RESEARCH ROUNDUP

A commonly used antidepressant significantly relieves depression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy but has less effect on fatigue, according to a study led by researcher Gary Morrow, professor of radiation oncology and psychiatry.

Results of the study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and conducted by community physicians nationwide, suggest that fatigue in some patients may be more related to a patient's cancer and its treatment rather than depression.

Previous studies in the general population and several surveys of cancer patients have associated depression with increased fatigue, and animal models of low serotonin levels have also demonstrated a common link. But, in this study, researchers found that while Paxil significantly alleviated depression, the drug's effect on fatigue was not significant.

"Our results show that depression and fatigue do not seem as closely related in cancer patients as we once thought, especially in patients receiving chemotherapy," said Morrow. "This study demonstrates we can successfully treat depression in cancer patients, but an effective intervention for fatigue remains to be shown."

Blood flow protects heart

The frictional force and pressure of blood flowing through the heart's main arteries may stimulate cell changes that ultimately protect the body against atherosclerosis, commonly known as "hardening of the arteries," Medical Center researchers have discovered.

A team at the Center for Cardiovascular Research led by Bradford Berk found that high-risk areas seemed to be linked with turbulent blood flow due to irregular stress or strain on the blood vessel wall, whereas low-risk areas experience a steady flow that seemed to protect against atherosclerosis.

For more information, see www.rochester.edu/pr/News/blood_flow.html.

Study probes blood cell origin

University researchers have discovered the generation of cells close to a mouse's blood stem cells, providing insight into the origins of blood cells that circulate in our bodies.

James Palis of Children's Hospital at Strong and his team have pinpointed the generation of blood cells in the yolk sac--an organ that lies outside of a developing body and is the site where the embryo's first mature blood cells are produced.

Once the initial development of the blood system is better understood, it might offer answers about how and why blood stem cells produce leukemia, sometimes even before a child is born.

The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Institutes of Health has just provided $1 million for the next phase of the project, which begins this summer and involves identifying the source of the blood's stem cells.

For more information, see www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/News/blood.html

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