Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by alterations in brain connectivity, i.e., patients present a dysfunction related to the synchronization of activity between different groups of neurons, as evidenced by recent research. In a study published this month in the journal Cerebral Cortex, researchers belonging to three CIBER groups of Mental Health (CIBERSAM) led by Jesús...
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Dietary factors affecting gut microbiome may influence response to immunotherapy in melanoma patients
Among melanoma patients treated with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, consumption of a high-fiber diet was associated with higher gut microbiome diversity and better response to treatment, according to data presented during a media preview of the AACR Annual Meeting 2019, to be held March 29-April 3 in Atlanta. “We found that diet and supplements appear to have...
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Adipocyte glucocorticoid receptors play a role in developing steroid diabetes
Steroids are used for treating various diseases such as allergic disorders, but they occasionally cause adverse effects, such as steroid diabetes and other metabolic disturbances. Since steroids act throughout the body, how these adverse effects are caused and by which organ are not well understood. Researchers at Osaka University focused on glucocorticoid receptors (GRs), the...
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Lipid-filled particle may work with immune system to keep fat healthy
Researchers have discovered that fat tissue releases a lipid-filled particle that has a role in immune function and metabolism. The study, in mice, was published online in the journal Science. Obesity appears to activate the immune system, contributing to type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and other disorders. Understanding how fat tissue regulates immune...
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Data sharing uncovers five new risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease
Analysis of genetic data from more than 94,000 individuals has revealed five new risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease, and confirmed 20 known others. An international team of researchers also reports for the first time that mutations in genes specific to tau, a hallmark protein of Alzheimer’s disease, may play an earlier role in the development...
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Listening in to brain communications, without surgery
Plenty of legitimate science – plus a whole lot of science fiction – discusses ways to “hack the brain.” What that really means, most of the time – even in the fictional examples – involves surgery, opening the skull to implant wires or devices physically into the brain. But that’s difficult, dangerous and potentially deadly....
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A gentle method for unlocking the mysteries of the deep brain
The subcortical areas of the brain, situated in its deepest reaches, remain a mystery. Scientists are aware of the critical role they play in motor, emotional and associative activity but do not know precisely how they work. A number of serious diseases are directly linked to these areas, including Parkinson’s, Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorders...
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Better together: Mitochondrial fusion supports cell division
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell. And for mitochondria, much like for double-header engines stacked together in a steam train, working in multiples has its benefits. New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that when cells divide rapidly, their mitochondria are fused together. In this configuration, the cell is able to more...
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UB chemist is creating tools to study how pharmaceuticals affect the inner workings of living cells
Over the past decade, University at Buffalo chemists have made steady progress on developing biochemical tools that can be deployed inside living cells to study how pharmaceuticals affect those cells’ inner workings. A new $2 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, will enable the...
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CRISPR base editing, known for precision, hits a snag with off-target mutations
The version of CRISPR whose selling point has been its precision suffers, ironically, from the same shortcoming that has dogged other forms of the genome editor — that it makes a lot of unintended, off-target DNA changes. In two studies published on Thursday, one in mice embryos and one in rice plants, scientists find that...