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July 2004
Volume 68 |
Number 7 |
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| New Annual
Meeting Plenary Session on Translational Research |
Nobel Prize winner Louis J. Ignarro, Ph.D., will speak
on “Nitric Oxide as a Unique Signaling Molecule in
Biology” during a plenary session to be inaugurated
at the 2004 Annual Meeting. The session will take place
on Tuesday, October 26, from 12 noon to 12:50 p.m. at the
Las Vegas Hilton. Tickets are not required. Dr. Ignarro
is the Jerome J. Belzer, M.D., Distinguished Professor of
Pharmacology, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology,
University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine,
Los Angeles, California.
Dr. Ignarro and two other researchers received the 1998
Nobel Prize in Medicine for their three major discoveries
involving nitric oxide as a unique signaling molecule in
the cardiovascular system. In 1972 he discovered that nitric
oxide causes vasodilation and inhibition of thrombosis,
which leads to improved arterial and venous blood flow.
In 1986 he confirmed that blood vessels produce nitric oxide,
the active ingredient in nitroglycerin, a drug commonly
used in cardiovascular medicine. Experiments in 1990 led
to the discovery that nitric oxide is the neurotransmitter
responsible for penile erection. The discovery led to the
development of sildenafil (Viagra®), the
first oral medication for the effective treatment of erectile
dysfunction.
His discoveries created an explosion of research involving
nitric oxide. In 1986, a dozen papers on nitric oxide were
published. Just 10 years later, approximately 7,600 papers
were published on this subject. His observations with nitric
oxide have facilitated understanding of protective mechanisms
for the cardiovascular system against pathological conditions
such as hypertension, stroke, coronary artery disease and
other forms of atherosclerosis and vascular complications
of diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders.
He founded the Nitric Oxide Society in 1996 and serves as
its president. He also founded and serves as editor-in-chief
for the scientific journal Nitric Oxide Biology and
Chemistry.
Dr. Ignarro’s laboratory at the David Geffen School
of Medicine at UCLA has never been larger than eight or
nine people. Throughout his career, funding for the laboratory
has come from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and
local heart associations. In 2000 he testified before Congress
on the importance of NIH funding for basic science research.
His testimony included the statement that only in America
could the son of an uneducated carpenter receive the Nobel
Prize in Medicine.
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