A Monthly Research Newsletter from the Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University



			February 16, 2009


			Research Provides Hope During American Heart Month Researchers at the Emory Heart & Vascular Center are conducting groundbreaking research to discover the underlying sources of heart disease and develop therapies to treat or prevent them. These studies could play an important role in the way doctors all over the world predict, prevent and treat heart disease. Read more . . .


Michael Burke, MD			Sound Science: Coping with Cancer's Emotional Fallout Listen to Sound Science as Michael Burke, MD, clinical director of psychiatric oncology at Emory Winship Cancer Institute, discusses how he and his colleagues offer therapies for emotional, psychological and physical symptoms associated with cancer. Burke has conducted studies focused on the effects of the disease's emotional burden on patients. Read and listen. . .


Bone marrow cells engrafted next to the sciatic nerve			Bone Marrow Cells Heal Nerves in Diabetes Model Diabetes often causes neuropathy—damage to the peripheral nerves due to a problem with the nerves' blood supply. Effects range from a loss of sensation in the extremities to the need for amputation. Research in animals shows that cultured cells from the bone marrow can promote the regrowth of both blood vessels and the protective lining of nerves in the limbs. Read more. . .


			A Safer Stent for Stroke Prevention A new anti-embolism system has been found safer for treating strokes than the stents commonly used with angioplasty in the carotid artery. The new device prevents small pieces of plaque from breaking off and clogging the brain's blood vessels, leading to dementia. Read more. . .


			Future Directions for Monkey Models of Disease After creating the first transgenic animal model of Huntington's disease in monkeys last spring, scientists already are planning variations of the model for Alzheimer's or fragile X syndrome, or using other genes in transgenic models that could provide breakthroughs in diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer. Read more. . .