Researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas are working on new ways to diagnose and treat diseases, including early-onset colorectal cancer, lung cancer, cocaine addiction and lymphatic diseases.
A closer look
Research on early-onset colorectal cancer could guide new approaches to preventing and treating the disease, which has been rising steadily in younger patients over the last 30 years, according to a news release from UT Dallas.
Bioengineers at the university found that younger patients with colorectal cancer have distinctive colon features compared to older patients, which could contribute to the early-onset disease.
According to the release, researchers found that both cancerous and noncancerous colon tissue was mechanically stiffer in patients under 50, compared to older patients with colorectal cancer.
“If we can understand how physical forces fuel colorectal-cancer progression, then we can actually think about early diagnosis and, possibly, therapy,” bioengineering assistant professor Jacopo Ferruzzi said in the release. “More importantly, we can ask the question: How do we stop people from developing cancer that early in life?”
Diving in deeper
Research at UT Dallas on chronic cocaine use and its impact on the brain could also guide future treatments for addiction, according to a news release from the university.
Researchers found that chronic cocaine use increases a certain protein in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for forming long-term memories. That protein alters neuron activity and fuels the drive to seek the drug.
Andrew Eagle, assistant professor of neuroscience, said in the release that the protein may be rewiring memory in the brain to help drive addictive behavior. Based on the protein’s process in the brain, Eagle aims to identify areas for targeted pharmaceutical intervention to manage addiction.
“Addicts have a difficult path to tread,” Eagle said in the release. “Relapse is high, withdrawal can be severe, and long-term abstinence is hard to do. Reversing these changes in memory would require a surgically precise tool that does not yet exist.”
Also of note
UT Dallas researchers developed a biosensor technology that, when combined with artificial intelligence, could potentially be used to detect lung cancer through breath analysis, according to a news release from the university.
“We built a screening tool that could allow physicians to catch the disease in its early phases, which improves outcomes,” said Shalini Prasad, professor and department head of bioengineering, in the release. “This technology offers a potentially affordable, quick and noninvasive breath analysis tool for cancer screening.”
The biosensor identifies eight compounds in an individual’s breath that are potential indicators of thoracic cancers, which include lung and esophageal cancer. In a collaboration with UTD computer science researchers, AI can analyze the biochemical characteristics of the compounds to determine whether they are a match for cancer.
Breath tests for lung cancer would help in early detection of the disease at a relatively low cost to patients.
According to the release, Prasad and her team will continue working on the breath analysis device. Eventually, the test could be found in primary care provider offices and given during annual physicals.
Looking ahead
A team of researchers at the university are set to receive up to $3.3 million over five years for research on diagnosing lymphatic diseases.
Lymphatic diseases affect roughly 10 million people in the United States and are difficult to diagnose because no single test can see a body’s entire network of lymph vessels. According to a news release from the university, UT Dallas researchers will join a program working to develop a comprehensive diagnostic toolkit that health care providers can use during routine physical exams to detect lymphatic disorders earlier.
Researchers at UT Dallas will work to identify molecules in the body that could signal the presence of lymphatic diseases.
“Lymphatic disease is understudied, and research in this area is not as well funded as some other diseases,” research scientist Vinit Sheth said in the release. “It’s great to be able to work on this research, which could help a lot of people.”
