MD Anderson Research Highlights for October 4, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments at MD Anderson include a computer game that helps breast cancer survivors improve symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, a publicly available single-cell atlas of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, new targets for TP53-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a preclinical target for preventing chemobrain, a blood test to help identify patients at higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer, and genomic insights to predict the risk of outcomes in patients with bone cancer.

Bariatric surgery may reverse diabetes complications for people with obesity

For more than 100 million Americans who are obese, bariatric surgery may reverse complications related to diabetes, including regenerating damaged nerves, a Michigan Medicine study shows. Researchers say the findings suggest that bariatric surgery likely enables the regeneration of the peripheral nerves and, therefore, may be an effective treatment for millions of individuals with obesity who are at risk of developing diabetes and peripheral neuropathy.

Johns Hopkins Medicine Establishes Center Thanks to Gift from Merkin Family Foundation to Seek Better Understanding, Treatment of Damaging Nerve Disorder

Thanks to a gift from the Merkin Family Foundation, Johns Hopkins Medicine today announced plans for a new virtual center to study peripheral neuropathy, a debilitating nerve disorder that affects some 20 million people in the United States. The gift will also fund the development of innovative nerve regenerative therapies to combat the disorder.

Promising New Treatment Identified for Diabetic Patients with Chronic Pain and Numbness in Their Hands and Feet

A recent study conducted by physicians across the country shows promise for a new treatment option for patients suffering chronic pain from diabetic neuropathy. The treatment entails spinal cord stimulator implantation, a technique commonly associated with chronic back and leg pain treatment.