Patients taking diuretics are often at risk for low potassium levels, which can put patients at an increased risk of death from cardiac arrhythmias or other causes. However, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that taking prescription potassium supplements can reduce these patients’ risk by nearly 10 percent...
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Tampering with the Brakes
We’ve all seen these people. Maybe at one point in time we’ve actually been these people: messy, falling-down drunk, slurring and incoherent, precariously close to catastrophe … and asking the bartender for another shot. For the majority of us who imbibe, there is a certain point at which we stop pounding the drinks, and many...
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Dementia eliminates the ability to daydream, sufferers are “stuck in the moment”
Daydreaming, thinking about the past, planning for the future, or just letting your mind wander off from the current moment occupies our thoughts for a large part of every day. However, a new study has revealed patients suffering from a specific kind of early-onset dementia may have completely lost the ability to do this and...
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Long periods of sedentary behavior may increase cardiovascular risk in older women
A new study has found that the longer older women sit or lay down during the course of a day—and the longer the individual periods of uninterrupted sitting—the greater their risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. But reducing their sedentary time by just an hour a day appears to lower the...
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Using anti-cancer immunotherapy to fight HIV
Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have shown that immunotherapy treatments against cancer could reduce the amount of virus that persists in people on triple therapy. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, they show, in the cells of people living with HIV, how these therapies reveal the virus—until...
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New study in mice reveals unexpected place for learning, memory in the brain
Columbia research demonstrates that the brain’s primitive sensory region also participates in sophisticated learning THE ZUCKERMAN INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NEW YORK — Columbia neuroscientists have revealed that a simple brain region, known for processing basic sensory information, can also guide complex feats of mental activity. The new study involving mice demonstrated that cells in...
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Hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis, prognosis and treatment may improve by identifying a protein
Analysing the levels of a protein called TonEBP could provide valuable insight into the likelihood of recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma, an aggressive cancer of the liver, following its surgical removal. Drugs that target TonEBP could also be investigated for liver cancer treatment. Tonicity-responsive enhancer-binding protein (TonEBP) helps protect cells from stress, but also elevates the...
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Is the keto diet safe? USC experts have some serious concerns
The keto diet—a high fat, moderate protein, very low carbohydrate plan—might be eclipsing paleo and Whole30 as the hot diet trend of 2019. The diet calls for cutting out major groups of foods, such as grains, legumes and dairy and sometimes cutting back on certain nutrient-rich vegetables. The idea is to get your body to...
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Potential link between vitamin D deficiency and loss of brain plasticity
Perineuronal nets (bright green) surround particular neurons (blue). Fluorescence labelling reveals just how detailed these structures are. Credit: Phoebe Mayne, UQ University of Queensland research may explain why vitamin D is vital for brain health, and how deficiency leads to disorders including depression and schizophrenia. Associate Professor Thomas Burne at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute led...
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Inflammation: Study explains loss of protective abilities of T cells
First author of the study Dr. Garima Garg (left) and Dr. Andreas Muschaweckh, two scientists of the Experimental Neurimmunology at TUM, are working with a flow cytometer (FACS, Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting). Credit: Astrid Eckert / Technical University of Munich (TUM) Regulatory T cells (Tregs) ensure that immune responses are not too strong and that inflammation...