Oct

UNC researchers: Early treatment of schizophrenia patients results in greater response to antipsychotic treatment

CHAPEL HILL -- For many years, a debate has raged among psychiatrists over whether or not early intervention after a schizophrenia patient's first episode of psychosis could improve the person's long-term outcome.

UNC Lineberger receives one of seven large NCI grants for small science

CHAPEL HILL -- The National Cancer Institute has named the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center as one of seven institutions nationwide in the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer.

Test predicts risk of liver scarring after transplant, study shows

CHAPEL HILL -- An estimated 20 percent of people with chronic hepatitis C who receive a liver transplant will develop advanced cirrhosis, scarring of the new organ severe enough to impair its ability to function normally within five years of transplantation.

UNC study: Acupuncture is helpful when added to standard medical treatment for headache

CHAPEL HILL -- People who received acupuncture in addition to standard medical treatment for chronic daily headache fared better than those who received medical treatment alone, a clinical trial conducted at UNC Hospitals has found.

Study: Failure of initial antibiotic therapy leads to higher mortality rates, increased costs

CHAPEL HILL -- Research conducted by a team of investigators, including Dr. David J. Weber of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Division of Infectious Diseases, shows that the failure of initial intravenous antibiotic therapy in hospital patients with complicated skin and skin structure infections may cost the U.S. health-care system more than $800 million each year and result in increased patient deaths.

Altering time of sentinel lymph node biopsy may improve process for women contemplating mastectomy reconstruction

CHAPEL HILL -- Altering the standard step-by-step procedure that takes women facing a mastectomy from diagnosis to surgery to reconstruction can improve the process and help in determining if immediate reconstruction is the best course of action, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Community Independent School of Chatham County hosts Alex's Lemonade Stand

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.-- Shortly before her first birthday, Alexandra "Alex" Scott was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer. In the year 2000, when Alex was just four years old, she told her parents she wanted to have a lemonade stand in her front yard. She surprised everyone when she announced her plan - to donate the money from her stand to "her hospital" to help the doctors find a cure for all kids with cancer.

UNC study finds protein is required for human chromosome production

CHAPEL HILL -- Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have identified an elusive protein that performs a necessary step in the production of human chromosomes.

National agency selects UNC for one of 13 centers to compare treatments, put them into practice

CHAPEL HILL - The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has selected the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to conduct studies testing what treatments work best for particular health conditions - and with the goal of promoting better patient outcomes.

UNC research team identifies gene variant indicating women who need more choline in diet

CHAPEL HILL -- Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a common gene variation that occurs in about one-third of all premenopausal woman, a variant that greatly increases susceptibility to dietary deficiency of the essential nutrient choline.

Carolina Club art show and sale to benefit N.C. Children's Hospital

CHAPEL HILL -- The opening night reception for the ninth annual Paint-by-Members Art Show and Sale will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Carolina Club, in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center at the intersection of Stadium Drive and Ridge Road on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

Clinical director of national institute to be new chairman of psychiatry at UNC

Dr. David Rubinow has been selected as the next chairman of the department of psychiatry in UNC's School of Medicine. Rubinow, who currently is chief of the Behavioral Endocrinology Branch and clinical director of the National Institute of Mental Health's Intramural Research Program, will assume his new position at UNC on Jan. 1.

Cohen receives society's highest honor for lifetime achievement in research

Dr. Myron S. Cohen, J. Herbert Bate distinguished professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology in UNC's School of Medicine and of epidemiology in UNC's School of Public Health, has received the 2005 Thomas Parran Award from the American Venereal Disease Association.

9/11 survivors Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian and Mel Birdwell to speak at 14th burn survivors' reunion Oct. 29

CHAPEL HILL -- Two survivors of the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon are the keynote speakers for the 14th adult burn survivors' reunion, sponsored by the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals.

Snoopy the Flying Ace Soars into Area Kohl's to Benefit Children's Health and Education Opportunities

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. -- For a limited time, Triangle area Kohl's Stores are offering exclusive collector's editions of Peanuts Books A Charlie Brown Christmas, I Want a Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown! and Snoopy: Flying Ace to the Rescue. Kohl's is also offering exclusive Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock plush characters and coordinating outfits.

New discovery: if it weren't for this enzyme, decomposing pesticide would take millennia

CHAPEL HILL -- An enzyme inside a bacterium that grows in the soil of potato fields can -- in a split second -- break down residues of a common powerful pesticide used for killing worms on potatoes, researchers have found.