Abstract: New emerging technologies have proven their efficacy in aiding people in their rehabilitation. The tests that are usually used to evaluate usability (in general) or user satisfaction (in particular) of this technology are not specifically focused on virtual rehabilitation and patients. The objective of this contribution is to present and evaluate the USEQ (User...
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Nanoparticles to Deliver mRNA: Just Add Water
Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington have developed a nanoparticle messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery system to temporarily change gene expression in treated cells. Growing specific cell types in a lab and then administering them to patients is the goal of cell therapies, and these types of treatments are coming closer...
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Longtime antidepressant could slow Parkinson’s
Michigan State University scientists now have early proof that an antidepressant drug that’s been around for more than 50 years could slow the progression of Parkinson’s. In a proof-of-concept study, published in the journal Neurobiology of Disease, the drug nortriptyline, which has been used to treat depression and nerve pain, stopped the growth of abnormal proteins that can...
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Body’s own defense against ALS actually drives disease progression at later stages
Differences in disease progression in spinal interneurons, a type of nerve cell that generally succumbs to ALS in later stages of disease. Left: Normal ALS models, showing protein aggregation (red/green) in spinal interneurons.Right Columbia scientists have discovered that one of the body’s natural defenses against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—a cellular ‘clean-up process’ called autophagy—suppresses...
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Cancer immunotherapy may get a boost by disabling specific T cells
Scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor. Cancer immunotherapy drugs only work for a minority of patients, but a generic drug now used to increase blood flow may be able to improve those odds, a study by Columbia University Medical...
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Domiciliary VR-Based Therapy for Functional Recovery and Cortical Reorganization: Randomized Controlled Trial in Participants at the Chronic Stage Post Stroke
Abstract Background Most stroke survivors continue to experience motor impairments even after hospital discharge. Virtual reality-based techniques have shown potential for rehabilitative training of these motor impairments. Here we assess the impact of at-home VR-based motor training on functional motor recovery, corticospinal excitability and cortical reorganization. Objective The aim of this study was to identify...
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Doctors thought she was psychotic, but her body was attacking her brain
(CNN)Emily Gavigan was convinced that a nearby truck was following her. Someone was after her. She was a sophomore at the University of Scranton in January 2009 when the “bizarre” behavior began, said her father, Bill. Her parents noticed that she had been rambling, not making any sense. At one point, she called her family...
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Scientists discover the ‘adrenaline’ of the immune system
Innate lymphocytes (in green) surround the gut (in red). Scientists at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown and the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, in Lisbon, Portugal, have discovered that neurons located at mucosal tissues can immediately detect an infection in the organism, promptly producing a substance that acts as an “adrenaline rush” for immune...
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Immune system may mount an attack in Parkinson’s disease
A new study suggests that T cells, which help the body’s immune system recognize friend from foe, may play an important role in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study, published in the journal Nature, was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health. “This collaboration between...
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Virtual Reality Used to Study Origin of Fear and Anxiety
Our irrational fears are both very real and are also figments of our imagination. By manipulating what we think of as reality, researchers at Stanford University are working to understand the source of our anxieties and how to alleviate them. In order to do so, they built a virtual reality chamber where one’s fears can...