Knowledge gap over effects of some diabetes drugs
A gap in scientific knowledge about a family of drugs that are used to treat Type 2 diabetes has been highlighted in a new study.
Research
Scan may identify best candidates for fetal spina bifida surgery
Fetuses with enlarged ventricles--the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain--may be less likely than their counterparts to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health.
New method to treat antibiotic resistant MRSA
MRSA is bad news. If you've never heard of it, here's what you need to know: It's pronounced MER-suh, it's a nasty bacterial infection and it can cause serious disease and death. Senior molecular biology major Jacob Hatch knows MRSA as the infection that took his dad's leg.
An antibody that can attack HIV in new ways
Proteins called broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) are a promising key to the prevention of infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, say researchers at California Institute of Technology.
Interview • Research
The future for big data in medicine
‘In IT we often casually say that Big Data is exactly what we can’t do yet,’ said Professor Christoph Meinel, President of Germany’s Hasso-Plattner-Institute, ruefully. We asked the computer science expert about the potential of big data in medicine and medical research.
News • Relapse
Poor survival in Leukemia linked to genetic mutations
For patients with an often-deadly form of leukemia, new research suggests that lingering cancer-related mutations – detected after initial treatment with chemotherapy – are associated with an increased risk of relapse and poor survival.
New mechanism discovered behind infant epilepsy
Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden have discovered a new explanation for severe early infant epilepsy. Mutations in the gene encoding the protein KCC2 can cause the disease, hereby confirming an earlier theory. The findings are being published in the journal Nature Communications.
Spinal manipulation works for back pain -- in some people
Researchers at the University of Alberta have found that spinal manipulation--applying force to move joints to treat pain, a technique most often used by chiropractors and physical therapists--does indeed have immediate benefits for some patients with low-back pain but does not work for others with low-back pain.
News • bacterial communities
What’s lurking in your lungs?
With every breath you take, microbes have a chance of making it into your lungs. But what happens when they get there? And why do dangerous lung infections like pneumonia happen in some people, but not others? Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School have started to answer these questions by studying the microbiome of the lungs – the community of microscopic organisms that are…
News • Malaria
Crime-Scene compound helps in fight against Malaria
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in 2013, malaria infected 198 million people and killed 584,000, the majority of whom were African children. The compound that detectives spray at crime scenes to find trace amounts of blood may be used one day to kill the malaria parasite.
Article • Microvascular resistance
Test predicts myocardial infarction outcome
Researchers have identified a new test that can be used to predict the likelihood of a patient developing heart failure, or even dying following a heart attack.
News • Neurology
Receptors in brain linked to schizophrenia, autism
The loss of a critical receptor in a special class of inhibitory neurons in the brain may be responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and schizophrenia, according to new research by Salk scientists.
News • During sleep
Could body posture affect how brain clears waste?
Stony Brook researchers publish experimental findings in the Journal of Neuroscience that show the lateral position more efficiently rids the brain of solutes that may contribute to disease.
Article • Counter-pulsation
Evidence at last
Cardiac surgeons have finally found what cardiologists had reported missing three years ago: evidence to support the use of the oldest mechanical circulatory assist devices: IABP. Nevertheless, the findings may have only limited impact.
Sponsored • Waiting for Pleasure
Brain structures involved in delayed gratification identified
Researchers at McGill University have clearly identified, for the first time, the specific parts of the brain involved in decisions that call for delayed gratification. In a paper published in the European Journal of Neuroscience, they demonstrated that the hippocampus (associated with memory) and the nucleus accumbens (associated with pleasure) work together in making critical decisions of this…
Liver damage in hepatitis C patients significantly underestimated
The number of hepatitis C patients suffering from advanced liver damage may be grossly underestimated and underdiagnosed, according to a study led by researchers at Henry Ford Health System and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scientists uncover nuclear process in the brain
NIH-funded study highlights the possible role of glial brain cells in neurological disorders.
Tetris can block cravings
Psychologists from Plymouth University and Queensland University of Technology, Australia, found that playing Tetris interfered with desires not only for food, but also for drugs, including cigarettes, alcohol and coffee, and other activities.
Article • Multimodal imaging
Imaging probe yields double insight
An organic dye that can light up cancer cells for two powerful imaging techniques providing complementary diagnostic information has been developed and successfully tested in mice by A*STAR researchers.
News • Bioreactor
Cancer treatment models get real
Researchers at Rice University and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a way to mimic the conditions under which cancer tumors grow in bones.
News • Apple
New app to recruit and track patients in clinical study
By providing tools to allow users to be more productive in working with healthcare big data, several Silicon Valley giants hope to increase their presence in medical services. The latest company to enter the field is Apple Computers. In March it announced the availability of ResearchKit, an open-source software framework that turns the iPhone into a research tool.
News • Biomarker
Urine test for early stage pancreatic cancer
A combination of three proteins found at high levels in urine can accurately detect early-stage pancreatic cancer, UK researchers have found. The discovery could lead to a non-invasive, inexpensive test to screen people at high risk of developing the disease.
News • Research
Malaria’s key to the liver uncovered
Scientists uncover a port of liver entry for malaria parasites in a report published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. If these results hold up in humans, drugs that target this entry protein might help prevent the spread of disease.
News • Medication
Arthritis drug could be used to treat blood cancer
Scientists at the University of Sheffield have discovered that a common drug given to arthritis sufferers could also help to treat patients with blood cancers.
News • Fish pathogen
Toxin from salmonid fish has potential to treat cancer
Pathogenic bacteria develop killer machines that work very specifically and highly efficiently. Scientists from the University of Freiburg have solved the molecular mechanism of a fish toxin that could be used in the future as a medication to treat cancer.