Rutgers-led study of post-menopausal women finds potential risks and benefits RUTGERS UNIVERSITY How much vitamin D can boost memory, learning and decision-making in older adults, and how much is too much? A unique Rutgers-led study found that overweight and obese older women who took more than three times the recommended daily dose of vitamin D...
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Flaws in the original human genome reference
Buffalo gave us spicy wings and the ‘book of life.’ Here’s why that’s undermining personalized medicine The geneticists had high hopes of identifying the mutation that had caused the little boy’s abnormalities: a flattened face, cognitive delays, cleft palate, stubby thumbs, and a host of other skeletal malformations. They were pretty sure he had a...
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Non-contrast MRI is effective in monitoring multiple sclerosis patients
Brain MRI without contrast agent is just as effective as the contrast-enhanced approach for monitoring disease progression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study in the journal Radiology. The findings support the possibility that contrast enhancement can be omitted from routine follow-up scans. MS is a disease in which the immune...
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Smart Cane Works as Activity Tracker
There are all kinds of activity trackers out there, but in many cases these devices just can’t provide the proper data. Once a person starts using a cane, for example, monitoring their movements throughout the day becomes difficult when using a wrist-worn tracker. Researchers at the University of Malaga in Spain have now developed a high tech cane that provide a...
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Japan poised to allow ‘reprogrammed’ stem-cell
If approved, the treatment could restore vision. A Japanese committee has provisionally approved the use of reprogrammed stemcells to treat diseased or damaged corneas. Researchers are now waiting for final approval from the health ministry to test the treatment in people with corneal blindness, which affects millions of people around the world. The cornea, a transparent layer...
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Bad news for egg lovers
Higher egg and cholesterol consumption hikes heart disease and death risk NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 300 mg of dietary cholesterol per day linked to 17 percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease, 18 percent higher risk of death Nearly 30,000 adults studied for up to 31 years Egg yolks are the most cholesterol-rich food consumed in typical U.S. diet An average...
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Gene behind long-recognized mitochondrial disease has highly varied effects
CHOP researchers find more than 30 variations in the MT-ATP6 gene with broadly variable clinical symptoms and biochemical features CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia, March 12, 2019–For more than two decades, mutations in a gene located in the DNA of mitochondria have been classified as a mitochondrial disease and linked to a particular set of symptoms. However,...
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Results of early-stage liver cancer detection using liquid biopsy published in PNAS
Highlights: Genetron Health (Beijing) Co. Ltd and National Cancer Center/ Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences published the promising results of their liver cancer early screening study using cell free DNA and protein biomarkers. This product for screening HCC in at-risk populations, will be further validated and then available for use. This methodology is expected to be applied in early screening of other cancer types. March 12th, 2019, Beijing – Today, Proceedings of...
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Immune profile two days after stroke predicts dementia a year later
Stanford researchers have found that transient changes in the numbers and activation levels of a handful of circulating immune cell types can predict the likelihood of dementia one year after a stroke. A pattern of inflammatory activity in circulating blood cells two days aftera stroke strongly predicts the likelihood of losing substantial mental acuity one year later, investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine report in a new study. The findings, based...
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Targeting stem-like cells could prevent ovarian cancer recurrence
Ovarian cancer is not the most common form of cancer, but it’s among the deadliest. That’s because about 70 percent of cases recur. A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) and several other collaborating institutions targets the root of recurrence with new drugs aimed...