Findings
Houston, Texas
Volume 4, Issue 10
November 2006

Briefs

BCM researchers receive tumor microenvironment network grant

Three Baylor College of Medicine researchers have been awarded a $2.5 million multidisciplinary five-year grant entitled "Co-Evolution of the Reactive Microenvironment in Prostate Cancer Progression."

The grant is part of the Tumor Microenvironment Network established this year by the National Cancer Institute.

David R. Rowley, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular biology, is the principal investigator. Gustavo Ayala, M.D., and Michael Ittmann, M.D., Ph.D., professors of pathology, are co-investigators.

The TMEN will fund nine extramural centers that will collectively address the role of the tumor microenvironment in cancer progression. The BCM team will focus on the cooperative roles of reactive stroma and neurogenesis in early prostate cancer progression and will interact with the other centers to determine key mechanisms in multiple tumor systems.

Asperger's frequently confused with other psychiatric disorders

Doctors often diagnose children as having attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities or bipolar disorder when these youngsters actually have Asperger's—a developmental disorder that inhibits the ability to socialize well with others.

These misdiagnoses prevent patients from receiving proper treatment and learning important skills for success in social settings, school and relationships. While a diagnosis can be made for Asperger's disorder as early as two years of age, most children are not diagnosed until they reach middle school or later.

"There is a huge confusion over what Asperger's is and what it isn't because it has only been diagnosed by the present criteria for the past 12 years," says Dan Hoover, Ph.D., a psychologist with the Adolescent Treatment Program at The Menninger Clinic and associate professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. "Asperger's is overdiagnosed by some clinicians who are looking for it, and missed by clinicians who don't know what to look for, or who do not want to give their patients the label of having Asperger's disorder."

Fall back with ease

Still having trouble adjusting to the time change? A sleep expert offers some advice.

Daniel Glaze, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics-neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and chief of Texas Children's Hospital Sleep Clinic, says that the best thing people can do is establish a routine schedule. If your body is used to going to bed at 10 p.m., you may find yourself seeking the pillow at 9 p.m. after the time change.

Glaze recommends delaying sleep until 10 p.m. Ways to do this include staying active a bit longer and keeping bright lights turned on in your house.

Glaze does not expect many adults to have a problem with the shift. However, children may have difficulty, he said.

"The problem is that kids may wake up early and become cranky and drowsy at night," said Glaze. To reset their clocks, Glaze says to keep them up until their established bedtime. It will take about four to five days to adapt to the new routine, he said.