Nebraska

Nebraska Medicine researchers making strides in Alzheimer’s treament

Published

2 years ago

January 3, 2024

Nebraska Medicine researchers making strides in Alzheimer’s treament

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Nebraska Medicine and UNMC have been leaders in health and research for decades, and now, the institution is touting its accomplishments when it comes to reducing and reversing the effects and severity of Alzheimer’s.

Inside the walls of the Durham Research Center on UNMC’s campus, research is being done and breakthroughs are being made that could eventually change the lives of millions.

“I think if one has to look at all medical science, medical research, medical investigations, medical therapeutics and pick one that they would like to have a major impact on, it would be neurodegenerative diseases,” said Dr. Howard Gendelman, a UNMC professor of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine.

Dr. Gendelman has dedicated more than two decades to neurodegenerative research, namely, Alzheimer’s.

“So why Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer’s disease is not simply a disease that affects a single person. It affects a family and it affects a community,” Dr. Gendelman said.

The research started with a simple thought: When you scrape your elbow, your immune system responds with redness, swelling, and some pain. After that, your body starts to make repairs to the affected area.

“We reasoned, why can’t we take this simple repair mechanism that is operative on a day-to-day basis in millions of people and look at ways we can harness that to repair the brain in the face of neurodegenerative disease?” said Dr. Gendelman.

So, that’s exactly what the doctor and his team started working towards.

But there were two major obstacles.

The first was simply identifying, isolating, and studying which cells are involved in repairing injuries, like that scraped elbow. After identifying the cells, the next obstacle was figuring out how to get them to respond specifically to the brain.

They found the answer in genetic engineering. Simply put, they’re training the cells to learn a new function, like teaching a dog a new trick.

“We were able to change the repertoire of these immunological cells,” Dr. Gendelman said. “We’re able to get these cells into the area of the brain, have them grow in that area of the brain and ultimately repair the damage that has occurred and improve cognitive function and improve the neurological manifestations of the disease and clear the cause, these plaques that form as Alzheimer’s evolves over time.”

This process is what sets UNMC’s research apart from other Alzheimer’s research and therapies, Gendelman says.

The cellular therapy was then tested, and it did what they hoped and hypothesized that it would do. Dr. Gendelman and his team tested it on mice with the disease and reported that infected mice saw improvements in cognitive function, like learning and memory.

Now, Gendelman says they have the tools, research, and resources to test the therapy in humans, but need to wait for approval from overarching health organizations like NIH and FDA.

It will take time, but they hope to begin human testing in the next two to three years.

“Our biggest reflection of why we do what we do is to say that we’ve made a difference, we’ve made this world better than before we were here before we were involved,” Dr. Gendelman said.

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Nebraska

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Published

5 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Iowa coach Ben McCollum met with the media following his team’s 77-71 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers led by three at the half but Iowa was able to outscore Nebraska 34-25 in the second half.

Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and played for all 40 minutes.

Iowa shot 52% (27-52) from the floor, 43% (13-30) from beyond the arc and 83% (10-12) from the free throw line. Nebraska struggled shooting 41% (24-58) from the field, 34% (13-38) from the 3-point line and 91% (10-11) from the charity stripe.

The Hawkeyes’ head coach acknowledged that his team had a poor start but a great finish and said that his team will need to play better to advance beyond the Elite Eight.

Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.
I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.
But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.
And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.

Iowa advances to the Elite Eight with the victory. Nebraska’s season ends with a record of 28-7.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

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Nebraska

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

Published

17 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.

Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.

Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.

Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.

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CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.

CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.

These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.

It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.

There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.

CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.

Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.

In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

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