Data Catalog

The objective of this phase II/III randomized clinical trial is to evaluate the efficacy of vitamin D therapy versus placebo in vitamin D-deficient African-Americans with hypertension, including investigating the relationship between vitamin D and cardiac damage (as identified on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging) in a vitamin D-deficient hypertensive patients without prior history of heart disease. Data include cardiac MRI and echocardiography data, lab results (e.g., vitamin D, CBC), and patient characteristics (e.g., vital signs, demographics, health insurance, education level, household income, hypertension drug and vitamin D treatment adherence, dietary intake, sun exposure).

Glial cells play structural and functional roles central to the formation, activity and integrity of neurons throughout the nervous system. Here, using the genetic model Drosophila melanogaster, reseearchers identify a new glial cell type in one of the most active tissues in the nervous system—the retina. These cells, called ommatidial cone cells (or Semper cells), were previously recognized for their role in lens formation. Using cell-specific molecular genetic approaches, this study demonstrates that cone cells (CCs) also share molecular, functional, and genetic features with both vertebrate and invertebrate glia to prevent light-induced retinal degeneration and provide structural and physiological support for photoreceptors.