New research examines the effects of a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet on both rodents and humans, and suggests that it can alleviate the symptoms of gout. New research suggests that a ketogenic diet – typically consisting of meats and high-fat dairy – may protect against gout. Gout is a rheumatic disease that affects more than 8 million people...
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Unlocking the healing secrets of Komodo dragon blood
Not only is the Komodo dragon’s mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, but it contains bacteria that eventually poison any prey that gets away Downing a vial of Komodo dragon blood to fight a bacterial infection might sound like something prescribed by a meister on Game of Thrones, but new research shows that the substance might...
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FDA clears test to help manage antibiotic treatment for lower respiratory tract infections and sepsis
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared the expanded use of the Vidas Brahms PCT Assay to help health care providers determine if antibiotic treatment should be started or stopped in patients with lower respiratory tract infections, such as community-acquired pneumonia, and stopped in patients with sepsis. This is the first test to use...
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Antibiotics used to treat cystic fibrosis increases risk of permanent hearing loss
A powerful class of antibiotics provides life-saving relief for people with cystic fibrosis; however, a new study for the first time reveals the levels at which high cumulative dosages over time significantly increases the risk of permanent hearing loss in these patients. Cystic fibrosis, or CF, is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs...
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Mysterious Reason Traced To Immune Fault
Considerable time has been spent by scientists in analyzing the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. The puzzle, however, persisted without any clue whether it was a psychological or physical illness. There are one million Americans affected by this disease. Complete exhaustion makes people afflicted with CFS incapacitated to work or study. The underlying...
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Pitt study provides clues to relationship between schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis
PITTSBURGH, Feb. 24, 2017 – An in-depth computational analysis of genetic variants implicated in both schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh points to eight genes that may explain why susceptibility to one of the disorders could place individuals at lower risk for the other, according to the results of a...
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Absent tumor-suppressors allow melanoma to thwart immunotherapy
Researchers identified a set of genetic changes that predict whether melanoma patients will respond to checkpoint inhibitor therapies. It’s what’s missing in the tumor genome, not what’s mutated, that thwarts treatment of metastatic melanoma with immune checkpoint blockade drugs, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Science Translational Medicine. Whole...
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A new role for an old immune cell may lead to novel therapies for infection and cancer
A new study has identified a previously undescribed role for a type of unconventional T cell with the potential to be used in the development of new therapies for infection and cancer. The study, published today in Nature Communications, shows that Gamma Delta T cells are able to generate immunological memory against previous infections and cancerous...
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Snail venom could knock out pain – and opioid addiction
With an epidemic of addiction to opioid painkillers on the rise, researchers say they’ve found an alternative for pain relief from an unlikely source – a small snail found in the Caribbean Sea. Scientists from the University of Utah say the little cone snail Conus regius produces a venom that blocks a pain pathway different from the...
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Are ibuprofen and aspirin the cures for sepsis? Similar drugs found to prevent blood poisoning which kills thousands
Sepsis is a life-threatening inflammatory response to an infection, doctors say NSAIDs work by blocking an enzyme in the body that causes inflammation But scientists found they can also inhibit another enzyme responsible for it Sepsis can rob someone of their life in minutes. But a potentially life-saving treatment has been under our noses for...