Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins Medicine

NEWS STORIES IN THIS ISSUE:
– Study Says Failure to Rid Amyloid Beta Protein from Brain May Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease
– Johns Hopkins Medicine Team Discovers Novel Mediator of Once Mysterious Chronic Itch – Study Suggests Molecular Changes in Tissue Microenvironment May Promote Colorectal Cancer
– Researchers ID Anti-Inflammatory Proteins as Therapy Targets for Nasal and Sinus Problem
– Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Receives NIH Award to Study Dangerous Pediatric Disease

Placental Stem Cells Show Promise for Treating Preemies’ Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Article title: Human placental-derived stem cell therapy ameliorates experimental necrotizing enterocolitis Authors: Victoria G. Weis, Anna C. Deal, Gehad Mekky, Cara Clouse, Michaela Gaffley, Emily Whitaker, Cole B. Peeler, Jared A. Weis, Marshall Z. Schwartz, Anthony Atala From the authors:…

Study Shows Mother’s Diet May Boost Immune Systems of Premature Infants

Medical researchers have long understood that a pregnant mother’s diet has a profound impact on her developing fetus’s immune system and that babies — especially those born prematurely — who are fed breast milk have a more robust ability to fight disease, suggesting that even after childbirth, a mother’s diet matters. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these connections have remained unclear.

Breast Milk + Probiotics Reduces Inflammation Associated with Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preemies

Article title: Short chain fatty acid butyrate, a breast milk metabolite, enhances immature intestinal barrier function genes in response to inflammation in vitro and in vivo Authors: Yanan Gao, Brittany Davis, Weishu Zhu, Nan Zheng, Di Meng, W. Allan Walker From…

Of Mice And Babies: New Animal Model Links Blood Transfusions to Dangerous Digestive Disease in Preemies

Physicians have long suspected that red blood cell transfusions given to premature infants with anemia may put them in danger of developing necrotizing enterocolitis, a potentially lethal inflammatory disease of the intestines. However, solid evidence for the connection has been difficult to obtain in part because of the lack of a practical animal model able to accurately represent what physically occurs when a baby gets NEC.