First Large-Scale Study Of Transgender Children Gets $1 Million Boost
Launched in 2013, the project has recruited more than 300 children ages 3-12 from 45 states, with the goal of tracking their development over 20 years. In other public health news: melanoma, brain damage, bathroom hand dryers, ovarian cancer, air pollution, "cool caps," and more.
The Associated Press:
$1 Million Federal Grant Will Help Study Of Transgender Kids
The first large-scale, national study of transgender children, including some as young as 3, is poised to expand thanks to a five-year, $1 million grant awarded Thursday by the National Science Foundation to the professor leading the project. University of Washington psychologist Kristina Olson, 36, was named winner of the NSF's annual Alan T. Waterman Award, the government's highest honor for scientists still in the early phases of their careers. The NSF said the choice was unanimous, and noted that pediatricians are already using her findings to raise awareness about gender diversity. (4/12)
Stat:
One Reason Why Melanoma Might Not Respond To Cancer Drugs
Scientists have discovered a potential reason why melanoma doesn’t always respond to certain drugs. For some advanced melanoma patients, immune checkpoint inhibitors — a kind of immunotherapy that pushes the immune system to attack tumors — can lead to long-term remission. But for many patients, the drugs don’t work. Now, scientists at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne studying a mouse model of melanoma have discovered that “bad immune cells” might be limiting how well the drugs work. Their findings were published this week in Science Translational Medicine. (Thielking, 4/12)
Stat:
Health Officials Open New Door For Promising Stem Cell Therapies
When someone experiences a severe head injury, it’s not just the initial blow that batters the brain. The body’s immune response can go haywire, overwhelming and sometimes continuing to damage the brain for months. Surgeons at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Hospital believe they might have a novel way to prevent that ongoing harm: by drawing bone marrow cells, including stem cells, from patients and infusing them back into their bodies. (Joseph, 4/13)
The Washington Post:
Bathroom Hand Dryers May Leave Your Hands Dirtier Than Before, Gross New Study Says
Hand dryers may leave your hands significantly more dirty than before, according to a new study. The study, the results of which were published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, found that plates exposed to 30 seconds of a bathroom hand dryer gained at least 18 to 60 colonies of bacteria, while plates exposed to bathroom air for two minutes had fewer than one. The authors concluded that the “results indicate that many kinds of bacteria, including potential pathogens and spores, can be deposited on hands exposed to bathroom hand dryers, and that spores could be dispersed throughout buildings and deposited on hands by hand dryers.” (Rosenberg, 4/12)
Los Angeles Times:
A Personalized Vaccine Helps Patients Fight Back Against Ovarian Cancer
In early research that extends the possibilities of immunotherapy to a killer feared by women, a personalized vaccine helped patients with ovarian cancer mount a stronger defense against their tumors and substantially improved their survival rate. The vaccine was tested in a preliminary clinical trial and used along with standard chemotherapy and an immune-boosting agent. (Healy, 4/12)
Boston Globe:
'Cool Caps' Are Helping Cancer Patients Keep Their Hair Through Chemo — For A High Price
A new therapy is limiting chemotherapy-induced hair loss, an emotionally devastating side effect of cancer treatment. But the cost — and the refusal of some insurers to pay — could put the therapy out of reach for less-affluent patients. (Kowalczyk, 4/12)
The New York Times:
A Better Body In A Pill? Experts Urge Caution On SARMs
Many athletes and gym-goers are turning to a popular but potentially dangerous new pill to help them build muscle and gain strength: a steroid alternative known as SARMs. The pills are widely marketed online as “legal steroids” that provide the muscle-building benefits of anabolic steroids without the troubling side effects. And while the products are legal — at least so far — their spread has alarmed health authorities, who say they are not necessarily safe. (O'Connor, 4/12)
The New York Times:
Air Pollution May Pose Serious Risks To Young Children
Air pollution, even of short duration, increases the number of lower respiratory infections, a new study reports, and the effects may be particularly serious in young children. Acute respiratory infection of the lungs and airways, usually caused by viruses, are a leading cause of illness and death in young children. (Bakalar, 4/13)
The New York Times:
Scientist Behind Dolly The Sheep, A Key To Parkinson’s Research, Has The Disease Himself
Two decades after creating the clone Dolly the sheep and paving the way for new research into Parkinson’s, Dr. Ian Wilmut revealed on Wednesday that he has the disease himself. The 73-year-old professor, who lives in Scotland, announced on World Parkinson’s Day that he learned four months ago that he had the disease, and that he would participate in a major research program to test new types of treatments intended to slow the disease’s progression. (Yeginsu, 4/12)
California Healthline:
Applying Silicon Valley Smarts To Age-Old Diseases
On the second floor of an infectious-disease research facility in this African capital, Dr. Joseph Kamgno, the country’s leading expert on parasitic roundworms, stood at his desk staring down at the black hard-shelled case that had just arrived from a bioengineering lab at the University of California-Berkeley. The case contained what appeared to be three ordinary iPhones. But the California researchers believed these phones could do something extraordinary — help quell river blindness, the second-leading cause of preventable blindness in the world. (Rinker, 4/11)
