Research discoveries revealing the genetic causes of neurological degeneration could be a key to slowing the progression of devastating diseases. A research team led by Dr Marija Kojic and Professor Brandon Wainwright from The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) and Dr Sebastian Glatt from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, made the findings...
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How Type 2 Diabetes is Similar to Mad Cow Disease
A recent study showed that misfolded protein aggregates in pancreatic tissue can act as seeds to spread type 2 diabetes processes, similar to the self-propagation of infectious prions. A large protein aggregate (green) forms in a pancreatic islet (red) from a transgenic mouse injected with extract containing misfolded IAPP (1). Some of the symptoms of...
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Opening the ‘black box,’ Google DeepMind AI system diagnoses eye diseases and shows its work
In eye care, artificial intelligence systems have shown they can match the accuracy of doctors in diagnosing specific diseases. But a new system designed by Google DeepMind and British doctors goes a crucial step further: It can show users how it reached its conclusions. A study published Monday in Nature Medicine reports that the DeepMind...
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Experts highlight new concepts and approaches to the rehabilitation of stroke
Stroke remains a leading cause of adult disability, and the global burden of stroke continues to grow with devastating consequences for patients, families, and caregivers. In this special issue of NeuroRehabilitation leading international experts on stroke rehabilitation provide theoretical and practical insights into the steps necessary to push beyond merely compensatory training and onto a level of...
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Team finds missing immune cells that could fight lethal brain tumors
Glioblastoma brain tumors can have an unusual effect on the body’s immune system, often causing a dramatic drop in the number of circulating T-cells that help drive the body’s defenses. Researchers at Duke Cancer Institute have tracked the missing T-cells in glioblastoma patients in the bone marrow, locked away and unable to function because of a...
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The simple optical illusion that could help to diagnose autism in seconds
The method involves using an optical illusion with two layers of colored dots People with autism interpret the two layers of black and white dots differently Those who the dots as two separate sheets have a more detail-orientated view This is typical of people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) People who see a three-dimensional...
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New approach to treating chronic itch
UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH Two receptors in the spinal cord and the right experimental drug: Researchers at the University of Zurich have discovered a new approach that suppresses itch. In a series of experiments in mice and dogs they successfully alleviated different forms of acute as well as chronic itch. For the latter, current treatment options are very...
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Researchers assemble ‘library of sugars’
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN THE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SCIENCES Most of us tend to think of sugar as a temptation that threatens our health. The reality is, however, that sugar is an essential component of the human body; it covers the surface of our cells and proteins and tunes the behavior and function of...
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Researchers artificially generate immune cells integral to creating cancer vaccines
Study also identifies a flaw in a current cancer therapy in clinical trials THE MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL / MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (New York, NY – August 14, 2018)– For the first time, Mount Sinai researchers have identified a way to make large numbers of immune cells that can help prevent cancer reoccurrence, according to a...
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New gene editing approach for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency shows promise
A new study by scientists at UMass Medical School shows that using a technique called “nuclease-free” gene editing to correct cells with the mutation that causes a rare liver disease leads to repopulation of the diseased liver with healthy cells. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is an inherited disease that causes liver and lung damage; the Mueller...