Polycystic disease is an inherited disease that produces multiple cysts in the kidneys and liver of children and kills 95 percent of affected babies within a day of birth. The genetically altered mouse also develops polycystic disease similar to that in human beings. Until this discovery, researchers had been unable to identify any of the genes associated with the disease. By the end of 1992 researchers expect to locate the gene which is similar to the mouse gene and may cause the disease in human beings, allowing physicians to identify carriers of the inherited disease prior to pregnancy. An area of long-term research at the college relates to blood platelet production.
Many cancer patients die from bleeding caused by too few platelets.
Developing a method to improve blood platelet production is critical. Current efforts are directed at cloning the gene for the factor, thrombopoietin, with a goal of producing sufficient quantities for patient therapy. Recent findings show that purified thrombopoietin will be useful for increasing platelet counts in cancer patients, in people undergoing bone marrow transplantation, those with AIDS or those with blood platelet disorders, such as chronic renal disease.