Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences

Gulf War Illness (GWI), which affects approximately 250,000 U.S. veterans, has been found to significantly reduce the ability of white blood cells to make energy and creates a measurable biochemical difference in veterans who have the disease. The finding comes from a physician who noticed GWI symptoms paralleled those of mitochondrial diseases. Analysis revealed significantly lower levels of extracellular acidification and oxygen consumption in the white blood cells of veterans with GWI. A new Duke University-led study finds that Gulf War Illness (GWI), which affects approximately 250,000 U.S. veterans, significantly reduces their white blood cells' ability to make energy and creates a measurable biochemical difference in veterans who have the disease. "Historically, GWI has been diagnosed based on a veteran's self-reported symptoms, such as exercise-induced fatigue, indigestion, dizziness, insomnia, or memory problems. There's been no objective biochemical or molecular measurements doctors could use to diagnose it," said Joel Meyer, professor of environmental genomics at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, who led the new study. The new study provides measurements accessible in blood samples, which, though not sufficient to serve as a stand-alone diagnostic test, could be useful to help improve treatment for veterans suffering from Gulf War Illness by giving doctors a new way to assess whether a prescribed treatment is helping, Meyer said. "Knowing this is an energetic deficiency can help us zero in on more effective ways to relieve the symptoms," Meyer said. "Blood tests, repeated over the course of the treatment, would show if a veteran's white blood cells are responding to a treatment and producing more energy." He and his coauthors from Duke, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center, and the New Jersey Medical School published the new peer-reviewed paper Nov. 1 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. Their research reveals that Gulf War Illness inhibits white blood cells' energy production by impairing the workings of the cells' mitochondria, structures within the cell which extract energy from food and convert it into the chemical power needed to fuel growth, movement and other bodily processes and functions. Mitochondria are often referred to as the 'power plants' of the cell. "The idea to investigate the role mitochondria might be playing in GWI came from Mike Falvo, one of my coauthors from Veteran Affairs and the New Jersey Medical School, who had noticed that a lot of GWI symptoms were similar to those associated with mitochondrial diseases," said Meyer. "So, we analyzed mitochondrial respiration and extracellular acidification, which are proxies for energy generation, in the white blood cells of 114 Gulf War veterans, 80 of whom had been diagnosed with GWI. We also looked for evidence of mitochondrial DNA damage and nuclear DNA damage." The analyses revealed no evidence of DNA damage, but they did show significantly lower levels of extracellular acidification and oxygen consumption in the white blood cells from veterans with GWI -- signs that their mitochondria were generating less energy. Follow-up blood tests on about a third of the veterans showed that some of these levels could vary over time, but the general pattern remained: the cells of veterans with GWI produced less energy. The cause of Gulf War Illness is still unknown. To determine if environmental factors might play a role, Meyer and his colleagues turned to the veterans' surveys of self-reported symptoms and their written recollections of their deployments. "We found veterans who recalled being exposed to pesticides and pyridostigmine bromide, a drug used during the Gulf War as a pretreatment to protect troops from the harmful effects of nerve agents, were more likely to get GWI after deployment," Meyer said. "An interesting question is how these effects have persisted so long after the exposures." Coauthors on the new paper were William Pan and Ian Ryde of Duke; Thomas Alexander, Jacquelyn Klein-Adams and Duncan Ndirangu of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC); and Michael Falvo of WRIISC and the New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Science.

BOSTON, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During this past weekend's 20th biennial International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iwCLL), Susan M. O'Brien, MD, and Catherine J. Wu, MD, were awarded the Binet-Rai Medal. Since 1999, the iwCLL has presented the Binet-Rai Medal every two years to individuals and teams who help shape and enhance scientific understanding of CLL through important research and contributions. Continue Reading Kanti Rai, MD, one of the two original recipients for whom the Medal was subsequently named, had the honor of presenting this year's awards to Drs. O'Brien and Wu: "Dr. Susan O'Brien is an internationally recognized leader in the research and treatment of therapies for patients with both chronic and acute leukemias, and is a pioneer of several important therapies now regarded as the standard of care for CLL. Dr. Catherine Wu is an internationally recognized expert in the biology and treatment of lymphoid malignancies, with a primary focus on CLL. This work has culminated in ongoing clinical trials where genomic information is being used to design a personalized vaccine to test the impact on generation of an immune response and anti-tumor activity." iwCLL presents the Binet-Rai Medal to individuals who shape scientific understanding of CLL through important research. Tweet this Dr. O'Brien stated: "I'm speechless and delighted, not just that I was presented this award, but that Dr. Wu was as well. Women are beginning to be more acknowledged in this field, and I'm proud that not just one, but two women received this year's Binet-Rai Medal." Dr. Wu continued: "Dr. O'Brien and I complement one another in that our careers span the entire breath of research, from basic science to clinical development, with the aligned focus of improving the lives of patients with CLL. This award is a true honor for both of us." This year's iwCLL featured 217 research abstracts, as well as 11 unique sessions spanning different aspects of diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with CLL, including: Preclinical and translational research on the genomics, proteomics, and metabolism of CLL Discussions on the role of the microenvironment in CLL pathogenesis Roundtables on how to define success in the treatment of CLL, including perspectives from physicians, patients, epidemiologists, and others Investigations into the mechanisms of resistance to therapy Presentations on therapies in development and future therapies, including BTK degraders, cellular therapies, and bispecific antibodies Global perspectives on CLL management, including the war in Ukraine's effect on patient care iwCLL also announced that its 21st biennial meeting will occur in Krakow, Poland on September 12-15, 2025. About Susan M. O'Brien, MD Dr. O'Brien is a professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. The principal investigator for more than 100 funded clinical protocols, she led the initial clinical research into ibrutinib for patients with CLL and continues research into the use of BTK inhibitors and other therapies for patients with CLL and small lymphocytic lymphoma. Dr O'Brien has authored more than 900 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has given more than 500 lectures at national and international conferences and academic institutions. In 2020, she received the Giants of Cancer Care Award for Leukemia. Dr O'Brien received her medical degree and completed her residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (currently known as the Rutgers School of Biomedical and Health Sciences). She completed her oncology fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and joined the faculty after completion of her fellowship. About Catherine J. Wu, MD Dr. Wu is the Chief of the Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as well as a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her seminal research focuses on understanding the genomic landscape of CLL, and how the disease interacts with the immune system. Dr. Wu is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and an elected member of the Fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Association of Physicians, and the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Wu received her medical degree from Stanford University, and she completed postgraduate training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, followed by a fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare. About iwCLL The iwCLL is an international, non-profit association, which is committed to creating progress regarding the management and outcome of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia world-wide. The vision of iwCLL is a world where all patients with CLL can be cured. The iwCLL is committed to creating progress regarding the management and outcome of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia world-wide. Learn more at . SOURCE International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

THURSDAY, April 13, 2023 -- Buprenorphine treatment after nonfatal opioid-involved overdose is associated with significant decline in the risk for opioid-involved overdose death, according to a study published online March 10 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine . Hillary Samples, Ph.D., from the Rutgers Institute for Health in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and colleagues used national Medicare data to identify 81,616 adult (aged 18 to 64 years) disability beneficiaries who received inpatient or emergency treatment for nonfatal opioid-involved overdose in 2008 to 2016. The researchers found that only 6.5 percent of the sample (5,329 patients) had opioid use disorder treatment after the index overdose. Use of buprenorphine (4.6 percent) was associated with a significantly lower risk for opioid-involved overdose death (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.38; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.23 to 0.64). Opioid use disorder-related psychosocial treatment (2,405 patients; 2.9 percent) was, however, not associated with the risk for death (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.71 to 1.95). "Within the health care system, we need to expand availability and use of buprenorphine in general medical settings, including emergency departments and telehealth visits," Samples said in a statement. "Interventions that focus specifically on disadvantaged groups are needed to address disparities in treatment access. This is particularly important for patients with disabilities who potentially face greater barriers to care, like transportation difficulties or scheduling challenges related to individual or caregiver obligations at home and work." Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required) Posted April 2023