BRIEFS
WVU research leads to national children’s screening guidelines New National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines for cardiovascular disease screening in children reflect research findings of WVU pediatric cardiologist William Neal, MD. Dr. Neal heads the CARDIAC (Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities) Project, a survey of schoolage children to identify if they have risk William Neal, MD
factors for heart disease. The guidelines now recommend cholesterol screening for all children.
Protea Technology One of Top 10 Innovations
Earlier guidance suggested targeting only those with a family history of heart disease. The NHLBI says that blood cholesterol should be checked between
Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center researchers and Morgantown biotechnology
ages 9 and 11 and then be repeated
company Protea Biosciences are working together to discover why some cancer cells
between ages 17 and 21. The American
resist treatment and don’t respond to chemotherapy. The collaboration is the first to use
Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed this
Protea’s laser ablation electrospray ionization (LAESI), a technology chosen as one of
recommendation.
the top 10 innovations for 2011 by The Scientist magazine. Since 1998, the CARDIAC Project has LAESI technology simplifies sample preparation for mass spectrometry, an analytical
screened more than 100,000 West Virginia
technique that, in this case, helps identify biomolecules associated with cancer cells
children for cardiovascular disease and
and the microenvironment they live in. LAESI uses a special laser to burn a tiny hole
other health risk factors. The data showed
in an individual cell, releasing a plume of cellular particles. The plume is intersected by
that more than one-third (37%) of children
a jet of ionizing gases and analyzed in the mass spectrometer, providing a wealth of
with cholesterol levels high enough to
data on the composition of the cells. LAESI technology will be used to clarify chemical
consider medication would have been
changes and chemical signals in the microenvironments of cancer cells, providing new
missed by selective screening.
information to support development of new therapeutics. For information about the CARDIAC Project, visit www.cardiacwv.org.
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