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John Goudreau leads one of 51 clinical centers investigating whether the nutritional supplement creatine can slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Pilot studies suggest creatine, which supports energy production in brain cells affected by the disease, may be effective. The large, controlled clinical trial aims to determine if the drug prevents progression of the disease to later stages where management of symptoms becomes more difficult. When Arshad Majid gave mice the dietary supplement carnosine before a stroke, he found that severity of the stroke was consistently reduced by as much as half. The substance, which occurs naturally in brain and muscle tissue, even helps after onset of stroke symptoms, reducing severity up to 40 percent. If the effect transfers to people, the nontoxic substance could reduce incidence of disability associated with stroke. Downy mildew can kill a melon, cucumber, or yellow squash crop in seven to ten days. The fungus reproduces via microscopic spores that thrive in humid, wet weather and spread quickly. Mary Hausbeck conducted trials to help growers determine which fungicide would work best to control the devastating disease. Frequent spraying will control crop damage but cause production costs to increase substantially. A new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit, the first in Malawi, means the country’s single radiologist can send images to MSU for evaluation. And Terrie Taylor can look at brain activity of living malaria patients rather than depending on autopsy results to learn how the disease affects the brain. So far autopsy studies of children show that some of them died from unrelated infections or diseases. Better diagnoses will mean better treatment. Like people, more dogs and cats than ever are being diagnosed with cancer—as many as half after age 10. Barbara Kitchell found that dogs have a particularly high incidence of osteosarcoma and it closely resembles the bone cancer that afflicts children. She directs a new clinic where such companion animals have access to the newest diagnostic procedures and medications in clinical trials that can translate to care for human patients. |
John Goudreau, associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology, 517-353-8122 Mary Hausbeck, professor of plant pathology, 517-355-4534 Barbara Kitchell, professor of small animal clinical sciences, 517-353-5420 Arshad Majid, associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology, 517-353-8122x140 Terrie Taylor, University Distinguished Professor of internal medicine, 517-353-8975 |
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