From: ITNDaily Subject: Mount Sinai In The News - August 1, 2018 Date: Wednesday, August 01, 2018 12:47:01 PM Attachments: ATT00001.txt In the News August 1, 2018 UPI – August 1 Study: Certain Drug Cocktails Better Attack Cancer, Lessen Side Effects — Allen Cone Certain drug cocktails attack cancer more efficiently and lessen common side effects, according to a study Researchers at Mount Sinai studied the combination of chemotherapy, anti-tumor antibiotics and chemical compounds at low doses, called "network break" cocktails. Their findings were published Wednesday in the journal Cell Research. "Our work addresses the central question faced by physicians who treat cancer patients: how do targeted therapies both promote resistance in cancer cells and evoke toxic side effects in patients?" Tirtha K. Das, MD, assistant professor of cell, developmental and regenerative biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in a news release. - Tirtha K. Das, MD, Assistant Professor, Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: www.upi.com/Health_News/2018/08/01/Study-Certain-drug-cocktails-better-attack-cancer- lessen-side-effects/9281533124877/ Infectious Disease Advisor – August 1 Increased Levels of Human Herpesvirus ID'd in Alzheimer's Subjects with Alzheimer's disease have increased levels of two strains of human herpesvirus. Ben Readhead, MBBS, biomedical informatics research scientist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues constructed multiscale networks of the late-onset Alzheimer's disease-associated virome, integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and histopathological data across four brain regions using tissue from human postmortem samples. The researchers found that, compared with controls, subjects with Alzheimer's disease had increased human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and HHV-7. In two additional, independent, and geographically dispersed cohorts, these results were replicated. - Benjamin P. Readhead, MBBS, Biomedical Informatics Research Scientist, Icahn Institute for Multiscale Biology, Institute for Next Generation Healthcare, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/sexually-transmitted-diseases/increased-levels- of-human-herpes-alzheimers/article/784373/ Laboratory Equipment – August 1 Scientists Mapped Magnetic Particles in the Human BrainX — Ludwig Maximilians Many living organisms, such as migratory birds, are thought to possess a magnetotactic sense that enables them to respond to the Earth's magnetic field. Whether or not humans are capable of sensing magnetism is the subject of debate. However, several studies have already shown that one of the preconditions required for such a magnetic sensory system is indeed met: magnetic particles exist in the human brain. In collaboration with Patrick Hof, MD, professor of neuroscience, geriatrics and palliative medicine, and ophthalmology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, they also hope to perform analogous localization studies on far larger mammals like whales. These huge marine mammals are known to migrate between feeding and breeding grounds across great distances in the world's oceans. - Patrick Hof, MD, Professor, Neuroscience, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2018/08/scientists-mapped-magnetic-particles- human-brain Patch.com – July 31 These Are The Best Employers For Women In NYC — Adam Nichols A new list from Forbes ranks the best employers for women in America. Of the nation's 300 best companies for women, almost 10 percent are in New York City. A ranking put together by Forbes identified 29 city-based companies as being outstanding for their female employees. Its conclusions were based on surveys of thousands of workers and focused on things like parental leave and pay equity. One of the companies that made the cut was Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/these-are-best-employers-women-nyc Psychiatric Times – July 31 Addressing Depression: The World’s Largest Health Problem — James Murrough, MD, PhD Depression is the world’s largest health problem, accounting for more disability than any other disease worldwide. Many patients with major depressive disorder are never diagnosed, and those who are diagnosed may not receive adequate treatment due to factors that include stigma, lack of understanding of the medical nature of depression in the community, and access to care. James Murrough, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, and director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai writes that despite the scope and magnitude of the problem, the field may be witnessing a turning point in our capacity to understand and treat depression. “Despite the sobering scale of the problem, tangible progress in depression research and treatment should encourage optimism in clinicians and patients alike. With continued work, the future will continue to brighten.” - James Murrough, MD, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Director, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/special-reports/addressing-depression-worlds-largest- health-problem Cure Today – July 31 Two Large Trials Investigate Combination Immunotherapy In Bladder Cancer — Brielle Urciuoli With five immunotherapy drugs approved in the bladder cancer space, the next question researchers find themselves asking is whether these drugs would work better alone or as part of a combination for patients with metastatic disease. Two clinical trials – Imvigor130 and CheckMate-901 – may soon provide that answer. “The takeaway from the first-line trials in metastatic bladder cancer is the questions that are being asked right now are very practical, straightforward questions, but they are questions that can only be answered in the context of a large, randomized clinical trial,” said Matthew Galsky, MD, professor of medicine, urology, hematology and medical oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We can speculate about that all we want, but the only way to determine those answers definitively is through prospective clinical trials,” he added. - Matthew Galsky, MD, Professor, Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: https://www.curetoday.com/articles/two-large-trials-investigate-combination- immunotherapy-in-bladder-cancer Medical Xpress – July 31 Scientists May Have Cleared Gene Therapy Hurdle Scientists may have found a way to slip a special type of disease-fighting virus past the guard of the body's immune system and into targeted cells where it can do its intended work, according to new research. A harmless virus called adeno-associated virus, or AAV, has the ability to help the body. It can deliver therapeutic genetic material into whatever damaged or diseased cells it’s been genetically engineered to target. But the AAV first needs to make it past the antibodies that want to shut it down. Researchers may have found a way to do just that, said Marta Adamiak, senior research associate in the department of medicine and the division of cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the lead investigator on a study. She discussed the research at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions meeting in San Antonio. Adamiak said researchers discovered that encasing the AAV inside containers, often called vesicles or exosomes that are naturally secreted from cells can help the virus travel easily without being detected by antibodies. - Marta Adamiak, Senior Research Associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-scientists-gene-therapy-hurdle.html Healio: Endocrine Today – July 31 Experts Push For Transgender Health Priorities In Congressional Briefing— Regina Schaffer There is a “durable, biological underpinning” to gender identity that should be considered in any policy determinations that impact transgender people, including antidiscrimination legislation and the coverage of medically necessary treatments for gender incongruence, according to several speakers at an Endocrine Society congressional briefing on transgender health. Despite years of growing awareness of transgender people, and even transgender celebrities, only recently has a noticeable shift begun among the public regarding how to best approach treating people with gender incongruence, said Joshua Safer, MD, executive director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai, during a briefing. That shift, he said, is due in part to an increasing evidence base that points to the biological underpinnings of gender identity. “The establishment medical community recognizes better than it ever did before the biology of gender identity,” Dr. Safer said. - Joshua Safer, MD, Executive Director of The Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai, Senior Faculty, Endocrinology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more: https://www.healio.com/endocrinology/practice-management/news/online/%7B6857cf2f- 1205-45e8-b630-dcbec10d11f7%7D/experts-push-for-transgender-health-priorities-in-congressional- briefing