Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona
St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Named to the "Best of the Best" Honor Roll
St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center was again recognized in 2008 by U.S. News & World Report as one of the United States' top ten hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery.
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Dr. Ron Lukas Awarded NIH Subcontract Grant
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded St. Joseph’s a $120,000 subcontract to study new nicotine-related compounds that may be useful to aid smoking cessation as treatments for depression.
Throughout the next year, researchers led by Ronald J. Lukas, Ph.D., vice president of Research at St. Joseph’s, and Alan P. Kozikowski, Ph.D., at the University of Illinois, will use grant money to synthesize new medications and test their activity in different types of nicotine receptors. The study may identify medications that affect types of nicotine receptors in the brain that are responsible for nicotine dependence and other effects such as relief from depression, anxiety, and memory problems.
Barrow’s research on nicotine receptors uniquely positions the scientists to collaborate with medicinal chemists and behavioral biologists to help bring new medications to the market.
“Mental health problems occur in approximately 50 percent of smokers and the nicotine risk of a young adolescent with a history of depression is three times higher than the risk of someone without a history of depression,” says Dr. Lukas. “Based on the study, medications that collectively aid smoking cessation and combat depression may be created.”
Visit Dr. Lukas' Laboratory of Neurochemistry
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