Neurofibromatosis 1 News and Research

RSS

Auditory brainstem implants for adults with damaged cochlear nerves

If a siren sounded but you were deaf, might you still be able to hear the sound?

23 Mar 2010

Key mechanism that makes brain cells become tumorous identified

Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth (UK), the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Cornell University in New York, Weil Medical College in New York and the Center for Neural Tumour Research in Los Angeles, have for the first time identified a key mechanism that makes certain cells become tumorous in the brain. The resulting tumours occur most often spontaneously but can also occur in numbers as part of the inherited disease Neurofibromatosis type 2.

23 Feb 2010

Head and neck tumors in close proximity to sensitive areas may lead to brain injury, visionary risk or hearing loss

When head and neck tumors - from sinus tumors to acoustic neuromas attached to the hearing and balance nerve at the base of the skull - are located in close proximity to such sensitive areas such as the brain and eyes, they are particularly dangerous due to possible brain injury, visionary risk or hearing loss.

23 Feb 2010

Study may pave way for more refined treatments for brain tumors

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown once again that "ready, fire, aim," nonsensical though it may sound, can be an essential approach to research.

10 Feb 2010

UT Southwestern Medical Center performs minimally invasive procedures for sinuses and chronic rhinosinusitis

Only about one in 2,000 people in the United States get a sinus tumor, but Johnnie Wilcox was one of the unfortunate few.

15 Dec 2009

Diagnosing patients with syndrome similar to neurofibromatosis type 1 may be difficult

An analysis of patients with a syndrome similar to the genetic disorder, neurofibromatosis type 1, indicates that diagnosis may be difficult because of shared clinical findings, such as certain pigmentary characteristics, according to a study in the November 18 issue of JAMA.

19 Nov 2009

Decreased expression of tumor suppressor gene PTEN transforms neurofibromas into cancer

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center showed for the first time that the loss or decreased expression of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN plays a central role in the malignant transformation of benign nerve tumors called neurofibromas into a malignant and extremely deadly form of sarcoma.

14 Oct 2009

NIH awards $2 million grant to fight Neurofibromatosis type 2 disease

University of Central Florida Associate Professor Cristina Fernandez-Valle just landed two federal grants worth $2 million to research a disease that can leave children and young adults deaf, partially paralyzed or brain damaged.

6 Oct 2009

UltraPulse SurgiTouch CO2 laser for the treatment of airway stenosis

Lumenis Ltd., the world's largest medical laser company, announced today that it supplied an UltraPulse SurgiTouch CO2 laser with Digital AcuBlade microsurgery system to the Landspitalinn University Hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland. Lumenis' state of the art laser system, was used by Dr. Paul Castellanos to perform Trans-oral Laser Microsurgery (TLM) for the treatment of airway stenosis with obstructing neurofibromatosis of the laryngopharynx on a 9-year-old girl and four other patients.

From Lumenis Inc. 21 Sep 2009

Secretary Sebelius announces Senate confirmation of Dr. Francis Collins as Director of NIH

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Francis Collins as the next Director of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Aug 2009

Physicians perform rare surgery to restore hearing to a deaf patient

Marisela Leon, 44, has neurofibromatosis type 2 -- a rare genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on nerves in the brain or spinal cord, but most commonly on the auditory nerve. Leon lost her hearing more than four years ago when surgery to remove a tumor damaged her auditory nerve.

22 Dec 2008

Promising clinical trial for Progeria "premature aging" disease

One of the fastest translations of a basic research discovery into a promising clinical trial for an "untreatable" and fatal disorder will be discussed publicly for the first time by the key players in this remarkable research story, on Sunday, Dec. 14, at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)'s annual meeting in San Francisco.

14 Dec 2008

New clues to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia

Rice University researchers have found a potential clue to the roots of epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders.

10 Dec 2008

Gleevec holds potential as first drug to successfully treat neurofibromatosis

Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine report that the anti-cancer drug Gleevec holds out promise to become the first effective treatment for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that has resisted treatments until now.

30 Oct 2008

Discovery of mechanism and possible drug treatment for growth of nerve tumors in neurofibromatosis

Researchers studying neurofibromatosis type 1 - a rare disease in which tumors grow within nerves - have found that the tumors are triggered by crosstalk between cells in the nerves and cells in the blood.

30 Oct 2008

Cancer requires support from immune system to develop, researchers report

Tumors that grow around nerves in a rare genetic disease need cooperation from cells from the immune system in order to grow, reports a team of scientists, including researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

30 Oct 2008

Gene study sheds new light on lung cancer

A multi-institution team, funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today reported results of the largest effort to date to chart the genetic changes involved in the most common form of lung cancer, lung adenocarcinoma. The findings should help pave the way for more individualized approaches for detecting and treating the nation's leading cause of cancer deaths.

22 Oct 2008

Discovery of protein key to neuro-regeneration

Researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England, University College London, the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan and Cancer Research UK, have for the first time identified a protein that is key to the regeneration of damage in the peripheral nervous system and which could with further research lead to understanding diseases of our peripheral nervous systems and provide clues to methods of repairing damage in the central nervous system, according to a paper published this week in the Journal of Cell Biology.

20 May 2008

Research to lead to brain tumor therapies

Unique human in vitro model (cell culture) research currently underway at the Peninsula Medical School in the South West of England is set to identify and develop therapies for the treatment of multiple tumours in the brain.

25 Mar 2008

Mouse model for human malignant mesothelioma

Scientists have established a mouse model for human malignant mesothelioma (MM) that will provide valuable insight into cancer development and progression along with new directions for design of therapeutic strategies.

11 Mar 2008