Health & Behavior

Research

The Latest

UC San Diego Health System Designated as Center of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease

The Movement Disorder Center at UC San Diego Health System has been designated the 41st Center of Excellence in the National Parkinson Foundation’s (NPF) global network. This designation is the highest recognition offered by NPF to a Parkinson’s specialty clinic. It represents the consensus of leaders in the field that the UC San Diego program is among the world’s leading centers for Parkinson’s research, outreach and care.

Change Agent

What are some unforeseen damages caused by air pollution? How do we solve the problems of climate change? How do we feed the billions of people suffering from chronic hunger, and do it without causing further harm to the environment? These are just some of the questions that drive Jennifer Burney.

Researchers Find Link Between Inflammation, Tissue Regeneration and Wound Repair Response

Writing in the February 25 online issue of Nature, an international team of scientists, headed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, report finding new links between inflammation and regeneration: signaling pathways that are activated by a receptor protein called gp130.

Culture Clash: How Stem Cells Are Grown Affects Their Genetic Stability

Writing in the February 25 online issue of the journal PLOS ONE, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with collaborators from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), have definitively shown for the first time that the culture conditions in which stem cells are grown and mass-produced can affect their genetic stability.

Small Loop in Human Prion Protein Prevents Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) affects North American elk and deer, but has not been observed in humans. Using a mouse model that expresses an altered form of the normal human prion protein, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have determined why the human proteins aren’t corrupted when exposed to the elk prions. Their study identifies a small loop in the human prion protein that confers resistance to chronic wasting disease.

Molecular Link between Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Reveals Potential Therapy

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that the inflammatory molecule LTB4 promotes insulin resistance, a first step in developing type 2 diabetes. What’s more, the team found that genetically removing the cell receptor that responds to LTB4, or blocking it with a drug, improves insulin sensitivity in obese mice. The study is published Feb. 23 by Nature Medicine.