By Catharine Paddock PhD Fact checked by Paula Field Recent insights into a hormone released by muscle cells could lead to improved ways to treat high blood pressure. When the hormone, which has the name atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), enters the bloodstream, it lowers blood pressure by triggering blood vessel dilation and excretion of sodium in...
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13 adults with complete paralysis benefit from nerve transfer surgery
By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Isabel Godfrey A new study showcases the benefits of nerve transfer surgery — sometimes in combination with traditional tendon transfer surgery — for restoring upper limb function in people with complete paralysis. Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects close to 290,000 people in the United States, according to recent estimates. Of...
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Structure of brain networks is not fixed, study finds
by Georgia State University The shape and connectivity of brain networks—discrete areas of the brain that work together to perform complex cognitive tasks—can change in fundamental and recurring ways over time, according to a study led by Georgia State University. The interaction and communication among neurons, known as “functionally connectivity,” gives rise to brain networks. Researchers...
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Anti-worm drug inhibits tumour growth and spread in mice
Posted Today Researchers at UNSW Sydney have discovered that a drug used for almost 40 years to treat worm infections in humans and animals can be used to inhibit melanoma growth and spread in mice. The drug, which is available over-the-counter in Europe, is a so-called anthelmintic used to control parasitic infections. The researchers found that...
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Chance discovery could lead to breakthrough in battle against drug-resistant parasites
Posted Today Andrew Fraser did not set out to study parasites, but when his team stumbled on an intriguing finding he could not look away. Fraser’s team at the University of Toronto was testing a new method for unpicking how drugs affect the movement of a non-parasitic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which is used as a stand-in for humans A chance...
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How neuroscience could provide the answer to beating boredom
Rich Haridy Boredom is as universal a human state as happiness or sadness, but the degree to which it is triggered in different individuals is incredibly subjective. A fascinating new study from researchers at Washington State University, looking at brainwave activity in bored subjects, has found boredom is heightened by a lack of left frontal brain activity. “Everybody...
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How crushed eggshells could help repair bone damage
By Maria Cohut Fact checked by Jasmin Collier Soon, the phrase “walking on eggshells” may gain a positive new meaning thanks to researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. In their new study, which they conducted both in vitro and in a rat model, they showed how crushed eggshells could be the way forward in fixing...
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Scientists design protein blockers to fight obesity and heart disease
by Milady Nazir, University of Texas at San Antonio Almost four in 10 adult Americans are obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s more alarming is that in the past two decades alone, in states such as Texas, the share of obesity among residents has tripled. If left unchecked, obesity can even lead to more serious problems...
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New blood test for human tuberculosis may also identify people at most risk
by National Institute for Health Research A new study conducted by researchers in Leicester and Nottingham has shown the potential for a new blood test to not only diagnose human tuberculosis (TB) but also identify those at most risk of developing the disease, according to findings published in medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Despite recent reductions,...
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Drug that could reduce devastating weight loss and fatigue in cancer patients will be tested in £1m trial
The drug, known as bermekimab, has been hailed as ‘radical’ by experts It blocks a molecule which causes inflammation and pain, its developer says Patients with lung, pancreatic and ovarian cancer will be among the first to try it By VANESSA CHALMERS HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE Cancer patients in the UK will test a drug that has been designed to reduce...