| In this issue: | February 19, 2004 |
USF/VA study: Bone marrow cell hormone may hasten recovery from brain injury |
|
By Anne DeLotto Baier A blood vessel-dilating hormone released by bone marrow stromal cells has been found in the brain — a finding that suggests the hormone may be tapped to help patients recover from stroke or other neurological injuries disrupting blood flow to the central nervous system. The hormone, known as brain natriuretic peptide, was reported for the first time by researchers at the USF and James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in a laboratory study, results from which are published in the January 2004 issue of the journal Experimental Neurology. "We're suggesting that transplanted bone marrow stromal cells may hasten recovery by releasing brain natriuretic peptide and other factors that improve blood flow to the brain and decrease swelling and pressure around the site of injury," said lead investigator Juan Sanchez-Ramos, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and research director at the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair. "By helping irrigate, or restore the blood circulation to the brain, brain natriuretic factor may reduce the extent of damage from stroke or spinal cord injuries." Researchers at USF and other institutions have demonstrated that some cells from adult bone marrow can be converted with growth factors and other agents into immature nerve cells — both in the laboratory and following transplant into animals. Furthermore, rats suffering from stroke or other traumatic brain injury recover neurological function quicker following intravenous infusions of bone marrow stromal cells. However, no one has proven that this recovery results from converted bone marrow cells directly replacing or repairing damaged neurons. A growing number of scientists, including Dr. Sanchez-Ramos, hypothesize that growth factors, cytokines and other substances secreted by bone marrow cells may play a more important role than first realized in recovery from neurological injuries. The USF researchers identify bone marrow-derived brain natriuretic factor (BNP) as a potential candidate for treating stroke, spinal cord injury and other neurological damage. Although found in the brain, BNP belongs to a family of atrial natriuretic peptides, hormones made by the heart that exhibit powerful diuretic and blood pressure-lowering characteristics. In rat models of stroke, these atrial natriuretic peptides have been reported to decrease brain swelling or edema. Human bone marrow is capable of producing significant amounts of BNP, the USF researchers demonstrated. Bone marrow stromal cells grown in the laboratory secreted levels of BNP far exceeding the amounts normally found in circulating blood and spinal fluid. The researchers next plan to measure the effects of BNP from bone marrow cells transplanted into rats with strokes and spinal cord injuries. Co-investigators for the study were Shijie Song, MD; Siddharth Kamath, MS; Diana Mosquera, MD; Tanja Zigova, PhD; David Vesely, MD, PhD; and Paul Sanberg, PhD, DSc. Return to top |
Dr. Naik recognized for contributions to India's health development |
|
|
Eknath Naik, MD, PhD, of the USF College of Public Health, has been awarded the Rashtriya Vikas Ratna Gold Award from the International Integration and Growth Society in New Delhi, India. The national award is bestowed yearly on those in the public and private sectors who have significantly contributed to India's economic, health and social development. Dr. Naik is an assistant professor of epidemiology, biostatistics and medicine and director of the USF-India Center for Health, HIV/AIDS Research and Training (CHART). He was one of 60 award recipients honored Dec. 15 at an invitation-only event in New Delhi's International Convention Center. The event received widespread media coverage in India. |
| Dr. Naik received the Gold Award for CHART's work in establishing a thriving HIV/AIDS education and exchange program between USF and India. The partnership has grown to encompass 39 health centers across India – the beginning of an infrastructure to help India care for people suffering from AIDS. The CHART team includes USF's Dr. Naik, Dr. John Sinnott, Dr. Sagar Galwankar, Dr. Jeffrey Nadler, and advisory chair Dr. Kiran Patel, a Tampa cardiologist and benefactor of the program. Return to top |
In Memoriam: Tanja Zigova, PhD |
| Tanja Zigova, PhD, an assistant professor in the College of Medicine, collapsed at a scientific meeting in Chicago Feb. 6 and died. Dr. Zigova worked with the Center for Aging and Brain Repair, and held appointments in Neurosurgery and Anatomy, as well as Pharmacology and Therapeutics. She earned her PhD from the Institute of Neurobiology in Czechoslovakia, and her bachelor's and master's degrees from Safarik University in Czechoslovakia. She came to USF from Emory University in 1998. Considered a rising star by many, Dr. Zigova won a USF Presidential Young Faculty Award in 2001, and was named the Jim and Amy Shimberg Scholar for her project "Cell-based therapies for neurodegenerative diseases." |
 |
|
She authored and co-authored 119 scientific journal articles. | |
Florida holds first magnet nursing research conference |
|
More than 200 nurses, administrators, and healthcare providers attended the state's first Magnet Nursing Research Conference Feb. 6 in Tampa to share their research initiatives and begin work on a collaborative research agenda. The Magnet designation by American Nurses Credentialing Center recognizes excellence in nursing services provided in an environment that supports patient care, nursing staff and interdisciplinary collaboration. Ten of the state's 12 magnet hospitals were represented at the conference. |
Research Day features genome expert |
| The 14th Annual HSC Research Day is Feb. 26 and features the Eighth Annual Roy H. Behnke, MD, Distinguished Lectureship at noon in the HSC Auditorium. This year's guest is Eric Green, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Intramural Research and director of the Intramural Sequencing Center of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health. His talk is titled "Beyond the Human Genome Sequence: The Future of Genomics and Its Implications For Clinical Medicine." During his residency training in clinical pathology, Dr. Green worked in the laboratory of Dr. Maynard Olson, where he initiated a project to construct a complete physical map of human chromosome 7 within the Washington University Genome Center— one of the first funded Centers in the Human Genome Project. In 1992, he became an assistant professor of pathology and genetics as well as a co-investigator in the Human Genome Center at Washington University. In 1994, he moved his research laboratory to the Intramural Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (in Bethesda, MD). In addition to his role as Chief of the Genome Technology Branch and director of the NIH Intramural Sequencing Center, Dr. Green was appointed to the position of scientific director of NHGRI in 2002. Dr. Green's research focuses on the mapping and sequencing of mammalian genomes and the isolation and characterization of genes causing human genetic diseases. Return to top |
Dr. Ledford elected to Board of AAAAI |
|
Dennis Ledford, MD, professor of medicine in Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, has been elected to the 15-member Board of Directors of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. He will serve a four-year term beginning March 22. |