Among patients with cardiovascular disease, it’s a common complaint: a sudden, piercing pain, stiffness or tenderness in a joint that lasts for days at a time with all signs pointing to a gout attack. Gout and cardiovascular disease (CVD) appear to be intimately linked—they are frequently seen together although the underlying connection between the two...
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Many RA patients’ pain related to central nervous system
(HealthDay)—Centralized pain pathways may coexist with more established peripheral inflammation-driven pathways in some patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published in the July issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology. Neil Basu, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom, and colleagues performed an 11-minute functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)...
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Engineers decode conversations in brain’s motor cortex
How does your brain talk with your arm? The body doesn’t use English, or any other spoken language. Biomedical engineers are developing methods for decoding the conversation, by analyzing electrical patterns in the motor control areas of the brain. The new research is published online in the journal Nature Methods. In this study, the researchers...
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Mannose’s unexpected effects on the microbiome and weight gain
Scientists continue to unravel links between body weight and the gut microbiome. Now, researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) report an unexpected finding: mice fed a fatty diet and mannose, a sugar, were protected from weight gain, leaner, and more fit—and this effect tracked with changes in the gut microbiome. The study...
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Clinical gene discovery program solves 30 medical mysteries
Brigham Genomic Medicine brings together scientists and clinicians to diagnose, discover genetic underpinnings of disease and shape treatment BRIGHAM AND WOMEN’S HOSPITAL Boston, MA (September 17, 2018) A table in a recently published paper tells the story of 30 families who have, sometimes after years of searching, finally received an answer about the condition that...
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Enlarged genotype-phenotype correlation for a deletion in neurofibromatosis type 1
Examination of a larger group of patients extends the clinical manifestations first described 11 years ago for this three-base pair deletion UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – International collaborative research led by Ludwine Messiaen, Ph.D., shows that while a three-base-pair, in-frame deletion called p.Met992del in the NF1 gene has a mild phenotype for people...
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Colon cancer is caused by bacteria and cell stress
The microbiota in the intestines fuels tumor growth TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH (TUM) “With our study we originally wanted to study the role of bacteria in the intestines in the development of intestinal inflammation,” explains Professor Dirk Haller from the Department of Nutrition and Immunology at the Weihenstephan Science Centre of the TUM. “However, the...
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Glimpse: How Electronic Tattoos Will Change The World — And Ourselves
It’s the stuff of cyberpunk science fiction — tattoos adorned with flashing lights and sophisticated circuitry. They’ll monitor our vitals, we’re told, and feed us personalized health advice in real time. They’ll wire our biology to the web, and put the internet of things at — on, in — our fingertips. They’ll enhance our five...
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Coming soon, computers that will read your heart tests
Tapping into the technology behind facial recognition programs and self-driving cars, researchers in a new study have taught computers key elements of assessing echocardiograms. The advance might simplify an otherwise extensive process now done by humans. Researchers created algorithms to recognize images and potential heart problems that echocardiograms commonly capture, including enlarged chambers, diminished pumping...
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Modeling mitosis: how combining proteins could help in understanding dividing cells
A new interactive map of the proteins involved in cell division gives the ability to track how groups of proteins interact to drive the process of mitosis. Researchers from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL; Hamburg division, Germany) have created a 4D computer model for mitosis, allowing for the real-time tracking of the proteins involved....