| U of M Alumni Association | U of M Twin Cities |
 |
| ||
| |||
|
Discoveries: U research findings Attacking African American Heart Failure University of Minnesota Medical School researchers Dr. Anne Taylor and Dr. Jay Cohn found that BiDil, a drug combining two heart failure medicines, nearly doubled the survival rates of African American heart failure patients. More than 1,000 patients at 170 sites were involved in the study, with 10.2 percent of a control group dying during the study period compared with 6.2 percent of patients receiving the new treatment. Those receiving BiDil also experienced significantly fewer hospitalizations and better quality of life. African Americans make up 11 percent of the U.S. population but 18 percent of heart failure cases. The drug used in the trial enhances nitric oxide, low levels of which are the suspected underlying cause of heart failure among African Americans. The study—which ended early, in June 2004, because of overwhelmingly positive results—was partially funded by the maker of BiDil. The results were published in the November 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Family Mealtimes and Eating Disorders The routine of sitting down to dinner as a family—making it an important, structured, and positive part of the day—may help steer adolescent girls from eating disorders. University of Minnesota researchers found that girls who ate regular family meals in such an environment were less likely to exhibit extreme weight control behaviors such as diet pill use, vomiting, and chronic dieting. The study of 4,746 Twin Cities adolescents found that modeling healthy eating habits and participating in structured family time were the most important aspects of family meals. In the study, girls who ate five family meals per week were at less than one-half the risk for extreme weight control practices as those who ate one or two family meals. An earlier study found that eating family meals correlated strongly to avoiding many types of negative health behaviors in young people, like smoking and alcohol use. The new research was published in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. Slowing Down Acute Leukemia A small clinical trial gives hope to people in the later stages of a deadly cancer called acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). University of Minnesota Cancer Center researchers used natural killer (NK) cells, a type of white blood cell, to suppress the disease temporarily. Patients then could undergo a bone marrow transplant, an effective long-term treatment. AML neutralizes a patient’s NK cells. The U breakthrough came in using NK cells from close relatives to attack the disease. These cells were similar enough to be compatible with a patient’s blood, but different enough that the disease could not quickly overwhelm them. The U team treated 19 critically ill patients who had failed all other treatments; five went into remission. Larger trials need to be done to conclusively prove the results. AML is the most common form of adult leukemia and is highly aggressive and difficult to treat. Nearly 12,000 cases were diagnosed in 2004, and nearly 8,800 people died from the disease that year. AML patients aged 65 and older have a five-year survival rate of only 4 percent. The study results were presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in November. Tidy Sums: Beautiful U Day Grants Every April, faculty, staff, and students from around the University pull together to spruce up campus. Since Beautiful U Day was established in 1997, volunteers have planted 80,000 flowering bulbs, removed 800 tons of unwanted material from U buildings, painted the Washington Avenue Bridge, worked to protect neighboring wetlands, and improved the sense of pride and community on campus. This year, the president’s office has awarded grants of $450 to $3,000 to 17 University department and student groups to fund their 2005 Beautiful U Day projects, taking place on or near April 21 (departments receiving grants are matching them 100 percent). The theme for the 2005 Beautiful U Day is “A River Runs through Us: A Celebration of the Mississippi.” Some of the groups and projects that received grants are: - Boynton Health Services and the Weisman Art Museum will commission a public artwork for the third floor lobby—the main public entrance—of the Boynton Health Services building. - The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture will host a symposium featuring talks by leading University figures and other experts in fields relating to the Mississippi River. - The Department of Environmental Health and Safety will host a speaker on sustainability issues. - The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife will plan and create a butterfly garden adjacent to Green Hall in St. Paul. - The Department of Recreational Sports will irrigate the recreational sports fields adjacent to the St. Paul gym. - The Aurora Center, which provides intervention and advocacy for victims of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking, in cooperation with the Child Care Center, will create an art project to raise awareness of domestic violence. - The Environmental Studies Club will provide demonstrations of eco-friendly materials at sites on the East Bank and the St. Paul campus. - The Environmental Studies Club will install and investigate the efficacy of rooftop gardens through a research project on the West Bank. - MacLaurin Students, a Christian student group, in cooperation with Al-Madinah Cultural Center, an Islamic student group, will create a “friendship bench” on the East Bank. - The U–YMCA will gather volunteers to clean up along the river. Extra Credit for Incoming Freshmen Minnesota has been recognized as offering high school students a number of ways to accumulate college credits before they start college. At the University of Minnesota, almost half of entering freshmen—52 percent in 2003 and 50 percent in 2004—have accumulated an everage of almost nine credits prior to arriving. Source: The University’s Institutional Research and Reporting and the Office for Multicultural and Academic Affairs Overheard on Campus “Financially, it’s an emergency. Biologically, it is essentially closing the barn doors after the horses have escaped.” —Janna Beckerman, plant pathology professor at the University, quoted in the Pioneer Press about the recent rise in Dutch elm disease in the Twin Cities that will require the costly removal of nearly 10,000 trees a year. “The question, though, is to what extent the election will work to reduce the anger and rage that had led to the insurgency.” —Ragui Assaad, a professor at the University’s Humphrey Institute and an expert on economic issues in the Middle East, quoted in the Star Tribune two days after the January 30 elections in Iraq, which he considered a success. “We’ll know we’ve reached equality when there are as many mediocre women in high positions as there are mediocre men in high positions.” —Envoy Communications founder and president Deborah Cundy during a Carlson School of Management roundtable discussion on women in business, as quoted in Carlson School magazine. “You don’t need to own a newspaper. You don’t need to be a big name. You need insights and views that are shared by others. It’s democratizing because the barriers to communication have fallen.” —Larry Jacobs, political science professor at the University, quoted in the Pioneer Press on the increasing popularity of blogs, or Web logs. | |||||||||||||
|
Last modified on 2/23/2005 3:22:01 PM ©2009 by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is an equal opportunity educator and employer. | Trouble seeing the text? | Contact Alumni Association | Privacy |
Print View