Toxic protein assemblies, or “amyloids,” long considered to be key drivers in many neuromuscular diseases, also play a beneficial role in the development of healthy muscle tissue, University of Colorado Boulder researchers have found. Physician-scientists and competitive runners Josh Wheeler left, and Thomas Vogler on the summit of Long’s Peak in Colorado. Credit: CU Boulder...
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Breakthrough Neurotechnology for treating paralysis
Three patients with chronic paraplegia were able to walk thanks to precise electrical stimulation of their spinal cords via a wireless implant. In a double study published in Nature and Nature Neuroscience, Swiss scientists Grégoire Courtine (EPFL and CHUV/Unil) and Jocelyne Bloch (CHUV/Unil) show that after a few months of training, the patients were able...
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Researchers discover new clues on how sleep works in the brain
Star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes appear to play an essential role in sleep, a new study by scientists from the Washington State University Sleep and Performance Research Center confirms. Published today in PLOS Genetics, their study shows that astrocytes communicate to neurons to regulate sleep time in fruit flies and suggests it may do the...
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Specific CD8 T cell states may indicate response to immune checkpoint therapy for melanoma
A multi-institutional research team, led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, has identified specific states of cytotoxic CD8 T cells that are associated with patient response to checkpoint immunotherapy for melanoma. Their report published in the journal Cell also identifies specific marker proteins associated with these...
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Nanoparticles and Microneedles for Painless Vaccinations
At Leiden University in The Netherlands, research is being done on making vaccinations easier and more effective. Currently, needles are commonly used and no one, particularly children, is happy about that. Microneedles patches have been developed in the past, but while they’re effective in some applications, they suffer from many limitations. At Leiden University one...
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Sensitive tests suggest low risk of drug resistance with dapivirine ring
New results presented at HIVR4P finds no dapivirine-associated resistance detected among women who acquired HIV while using dapivirine vaginal ring in ASPIRE MICROBICIDE TRIALS NETWORK MADRID, October 24, 2018 – A monthly vaginal ring that slowly releases an antiretroviral (ARV) drug called dapivirine is currently undergoing regulatory review. If approved, the dapivirine ring would be the first biomedical HIV prevention method developed...
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Primary care doctors ‘not doing enough’ to curb STDs
October 23, 2018 by Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News Julie Lopez, 21, has been tested regularly for sexually transmitted diseases since she was a teenager. But when Lopez first asked her primary care doctor about screening, he reacted with surprise, she said. “He said people don’t usually ask. But I did,” said Lopez, a college...
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GO2SLEEP: AI-Powered Device for Restful Sleep
The Go2Sleep Home Sleep Test is a revolutionary device on monitoring and improving your sleep quality. It elevates comfort while maintaining almost the same detecting accuracy of a pulse oximeter, but with a lot more key information. The precise data gathered would then help generate a comprehensive sleep report, just for you. Based on the...
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Protein found in patients with severe asthma can help identify who would benefit from targeted drugs
In a novel study, researchers succeeded in identifying patients with a form of severe asthma (type 2 endotype) by measuring periostin concentrations in their airways. These patients with the type 2 (T2) endotype may benefit from newly developed targeted treatments that have the potential to transform their quality of life, report researchers in the journal...