Body
Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have discovered a 'disarmament' mechanism that protects our bodies against uncontrolled activity of the immune system. This newly identified immune control system is located in one of the most important cell types of the immune system, the neutrophil. The findings, published in Nature Immunology, could have major implications for the understanding and treatment of conditions such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and acute inflammation.
New experimental therapy may offer hope for rare genetic disorders,
as well as more common diseases
BOSTON - Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have developed a new way to alleviate problems caused by dysfunctional mitochondria, which are the "powerhouses" that produce energy in cells. Their discovery, reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology on January 13, could lead to a new treatment for rare diseases caused by "broken" mitochondria, but could also be used to develop novel therapies for more common age-associated disorders.
(Boston)--Researchers have found a way to help make chemotherapy more effective in treating colon cancer. They identified a new pathway (RICTOR/mTORC2) as a biological target for the disease. Targeted inhibition of RICTOR or the mTORC2 pathway could be used as a distinctive therapeutic opportunity with chemotherapy for treating colon cancer.
Autistic mothers are more likely to report post-natal depression compared to non-autistic mothers, according to a new study of mothers of autistic children carried out by researchers at the University of Cambridge. A better understanding of the experiences of autistic mothers during pregnancy and the post-natal period is critical to improving wellbeing. The results are published in Molecular Autism.
Every year in the United States, more than 35,000 people die and 2.8 million get sick from antibiotic-resistant infections. Now, a team led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU)'s Professor Nathalie Balaban and Shaarei Zedek Medical Center's Dr. Maskit Bar-Meir has shown that resilient bacteria may be treatable with currently-available therapies. In a study published in Science magazine, the researchers show that aggressive bacteria can be controlled - but only if doctors administer treatment within a short window of opportunity.
(Boston)-- Half of women undergoing mammography have dense breasts. Mandatory dense breast notification and educational materials have been shown to confuse women rather than empower them. Now, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) are developing a smartphone App that acts as an interactive health counselor to improve a womans' knowledge about breast density.
INFORMS Journal Information Systems Research New Study Key Takeaways:
Online restaurant reviews in addition to periodic health inspections is key to continuous good hygiene at restaurants.
Roughly 30% of all restaurants in New York City deteriorate in terms of their hygiene within 90 days of certification from the health departments.
More frequent health inspections are not feasible given the growing number of establishments.
LEBANON, NH - Obesity, a global epidemic, is a known contributor to several cancers, including breast, colon, and pancreatic. Stopping the obesity epidemic could be a critical aid in preventing and treating numerous cancers. Researchers with the laboratory of Craig Tomlinson, PhD, at Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center have found a critical target in this cause. The team discovered that a receptor found in almost all cells, called AHR, and known primarily to combat exposures to environmental chemicals, also plays a big role in the body's metabolism.
Companies, universities, and other institutions that conduct clinical trials are required to record the results of most of them in a federal database, so that doctors and patients can see whether new treatments are safe and effective. But a Science investigation has found that many persist in not reporting those results, and FDA and NIH are doing little to nothing to enforce the reporting requirement despite recent promises to the contrary.
Lead researcher Lauren Bandy and her colleagues looked at the nutritional information of a range of soft drinks in the UK, including carbonated drinks, concentrates, 100% juice, juice drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and bottled water, and combined this with sales data from 2015-2018. There has been considerable pressure on industry to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks and in April 2018, the British government introduced the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) to help tackle childhood obesity.
Lower levels of lymphocyte blood cells -- a condition called lymphopenia -- could be an early warning for future illness, as low counts were associated with a 60% increase in death from any cause, found a Danish study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
"Our study showed that participants with lymphopenia were at high risk of dying from any cause, regardless of any other risk factor for all-cause mortality including age," writes Dr. Stig Bojesen, with coauthors.
All living things are made of carbon, and sugars, e.g. glucose, are a very common source of it. Consequently, most cells are good at eating sugars, using enzymes to digest them through a series of chemical reactions that transform the initial sugar into a variety of cell components, including amino acids, DNA building blocks, and fats. Because they help these sugar-metabolism reactions run efficiently, the enzymes called biocatalysts.
With a global shortage of both blood and organ donors, QUT researchers are suggesting language used to attract donors be changed, especially for organ donor donation.
They say focussing on a sense of social obligation rather than 'gift of life term' terminology may have better cut-through with non-donors.
TAMPA, Fla. - Patients with advanced melanoma who develop metastases in the leptomeninges, the fluid filled membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, have an extremely dismal prognosis. Most patients only survive for 8 to 10 weeks after diagnosis. One reason for this poor prognosis is that very little information is known about the molecular development of leptomeningeal melanoma metastases (LMM), making it difficult to develop effective therapies. Researchers in Moffitt Cancer Center's Donald A.
DALLAS - Jan. 10, 2020 - Patients who received Mohs surgery to treat the most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma, reported a 95 percent long-term satisfaction rate with their results, according to a new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center dermatologists.