins and their colleagues have developed sugar-coated polymer strands that selectively kill off cells involved in triggering aggressive allergy and asthma attacks. Their advance is a significant step toward crafting pharmaceuticals to fight these often life-endangering conditions in a new way. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_19_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_19_09.html Vitamin B Niacin Offers No Additional Benefit to Statin Therapy in Seniors Already Diagnosed with Coronary Artery Disease-11/17/09 The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_18_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_18_09.html Breast Center Imaging and Administrative Directors Voice Opinion on Mammography Recommendations-11/17/09 Several leaders at the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center have issued a statement regarding the new mammography screening guidelines suggested by the United States Preventive Task Force Service. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1154 http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1154 Need for Emergency Airway Surgery for Hard-to-Intubate Patients Reduced-11/17/09 Be prepared, that old Boy Scout motto, is being applied with great success to operating room patients whose anatomy may make it difficult for physicians to help them breathe during surgery, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_17_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_17_09.html Rapid, Erratic Heartbeats: Exercise-Linked Ventricular Tachycardia is Not a Risk to Healthy Older Adults-11/16/09 Researchers say such fears surfaced after previous studies found that episodes of errant heart rhythms, more formally known as non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, more than double the chance of sudden death in people who have already suffered a heart attack. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_16b_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_16b_09.html Migraine Raises Risk of Most Common Form of Stroke-11/16/09 Pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, researchers at Johns Hopkins have affirmed that migraine headaches are associated with more than twofold higher chances of the most common kind of stroke: those occurring when blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off by the buildup of plaque or a blood clot. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_16a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_16a_09.html Heart Experts Say Early End to Key Study on Benefits of Niacin, a B Vitamin, in Keeping Arteries Open was Premature-11/15/09 Heart experts at Johns Hopkins are calling premature the early halt of a study by researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Washington Hospital Center on the benefits of combining extended-release niacin, a B vitamin, with cholesterol-lowering statin medications to prevent blood vessel narrowing. Cardiovascular atherosclerosis, as it is also known, is believed responsible for one in three deaths in the United States each year. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15d_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15d_09.html 'Scaffolding' Protein Changes in Heart Strengthen Link Between Alzheimer's Disease and Chronic Heart Failure-11/15/09 A team of U.S., Canadian and Italian scientists led by researchers at Johns Hopkins report evidence from studies in animals and humans supporting a link between Alzheimer’s disease and chronic heart failure, two of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15c_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15c_09.html Heart and Bone Damage from Low Vitamin D Tied to Declines in Sex Hormones-11/15/09 Researchers at Johns Hopkins are reporting what is believed to be the first conclusive evidence in men that the long-term ill effects of vitamin D deficiency are amplified by lower levels of the key sex hormone estrogen, but not testosterone. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15b_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15b_09.html Young Athletes Need Dual Screening Tests for Heart Defects, Study Suggests-11/15/09 To best detect early signs of life-threatening heart defects in young athletes, screening programs should include both popular diagnostic tests, not just one of them, according to new research from heart experts at Johns Hopkins. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_15a_09.html Back Pain Permanently Sidelines Soldiers at War-11/9/09 Military personnel evacuated out of Iraq and Afghanistan because of back pain are unlikely to return to the line of duty regardless of the treatment they receive, according to research led by a Johns Hopkins pain management specialist. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_09_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_09_09.html 1930s Drug Slows Tumor Growth-11/6/09 Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease. The newest surprise discovered by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is a gonorrhea medication that might help battle cancer. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_06_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_06_09.html Scientists Reveal How Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Differ From Embryonic Stem Cells and Tissue of Derivation-11/4/09 The same genes that are chemically altered during normal cell differentiation, as well as when normal cells become cancer cells, are also changed in stem cells that scientists derive from adult cells, according to new research from Johns Hopkins and Harvard. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_04_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/11_04_09.html Teen Girls With PID More Likely To Tell and Seek Treatment For Partners After Watching Video-11/4/09 A study at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center found that girls diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) who watched a short educational video were three times more likely to discuss their condition with their partners and to ensure partner treatment than girls diagnosed and treated without seeing the film. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Teen-Girls-With-PID-More-Likely-To-Tell-and-Seek-Treatment-For-Partners-After-Watching-Video.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Teen-Girls-With-PID-More-Likely-To-Tell-and-Seek-Treatment-For-Partners-After-Watching-Video.aspx Low Cholesterol May Shrink Risk for High-Grade Prostate Cancer-11/3/09 Men with lower cholesterol are less likely than those with higher levels to develop high-grade prostate cancer, an aggressive form of the disease with a poorer prognosis, according to results of a Johns Hopkins collaborative study. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1140 http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1140 This is Your Brain on Fatty Acids-10/30/09 Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma’s recipe for cinnamon buns, as well as recall how, decades ago, she served them up steaming from the oven. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_30_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_30_09.html Sight Gone, But Not Necessarily Lost?-10/30/09 Retinas Like all tissues in the body, the eye needs a healthy blood supply to function properly. Poorly developed blood vessels can lead to visual impairment or even blindness. While many of the molecules involved in guiding the development of the intricate blood vessel architecture are known, only now are we learning how these molecules work and how they might affect sight. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_30a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_30a_09.html Of Mice and Men: Stem Cells and Ethical Uncertainties -10/29/09 The recent creation of live mice from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) not only represents a remarkable scientific achievement, but also raises important issues, according to bioethicists at the Berman Institute of Bioethics. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_29a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_29a_09.html Moonlighting' Molecules Discovered-10/29/09 Since the completion of the human genome sequence, a question has baffled researchers studying gene control: How is it that humans, being far more complex than the lowly yeast, do not proportionally contain in our genome significantly more gene-control proteins? http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_29_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_29_09.html Lessons From Flu Seasons Past: Risk of Serious Flu-Related Sickness Far Outpaces Risk of Injectable Vaccine in Pregnant Women -10/29/09 Pregnant women who catch the flu are at serious risk for flu-related complications, including death, and that risk far outweighs the risk of possible side effects from injectable vaccines containing killed virus, according to an extensive review of published research and data from previous flu seasons. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Risk-of-Serious-Flu-related-Sickness-in-Pregnant-Women-Outweighs-Risk-of-Injectable-Vaccine.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Risk-of-Serious-Flu-related-Sickness-in-Pregnant-Women-Outweighs-Risk-of-Injectable-Vaccine.aspx Lack of Insurance May Have Figured In Nearly 17,000 Childhood Deaths, Study Shows-10/29/09 Lack of health insurance might have led or contributed to nearly 17,000 deaths among hospitalized children in the United States in the span of less than two decades, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Lack-of-Insurance-May-Have-Figured-In-Nearly-17000-Childhood-Deaths.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Lack-of-Insurance-May-Have-Figured-In-Nearly-17000-Childhood-Deaths.aspx Muscle Weakness a Common Side Effect of Long Stays in Intensive Care Units-10/27/09 After decades of focusing on the management of respiratory failure, circulatory shock and severe infections that lead to extended stays in hospital intensive care units, critical care researchers are increasingly turning attention to what they believe is a treatable complication developed by many who spend days or weeks confined to an ICU bed: debilitating muscle weakness that can linger long after hospital discharge. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_27_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_27_09.html New “Schizophrenia Gene” Prompts Researchers to Test Potential Drug Target-10/26/09 Johns Hopkins scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully “rescue” animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes for schizophrenia and autism. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_26_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_26_09.html Now Hear This-10/23/09 Deep in the ear, 95 percent of the cells that shuttle sound to the brain are big, boisterous neurons that, to date, have explained most of what scientists know about how hearing works. Whether a rare, whisper-small second set of cells also carry signals from the inner ear to the brain and have a real role in processing sound has been a matter of debate. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_22a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_22a_09.html Physicians Have Less Respect for Obese Patients, Study Suggests-10/22/09 Doctors have less respect for their obese patients than they do for patients of normal weight, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. The findings raise questions about whether negative physician attitudes about obesity could be affecting the long-term health of their heavier patients. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_22_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_22_09.html $3.7 Million NIH Grant Will Fund Study on Stem Cells Derived from ALS Patients-10/21/09 Johns Hopkins scientists have been awarded a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to learn more about the nerve and muscle-wasting disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using stem cells developed from ALS patients’ skin. The award, given over a two-year span, will be shared with three other laboratories, including one at Harvard University and two at Columbia University. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_21_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_21_09.html New Anne and Mike Armstrong Medical Education Building Dedicated-10/20/09 More than a century ago, Johns Hopkins revolutionized the teaching of medicine with a new curriculum that merged evidence-based science with patient-centered clinical care. This so-called Hopkins model became the national gold standard for modern medical education. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_20_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_20_09.html Johns Hopkins Researchers at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting-10/19/09 Chicago, Il, October 17-21 http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_19_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_19_09.html Hispanic Children Rarely Get Top-Notch Care For Brain Tumors-10/14/09 Hispanic children diagnosed with brain tumors get high-quality treatment at hospitals that specialize in neurosurgery far less often than other children with the same condition, potentially compromising their immediate prognosis and long-term survival, according to research from Johns Hopkins published in October’s Pediatrics. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Hispanic-Children-Rarely-Get-Top-Notch-Care-For-Brain-Tumors.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Hispanic-Children-Rarely-Get-Top-Notch-Care-For-Brain-Tumors.aspx Stephanie Desmon Joins Johns Hopkins Medicine's Media Team-10/14/09 Stephanie Desmon, an award-winning medical journalist, has joined Johns Hopkins Medicine as a senior media relations representative and public information officer. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_16_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_16_09.html Pediatric Otolaryngologist Receives Prestigious Award-10/14/09 TDavid E. Tunkel, M.D., director of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, has received the Distinguished Service Award of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS). http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Pediatric-Otolaryngologist-Receives-Prestigious-Award.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Pediatric-Otolaryngologist-Receives-Prestigious-Award.aspx New Medical Informatics Journal To Launch In December-10/14/09 Two Johns Hopkins Children’s Center researchers have assembled a 25-member editorial board of international experts to launch a quarterly online medical journal devoted to original research and commentary on the use of computer automation in the day-to-day practice of medicine. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/New-Medical-Informatics-Journal-To-Launch-In-December.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/New-Medical-Informatics-Journal-To-Launch-In-December.aspx Johns Hopkins Researchers Receive $1M ARRA Award to "Map Mobile DNA in Humans"-10/12/09 Sequencing the human genome was just one step in understanding our biology: Researchers still know very little about the function of most of our DNA. Now, a team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has been awarded $1 million in stimulus funding to examine how certain mobile segments of DNA known as transposons contribute to human genetic diversity by mapping transposon locations in more than 100 people over the next two years. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_12a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_12a_09.html "Consumer Choice" Award Goes to The Johns Hopkins Hospital for the 14th Consecutive Year-10/12/09 For the 14th straight year, the National Research Corporation (NRC) has given The Johns Hopkins Hospital its Consumer Choice Award for the Baltimore region. For 2009-2010, Hopkins also was rated as the top choice by consumers in the Bethesda, Md., area. The award is based on ratings from health care consumers, who assessed hospital standings based on four metrics: best overall quality, best image/reputation; best doctors, and best nurses. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_12_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_12_09.html H1N1 Briefing by Local Experts on What Parents Need to Know: Take Precautions, Don't Panic and Don't Overreact-10/7/09 At an H1N1 briefing at Johns Hopkins, medical experts from The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions,the University of Maryland Medical Center, and government health officials urge parents to take prudent approach when children show signs of flu. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_07_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_07_09.html Autism: Genome-Wide Hunt Reveals New Genetic Links - 10/7/09 About 90 percent of autism spectrum disorders have suspected genetic causes but few genes have been identified so far. Now, leading an international team, Johns Hopkins researchers have identified several genetic links to autism, chief among them a variant of semaphorin 5A, whose protein product controls nerve connections in the brain. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_07a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_07a_09.html Hispanic Children Rarely Get Top-Notch Care For Brain Tumors - 10/7/09 Hispanic children diagnosed with brain tumors get high-quality treatment at hospitals that specialize in neurosurgery far less often than other children with the same condition, potentially compromising their immediate prognosis and long-term survival, according to research from Johns Hopkins published in October’s Pediatrics. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Hispanic-Children-Rarely-Get-Top-Notch-Care-For-Brain-Tumors.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Hispanic-Children-Rarely-Get-Top-Notch-Care-For-Brain-Tumors.aspx What Parents Of Fetuses With Congenital Defects Want From Their Doctors - 10/7/09 Before and after delivery, the mothers of unborn babies prenatally diagnosed with severe birth defects want doctors to walk a fine line between giving them realistic information—no matter how grim the prognosis—and giving them hope for the best possible outcome. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/What-Parents-Of-Fetuses-With-Congenital-Defects-Want.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/What-Parents-Of-Fetuses-With-Congenital-Defects-Want.aspx "Telomere" Expert Carol Greider Shares 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine- 10/5/09 Carol Greider, Ph.D., 48, one of the world’s pioneering researchers on the structure of chromosome ends known as telomeres, today was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Academy recognized her for her 1984 discovery of telomerase (ta-LAW-mer-ace), an enzyme that maintains the length and integrity of chromosome ends and is critical for the health and survival of all living cells and organisms. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_05_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_05_09.html "Mask Debate" Diverting Needed Attention from Flu-Preventive Measures that Work- 10/1/09 Infection control experts at Johns Hopkins and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control report that a contentious debate in the medical community over what type of protective masks health workers should wear to prevent the spread of H1N1 and other flu viruses is dangerously distracting the health care community from focusing on simple prevention measures that are clearly known to work. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_01_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/10_01_09.html Preventing Medical Errors: Avoid Blame Game, But Punish Habitual Offenders- 9/30/09 Patient safety experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere are taking their prescription for avoiding medical errors in hospital care one step beyond already successful “no fault, no blame” approaches, calling now for penalties for doctors and nurses who fail to comply with proven safety measures. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_30b_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_30b_09.html Johns Hopkins and USC Win $10.4 Million to Study Cancer Epigenome- 9/30/09 The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded $10.4 million to Johns Hopkins and The University of Southern Califonia (USC) to decipher epigenetic marks in the cancer genome. The joint five-year grant is expected to help scientists develop drugs and tests that target epigenetic changes in cancer cells. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_30a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_30a_09.html H1N1 (Swine Influenza) Experts at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions- 9/30/09 Johns Hopkins has a wide range of experts available for interviews and comments about H1N1 and seasonal flu, emergency preparedness, infection control, transmission in children, vaccine safety, flu treatment, public health ethics, flu in cancer patients, and public communications strategies. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_30_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_30_09.html Johns Hopkins Epigenetic Center Receives $16.8 Million NIH Grant- 9/28/09 Johns Hopkins’ Center for the Epigenetics of Common Human Disease has been chosen as one of four recipients of a $45 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for Centers of Excellence to advance genomics research. The Hopkins Center will receive $16.8 million over five years. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_28_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_28_09.html NIH "Pioneer" and "Innovator" Awards Go To Johns Hopkins Scientists- 9/24/09 A Johns Hopkins scientist who proposes to manipulate forces to activate enzymes in live cells, and a second researcher who has developed a way to hunt down tuberculosis germs with real-time imaging have received a total of $4 million in special awards from the National Institutes of Health. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_24_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_24_09.html Healing Badly Damaged Lungs: Distinct Set of White Blood Cells Found to Set the Pace of Wound Repair- 9/21/09 After more than 50 experiments in mice, medical scientists at Johns Hopkins have mapped out the basic steps taken by a particular set of white blood cells in setting the pace of recovery after serious lung injury. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_21b_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_21b_09.html Mild Exercise While in the ICU Reduces Bad Effects of Prolonged Bed Rest- 9/21/09 Critical care experts at Johns Hopkins are reporting initial success in boosting recovery and combating muscle wasting among critically ill, mostly bed-bound patients using any one of a trio of mild physical therapy exercises during their stays in the intensive care unit (ICU). http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_21a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_21a_09.html Johns Hopkins Launches Stem Cell Web Documentary- 9/21/09 Johns Hopkins Medicine, a co-host of the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit, is telling a comprehensive stem cell story via a new interactive Web site http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stem_cell_research/ on which its researchers and clinicians collectively describe their explorations into stem cell biology and engineering. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_21_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_21_09.html Historic Johns Hopkins Multiple Kidney Swap Operations to be Featured on the Dr. Oz Show- 9/21/09 Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center and 11 Johns Hopkins patients, who were part of the first eight-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant this summer, will be featured on the new Dr. Oz Show. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_22_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_22_09.html Cheap, Quick Bedside "Eye Movement" Exam Outperforms MRI for Diagnosing Stroke in Patients with Dizziness- 9/18/09 In a small “proof of principle” study, stroke researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Illinois have found that a simple, one-minute eye movement exam performed at the bedside worked better than an MRI to distinguish new strokes from other less serious disorders in patients complaining of dizziness, nausea and spinning sensations. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_18_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_18_09.html Antioxidant Controls Spinal Cord Development- 9/17/09 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have discovered how one antioxidant protein controls the activity of another protein, critical for the development of spinal cord neurons. The research, publishing this week in Cell, describes a never-before known mechanism of protein control. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_17_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_17_09.html Guide on Lung Cancer in "Never-Smokers": Different Disease, Different Treatments- 9/16/09 A committee of scientists led by Johns Hopkins investigators has published a new guide to the biology, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in never-smokers, fortifying measures for what physicians have long known is a very different disease than in smokers. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1115 http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1115 Genetic Hint for Ridding the Body of Hepatitis C- 9/16/09 More than seventy percent of people who contract Hepatitis C will live with the virus that causes it for the rest of their lives and some will develop serious liver disease including cancer. However, 30 to 40 percent of those infected somehow defeat the infection and get rid of the virus with no treatment. In this week’s Advanced Online Publication atNature, Johns Hopkins researchers working as part of an international team report the discovery of the strongest genetic alteration associated with the ability to get rid of the infection. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_16_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_16_09.html Johns Hopkins Best Dressed Sale Set for October 1-4- 9/15/09 September 16, 2009- Some Baltimore traditions just keep getting bigger and better. That's certainly the case with this year's Johns Hopkins Best Dressed Sale and Boutique 2009, now in its 42nd year. Exclusive designer dresses and shoes, chic contemporary fashions, classic accessories and enduring vintage clothing will be on the racks, waiting for a favored place in the closets of bargain-conscious – but demanding – shoppers. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_15_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_15_09.html Dividing Cells "Feel" Their Way Out of Warp- 9/10/09 Every moment, millions of a body’s cells flawlessly divvy up their genes and pinch perfectly in half to form two identical progeny for the replenishment of tissues and organs — even as they collide, get stuck, and squeeze through infinitesimally small spaces that distort their shapes. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_10_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_10_09.html Surgical Scrub Solution: It's Good For Patients, Too- 9/3/09 Giving critically ill hospital patients a daily bath with a mild, soapy solution of the same antibacterial agent used by surgeons to “scrub in” before an operation can dramatically cut down, by as much as 73 percent, the number of patients who develop potentially deadly bloodstream infections, according to a new study by patient safety experts at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and five other institutions. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_03_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/09_03_09.html Anticancer Drug Yields Positive Response in People with Advanced or Recurring Skin and Brain Cancer- 9/3/09 The Hedgehog signaling pathway is involved in a preliminary study and case report describing positive responses to an experimental anticancer drug in a majority of people with advanced or metastatic basal cell skin cancers. One patient with the most common type of pediatric brain cancer, medulloblastoma, also showed tumor shrinkage. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1108 http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1108 HIV Subtype Linked to Increased Likelihood for Dementia - 8/28/09 Patients infected with a particular subtype of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are more likely to develop dementia than patients with other subtypes, a study led by Johns Hopkins researchers shows. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_28_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_28_09.html Disclosing Financial Conflicts of Interest to Research Participants May Not Be Enough - 8/26/09 Disclosure of financial conflicts of interests to potential participants in research is important, but may have a limited role in managing these conflicts, according to a new study by Johns Hopkins, Duke and Wake Forest. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_26_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_26_09.html Brain Cancer Experts and Resources at Johns Hopkins - 8/26/09 Johns Hopkins’ Brain Tumor Center is one of the largest brain tumor treatment and research centers in the world. With specialists ranging from neurosurgeons, oncologists, and laboratory researchers currently developing new cutting edge treatments, Johns Hopkins can provide you with unique sources who can answer your timely questions about brain tumors. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/braincancer.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/braincancer.html Setting Priorities for Patient-Safety Efforts Will Mean Hard Choices - 8/25/09 Is it more urgent for hospitals, doctors and nurses to focus resources on preventing the thousands of falls that injure hospitalized patients each year, or to home in on preventing rare but dramatic instances of wrong-side surgery? Is it best to concentrate immediately on preventing pediatric medical errors or on preventing drug interactions in the elderly? http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_25_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_25_09.html Milk Safe, Even Encouraged, For Some After Treatment For Milk Allergy - 8/18/09 Some children with a history of severe milk allergy can safely drink milk and consume other dairy products every day, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and published in the Aug. 10 online edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Milk-Safe-Even-Encouraged-After-Treatment-For-Milk-Allergy-For_Some.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Milk-Safe-Even-Encouraged-After-Treatment-For-Milk-Allergy-For_Some.aspx Common Sleeping Disorder Ups Chances of Dying - 8/17/09 Nightly bouts of interrupted, oxygen-deprived sleep from a collapsed airway in the upper neck raises the chances of dying in middle-aged to elderly people by as much as 46 percent in the most severe cases, according to a landmark study on sleep apnea by lung experts at Johns Hopkins and six other U.S. medical centers. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_17_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_17_09.html John D. Strandberg, D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.P., 1939-2009 - 8/06/09 John D. Strandberg, Distinguished Member of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and former director of the Division of Comparative Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, passed away on Aug. 1 in St. Paul, Minn. after a long illness. He was 69. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_07_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_07_09.html Johns Hopkins Researchers Make Stem Cells From Developing Sperm - 8/06/09 The promise of stem cell therapy may lie in uncovering how adult cells revert back into a primordial, stem cell state , whose fate is yet to be determined. Now, cell scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified key molecular players responsible for this reversion in fruit fly sperm cells. Reporting online this week in Cell Stem Cell, researchers show that two proteins are responsible redirecting cells on the way to becoming sperm back to stem cells. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_06a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_06a_09.html Colon Cancer May Yield to Cellular Sugar Starvation - 8/06/09 Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have discovered how two cancer-promoting genes enhance a tumor’s capacity to grow and survive under conditions where normal cells die. The knowledge, they say, may offer new treatments that starve cancer cells of a key nutrient - sugar. However, the scientists caution that research does not suggest that altering dietary sugar will make any difference in the growth and development of cancer. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1095 http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1095 Hopkins Scientists Find Cells Responsible for Bladder Cancer's Spread - 8/06/09 Johns Hopkins scientists have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer’s growth and spread using a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. The findings, reported in the July Stem Cells, could help scientists develop new ways of finding and attacking similar cells in other types of cancer. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_06_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_06_09.html Is There Long-Term Brain Damage After Bypass Surgery? More Evidence Puts the Blame on Heart Disease Itself- 8/03/09 Brain scientists and cardiac surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence from 227 heart bypass surgery patients that long-term memory losses and cognitive problems they experience are due to the underlying coronary artery disease itself and not ill after-effects from having used a heart-lung machine. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_03_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/08_03_09.html Hopkins Psychiatrists Named "Top Therapists" By Washingtonian Magazine- 7/30/09 Four Johns Hopkins psychiatrists have been named “Top Therapists” in this month’s Washingtonian magazine. The list includes geriatric psychiatrist Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H.; eating disorders psychiatrist Angela S. Guarda, M.D.; general psychiatrist Todd S. Cox, M.D.; and child and adolescent psychiatrist Elizabeth A. Kastelic, M.D. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_31_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_31_09.html Bring on the "SUDS": Prototype, 7-Foot-Tall Sanitizer Automates Disinfection of Hard-To-Clean Hospital Equipment- 7/30/09 Johns Hopkins experts in applied physics, computer engineering, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, microbiology, pathology and surgery have unveiled a 7-foot-tall, $10,000 shower-cubicle-shaped device that automatically sanitizes in 30 minutes all sorts of hard-to-clean equipment in the highly trafficked hospital emergency department. The novel device can sanitize and disinfect equipment of all shapes and sizes, from intravenous line poles and blood pressure cuffs, to pulse oximeter wires and electrocardiogram (EKG) wires, to computer keyboards and cellphones. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_30_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_30_09.html An 'Eye Catching' Vision Discovery- 7/26/09 Nearly all species have some ability to detect light. At least three types of cells in the retina allow us to see images or distinguish between night and day. Now, researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have discovered in fish yet another type of cell that can sense light and contribute to vision. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_26_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_26_09.html Hepatitis C Infection: Treatment Options Equally Effective, Likelihood of Success Known Early On- 7/22/09 Results of a long-awaited study of 3,070 American adults at Johns Hopkins and 118 other U.S. medical centers show that treatment with either of the two standard antiviral drug therapies is safe and offers the best way for people infected with hepatitis C to prevent liver scarring, organ failure and death. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_22_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_22_09.html Close Caregiver Relationship May Slow Alzheimer's Decline- 7/22/09 A study led by Johns Hopkins and Utah State University researchers suggests that a particularly close relationship with caregivers may give people with Alzheimer’s disease a marked edge over those without one in retaining mind and brain function over time. The beneficial effect of emotional intimacy that the researchers saw among participants was on par with some drugs used to treat the disease. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_22a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_22a_09.html Hopkins-Designed Animal TB “Tracker” To Speed Drug and Vaccine Studies- 7/20/09 Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel way to monitor in real time the behavior of the TB bacterium in mouse lungs noninvasively pinpointing the exact location of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The new monitoring system is expected to speed up what is currently a slow and cumbersome process to test the safety and efficacy of various TB drug regimens and vaccines in animals. Plans are already under way for developing a similar system to monitor TB disease in humans. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Hopkins-Designed_Animal_TB_Tracker_To_Speed_Drug_and_Vaccine_Studies.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Hopkins-Designed_Animal_TB_Tracker_To_Speed_Drug_and_Vaccine_Studies.aspx Daily Potassium Citrate Wards Off Kidney Stones in Seizure Patients On High-Fat Diet- 7/20/09 Children on the high-fat ketogenic diet to control epileptic seizures can prevent the excruciatingly painful kidney stones that the diet can sometimes cause if they take a daily supplement of potassium citrate the day they start the diet, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Daily_Potassium_Citrate_Wards_Off_Kidney_Stones_in_Seizure_Patients_On_High-Fat_Diet.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Daily_Potassium_Citrate_Wards_Off_Kidney_Stones_in_Seizure_Patients_On_High-Fat_Diet.aspx Johns Hopkins Co-Sponsors 2009 World Stem Cell Summit- 7/20/09 Hopkins Medicine is co-sponsoring the 2009 World Stem Cell Summit to be held in Baltimore this September. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_20_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_20_09.html Johns Hopkins Faculty Members Awarded 2009 White House Early Career Awards- 7/17/09 Pablo A. Celnik, M.D., an assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, 32, assistant professor of mechanical engineering in the Whiting School of Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University, are among the 100 winners of this year’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_17_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_17_09.html Johns Hopkins School of Medicine to Offer New Degree Program in Informatics- 7/16/09 A new, intensive, one-year master’s degree program designed to prepare graduates for informatics leadership positions in clinical, public health and scientific settings will be offered beginning in September by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) approved the new program in June. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_16a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_16a_09.html The Johns Hopkins Hospital Tops U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" 19th Year in a Row- 7/16/09 The Johns Hopkins Hospital has once again, for the 19th consecutive time, earned the top spot in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings of more than 4,800 American hospitals, placing first in three medical specialties and in the top 16 in 13 others. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_16_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_16_09.html Johns Hopkins Physicians to Present a Continuing Medical Education Course at St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine - 7/16/09 Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) and St. Matthew’s University (SMU), Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, will present a wide-ranging series of continuing medical education (CME) lectures focusing on new advances in treatment of arthritis and brain tumors, and other topics for local health care professionals and medical students on July 17, 2009. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_16b_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_16b_09.html Hopkins Surgeon Earns Award for Lifetime Achievement in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment- 7/15/09 Surgeon John L. Cameron, M.D., for 19 years the surgeon in chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, is among the 2009 recipients of the Hope Funds Awards of Excellence in cancer research. He is being honored for decades of work refining the Whipple procedure, one of the most common surgical treatments for pancreatic cancer, work that has helped reduce postsurgery death rates from 25 percent to less than 5 percent. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_15a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_15a_09.html Researchers ID Brain-Protecting Protein- 7/15/09 Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a novel protein that can protect brain cells by interrupting a naturally occurring “stress cascade” resulting in cell death. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_15_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_15_09.html Hopkins Scientist is 2009's Outstanding Woman Veterinarian- 7/9/09 A Johns Hopkins veterinarian whose vocation is HIV research and avocation is the care of dog “athletes” has been named the 2009 Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year by the Association for Women Veterinarians Foundation. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_10_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_10_09.html Ethicists Urge Inclusion of Pregnant Women in Federal Child-Health Study - 7/9/09 A team of ethicists from Johns Hopkins, Duke and Georgetown universities is urging organizers of a recently begun $3 billion decades-long study of children’s health to immediately add provisions to look at the health and medical profiles of the children’s mothers during their pregnancies. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_09_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_09_09.html Johns Hopkins Leads First 16-Patient, Multicenter "Domino Donor" Kidney Transplant - 7/7/09 Surgical teams at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit successfully completed the first eight-way, multihospital, domino kidney transplant. The transplant involved eight donors — 3 men and 5 women along with eight organ recipients — 3 men and 5 women. “All Johns Hopkins patients are in good condition and are recovering as anticipated,” according to Robert A. Montgomery, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_07_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_07_09.html Wrong Dose of Heart Meds Too Frequent in Children- 7/7/09 Infants and young children treated with heart drugs get the wrong dose or end up on the wrong end of medication errors more often than older children, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center to be published July 6 in Pediatrics. http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Wrong_Dose_Of_Heart_Meds_Too_Frequent_In_Children.aspx http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/Wrong_Dose_Of_Heart_Meds_Too_Frequent_In_Children.aspx Bioethicists Lead Call for Public Debates on Future Uses of Stem Cells - 7/2/09 More than 40 scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and science journal editors are calling on their colleagues, policy makers and the public to begin developing guidelines for the research and reproductive use of stem cell-derived eggs and sperm, even though such use may be a decade or more away. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_03_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_03_09.html Suburban Hospital Healthcare System Joins Johns Hopkins Medicine- 7/2/09 Ahead of schedule, officials of Suburban Hospital Healthcare System (SHHS) and The Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation completed and signed documents on June 30, 2009, officially integrating the Montgomery County-based SHHS into the Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS). http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_02_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/07_02_09.html Predicting the Return of Prostate Cancer: New Johns Hopkins Study Betters the Odds of Success- 7/1/09 Cancer experts at Johns Hopkins say a study tracking 774 prostate cancer patients for a median of eight years has shown that a three-way combination of measurements has the best chance yet of predicting disease metastasis. http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1086 http://www.hopkinskimmelcancercenter.org/index.cfm/cID/1684/mpage/item.cfm/itemID/1086 Fighting Tuberculosis with Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Shown Possible in Animal Studies- 6/29/09 Tuberculosis (TB) experts at Johns Hopkins have evidence from a four-year series of experiments in mice that anti-inflammatory drugs could eventually prove effective in treating the highly contagious lung disease, adding to current antibiotic therapies. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_29_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_29_09.html Insect Venom Shots Work for Severe "Local" Sting Reactions, Too- 6/29/09 The same bee and other insect venom shots that doctors use to prevent deadly systemic reactions to insect stings can also tone down large local allergic reactions that, while not dangerous, can be painful and inconvenient, a Johns Hopkins study shows. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_29a_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_29a_09.html Crunching the (Sometimes Surprising) Numbers on Hormone-Related Disease- 6/29/09 A dogged review of the medical literature has produced what is believed to be the nation’s first comprehensive estimate of the extent of dozens of endocrine disorders in the United States. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_29b_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_29b_09.html Johns Hopkins Researchers Edit Genes in Human Stem Cells- 6/18/09 Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have successfully edited the genome of human- induced pluripotent stem cells, making possible the future development of patient-specific stem cell therapies. Reporting this week in Cell Stem Cell, the team altered a gene responsible for causing the rare blood disease paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH, establishing for the first time a useful system to learn more about the disease. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_18_09.html http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2009/06_18_09.html Contact the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory