UT Southwestern in the News — January 2009

HealthDay: Seniors who exercise help their health (Jan. 30, 2009)
Sedentary seniors can improve their motor function and decrease their risk for insulin resistance by starting an exercise program that includes both aerobics and resistance training, new Canadian research suggests. Dr. Roger H. Unger, emeritus director of the Touchstone Center for Diabetes Research at UT Southwestern, indicated that the findings are strongly in line with what he would expect. "The reason you have muscle is to move around," he said. "Not to sit still all your life. And you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out." Read More

UPI: Study: Brain chemical blocks weight gain (Jan. 30, 2009)
U.S. medical scientists say they've discovered increased levels of a natural brain chemical can block weight gain. The researchers at UT Southwestern found mice with increased levels of the chemical orexin don't gain weight when fed a high-fat diet. Read More

CNN: How memories form, fade, and persist over time (Jan. 29, 2009)
Three new studies shed light on the way the brain forms, stores and retrieves memories. Experts say they could have implications for people with certain mental disorders. Research in mice published in the February issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience found that an individual nerve cell in the front part of the brain can hold traces of memories on its own for as long as a minute, possibly even longer, said senior author Don Cooper, assistant professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern. Read More

Scientific American: Fewer deaths in hospitals with computerized records (Jan. 28, 2009)
Don't underestimate the value of good bookkeeping. A new study says that your chance of dying and suffering complications is lower in hospitals and clinics that computerize patient charts and drug orders. "Care of a patient in today’s modern hospital is very complex – there are so many different actors. What information systems do is coordinate that care," study co-author Ruben Amarasingham of UT Southwestern says, giving doctors and nurses "all the notes and thought processes at [their] fingertips." Read More

HealthDay: 'Wired' hospitals post lower death, complication rates (Jan. 28, 2009)
The more "wired" a hospital is, the lower its rate of patient deaths and complications, a new study finds. Automating hospital information systems also saves centers money, the researchers report. "Every day there are more innovations [in medicine], more evidence-based guidelines. For a single physician to keep track of that is difficult," said study author Dr. Ruben Amarasingham, assistant professor of medicine at UT Southwestern. Read More

UPI: Front part of the brain can hold memories (Jan. 28, 2009)
U.S. scientists say they've discovered individual nerve cells in the front part of the brain can hold memories for about one minute. Researchers from UT Southwestern said their study of mice is the "first to identify the specific signal that establishes non-permanent cellular memory and reveals how the brain holds temporary information." Read More

THE 33 NEWS: Social networks and depression (Jan. 28, 2009)
It's estimated that nearly 400 million people worldwide belong to either Facebook or MySpace. But doctors are now finding social Websites can lead to depression. "As simplistic as it sounds, turn it off." That's what UT Southwestern's Dr. Thomas Van Hoose says. Dr. Van Hoose also says if you mix isolation with feelings of negative self-worth, then you've got the recipe for depression. Watch Video

Reuters: Health info technology saves lives, costs: study (Jan. 27, 2009)
Hospitals in Texas that used computers to keep track of patient records and manage care had lower rates of deaths, complications and costs, U.S. researchers said on Monday, offering a strong argument for hospitals to go "paperless." The study was led by Dr. Ruben Amarasingham of UT Southwestern. Read More

Sydney Morning Herald: New compound lowers cholesterol: study (Jan. 27, 2009)
US researchers have identified in mice a compound that frees excessive cholesterol accumulated inside cells, according to a study published on Monday. "What we've shown is that very quickly after administration of this compound, the huge pool of cholesterol that has just been accumulating in the cells is suddenly released and metabolised normally," said UT Southwestern's Dr. John Dietschy, senior author of the study.  Read More

UPI: Drug-coated stents less risky in bypass (Jan, 27, 2009)
Coronary bypass surgery may carry less risk of serious complications if stents are coated with a drug that suppresses cell growth, U.S. researchers said. Researchers at UT Southwestern and colleagues said a multicenter trial compared two types of commonly used stents. Read More

BBC: Single cell 'can store memories' (Jan. 26, 2009)
Just one brain cell is capable of holding fleeting memories vital for our everyday life, according to U.S. scientists. A study of mouse brain cells revealed how they could keep information stored for as long as a minute. Dr. Don Cooper comments on his research team's discovery. Read More

UPI: Low-carb diet burns more excess liver fat (Jan. 21, 2009)
People on low-carbohydrate diets burn more excess liver fat for energy than those on a low-calorie diet, U.S. researchers said. Dr. Jeffrey Browning of UT Southwestern said the findings, published in the journal Hepatology, could have implications for treating obesity and related diseases such as diabetes, insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Read More

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: 1 of 2 sisters awaiting transplant gets new heart (Jan. 20, 2009)
A 7-year-old North Texas girl who was placed on a transplant list along with her sister last spring got a new heart on Monday. Pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Kristine Guleserian led the surgical team and comments.  Read More

The The Dallas Morning News: Treat caffeine like any addiction (Jan. 16, 2009)
A recent survey ranked Dallas among cities with the least caffeine consumption. But countless people can't live without their daily jolt of java, and that can be a problem. Researchers are beginning to assemble a body of knowledge on kicking the caffeine habit. "The best thing you can do is not to stop abruptly," says Dr. Robert Greene, professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern. Read More

Reuters: Young U.S. adults may underestimate heart risk: study (Jan. 13, 2009)
Young American adults who learn they have a low immediate risk of heart disease may be making a mistake if they sigh with relief and relax — their lifetime risk could be high, doctors cautioned on Monday. "We found that about half of individuals who are 50 years of age or younger and at low short-term risk for heart disease may not remain at low risk throughout their lives," said Dr. Jarett Berry of UT Southwestern, who helped lead the study. Read More

HealthDay: Framingham score may not spot lifetime heart risk (Jan. 13, 2009)
As many as half of people aged 50 and younger who have a low 10-year risk of heart attack or stroke based on the widely used Framingham Risk Score may still have a high lifetime risk. That's the conclusion of a new study published in the Jan. 13 issue of Circulation. The study's lead author is Dr. Jarett D. Berry, an assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern. Read More

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Three Texas researchers are honored for work (Jan. 9, 2009)
Three Texas researchers, including a biomedical scientist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, each received $25,000 prizes Thursday for their work in medicine and technology. The recipients of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award included Rama Ranganathan, a professor of pharmacology at UT Southwestern, who has conducted research that could lead to the creation of artificial proteins that could mimic proteins in the human body. Read More

The Dallas Morning News: UT Southwestern professor honored by Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas(Jan. 8, 2009)
A UT Southwestern Medical Center scientist is among three Texans to be recognized today by the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas as an outstanding young investigator. Rama Ranganathan will receive this year's annual award from the academy for science. Researchers from Houston and Austin have won the academy's awards for medicine and engineering. Read More

Chronicle Of Higher Education: Intelligent design or intelligible design? (Jan. 7, 1009)
Whether the topic is embryos or evolution, religious interests sometimes try to influence how science is taught and practiced. Frequently the perceived conflict between religion and science is understood as a debate about matters of factual observation. As a philosopher friend commented, "If your religion requires six literal days of creation, then it clashes with science." I find that the difference between the claims of religion and of science can be far subtler - a reflection of distinct human attitudes toward experience based on different types of faith. Commentary by Frederick Grinnell, professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern. Read More

Associated Press: Apple's Jobs has hormone imbalance, will stay CEO (Jan. 6, 2009)
Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer whose gaunt appearance in the past year has alarmed the Mac and iPod lovers who look to him as an oracle, said Monday he has an easily treated hormone imbalance and will remain in charge of the company. While a hormone imbalance might be unrelated to his cancer, pancreatic dysfunction would be the top suspicion, said Dr. Richard Auchus, an endocrinologist at UT Southwestern. Read More

The Dallas Morning News: CPR trainer teaches entire University Park civilian workforce in 1 class (Jan. 5, 2009)
Dr. Paul Pepe is, a half-hour at a time, working to make North Texas one of the country's best-prepared regions for cardiac emergencies. The chairman of emergency medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center is teaching CPR to every Dallas city employee, as well as to businesses and other municipalities' workforces. Read More

UPI: Liposuction weight loss may not help heart (Jan. 5, 2009)
Liposuction may provide a quick fix to reduce waist size but the loss of weight may not help the heart, U.S. researchers advise. Dr. Amit Khera, who directs the UT Southwestern program in preventive cardiology, says belly fat, or waist circumference, is more closely associated than other distributions of fat with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. Read More

ABC News: New way to blast fat without surgery looks promising (Jan. 5, 2009)
It sounds too good to be true, but international studies show that UltraShape, a device that claims to reduce fat with ultrasound, reduces fat thickness in common problem areas in just three sessions, and it doesn't harm surrounding skin, blood vessels, nerves or other tissue. "Patients always obviously want to look and feel better, but if they can do it non-surgically, that's gonna have a real mass appeal," said Dr. Jeffrey M. Kenkel, a plastic surgeon at UT Southwestern. Watch Video