Alexandra Bartlett, Ph.D., discusses her research in a mouse model to develop nontoxic immunotherapy strategies that address ‘on-target, off-tumor’ toxicity among patients with prostate cancer. She says, “If the treatment is too toxic, it does not matter if it is effective at shrinking tumors.”

In a small trial, researchers at OHSU, The University of Florida and The University of Pennsylvania find a novel gene therapy restored useful vision to most patients with the rare, inherited blindness known as Leber congenital amaurosis type I, or LCA1.

A study finds nerve cells cause one response versus another: “Sneeze neurons” in the nasal passages relay sneeze signals to the brain, and separate neurons send cough messages in mice. Matthew Drake, M.D., says, “That’s welcome news because these conditions can be incredibly frustrating and the side effects of current treatments can be incredibly problematic."

OHSU researchers are investigating how your grandparents’ diets may affect your developing baby, in the hope of better understanding nutrition’s role in the inheritance of chronic diseases.

OHSU researchers are investigating how your grandparents’ diets may affect your developing baby, in the hope of better understanding nutrition’s role in the inheritance of chronic diseases.

Beverly Emerson, Ph.D., discusses a study that assessed progressive changes in cancer cells when dosed with increasing drug concentrations over a year. She says, “[These findings] contribute much needed detail to our knowledge of evolutionary principles of survival at micro to macro scales -- from cells to organisms to species.”

Research suggesting tube tying isn't as permanent or effective as once thought. Julia Tasset, M.D., says, “This is an important new finding that will help gynecologists better counsel patients.”

Delaram Safarpour, M.D., discusses the growing body of evidence that Parkinson’s disease begins in the gut. She says, “We absolutely need to keep an eye on these patients who have a history of mucosal damage on their endoscopy. Early detection of Parkinson’s disease would allow doctors to treat these patients before they have motor symptoms, when neuroprotective treatments become available in the future."

A Scientific American story discusses new research that harnessed the highly absorbent dye tartrazine to turn tissues in living mice clear, temporarily revealing organs and vessels inside the animals. Rajan Kulkarni, Ph.D., M.D., who led another optical tissue clearing research project in 2014, says, “That was always a limitation; it required something to be ex vivo. We had to remove the tissues or remove the organ, or the organism itself was no longer living. This method is interesting because it does allow the skin, or the epidermal layer, to be made transparent so that you can visualize what is underneath.”

An OHSU study finds additional iron supplementation has no significant impact on maternal or infant health outcomes. Amy Cantor, M.D., says, “There’s a lot of marketing out there targeting various vitamins and supplements for pregnant people, and it can be overwhelming. It’s best to keep it simple: If you don’t have any risk factors outlined by your clinician, then a standard prenatal vitamin should be sufficient to ensure a healthy pregnancy.”