Friday, October 18, 2019
Diabetes Worsens Respiratory Illness Due to Abnormal Immune Response, UM School of Medicine Study Finds
Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012, there have been more than 2,400 confirmed cases of the infection, resulting in greater than 800 deaths – an alarming fatality rate of 35 percent. For this reason, researchers have been eager to identify any risk factors that contribute to the development of severe or lethal disease. Current clinical evidence points to diabetes as a major risk factor in addition to other comorbidities including kidney disease, heart disease, and lung disease.
Friday, October 18, 2019
UMSOM Mourns "Passionate Advocate" Rep. Elijah Cummings
The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) mourns the loss of Rep. Elijah Cummings from Maryland’s 7th District.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Researchers Discover Potential Therapy to Treat Detrimental Effects of Marijuana in Pre-Adolescent Individuals Exposed to THC in Womb
As a growing number of U.S. states legalize the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, an increasing number of American women are using cannabis before becoming pregnant and during early pregnancy often to treat morning sickness, anxiety, and lower back pain. Although emerging evidence indicates that this may have long-term consequences for their babies’ brain development, how this occurs remains unclear.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Theme of 'Courage, Hope and Faith' Highlights Investiture of Dr. Charles Hong as the Melvin Sharoky, MD, Professor of Medicine
In a moving address to an audience of family members, UMSOM faculty and staff, and distinguished invited guests, Charles Hong, MD, PhD, echoed a theme that was heard throughout the ceremony of his investiture as the Melvin Sharoky, MD, Professor of Medicine: “Courage, Hope and Faith.”
Monday, October 14, 2019
In Memoriam: Dr. Kathirkamanathan Shanmuganathan (K. Shan) of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Professor of Diagnostic Radiology
Shanmuganathan (Shan), who earned his medical degree at the University of Sri Lanka, has been with the University of Maryland School of Medicine for over twenty-five years, and has held the position of Professor of Diagnostic Radiology since 2003.
Friday, October 11, 2019
Invention of the Year: University of Maryland School of Medicine’s kidney delivery by drone
The partnership behind the flight included a collaboration between Dr. Joseph Scalea of University of Maryland School of Medicine and UMD’s A. James Clark School of Engineering, surgeons and researchers at UMMC, the Living Legacy Foundation and AiRXOS.
Friday, October 11, 2019
New Treatment Combination Could Work Against Broader Array of Cancer Cells, Study Finds
In continuing efforts to find novel ways to kill cancer cells, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have identified a new pathway that leads to the destruction of cancer cells. The new finding, published this week in the journal PNAS, could pave the way for the broader use of a class of anticancer drugs already on the market. These drugs, known as PARP inhibitors, are currently approved by the FDA to treat only a limited group of breast and ovarian cancers associated with BRCA gene mutations.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
UM School of Medicine Researchers Announce Promising Early Results from Immunotherapy Study on High-Risk Soft Tissue Sarcoma
A combination of two immunotherapy drugs and radiation prior to surgery could offer a potential new treatment for soft tissue sarcomas, a rare type of cancer, according to University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers who presented their early results this week at the annual Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) meeting in Portland, OR.
Tuesday, October 08, 2019
Experimental Growth Factor Shows Promise for Preventing Progression of Knee Osteoarthritis, Study Finds
More than 10 percent of Americans over age 60 experience knee pain related to osteoarthritis, the most common disease of the knee joint. Osteoarthritis of the knee causes pain, activity limitation, physical disability, reduced health-related quality of life and excess mortality compared with the general population. The pain is usually treated with over-the-counter pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, local steroid injections and sometimes surgery. There are currently no drugs approved to treat the underlying cause of the condition, which results from the breakdown of joint cartilage covering the long bones due to increasing age, injury/overuse, obesity, genetics and/or local inflammation. A new experimental growth factor therapy, however, appears to prevent a worsening of osteoarthritis by increasing the thickness of cartilage in the knee joint and preventing further loss, according to results from an early clinical trial that were published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Friday, October 04, 2019
Institute of Human Virology Hosts 21st Annual International Meeting of Top Scientists on Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in America and the Intersection of Opioid Use Disorder
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine commenced IHV2019 held Thursday, October 3 through Friday, October 4 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. This year “Progress in HIV/AIDS: Challenges in 2020” opened with highlights about the recent plan for "Ending the HIV Epidemic by 2030” with expert opinions by ADM Brett Giroir, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)