WILEY Medications that target tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), a protein involved in inflammation, have revolutionized the management of certain autoimmune diseases, but paradoxically, these agents might provoke the development of other autoimmune conditions. In an Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics study of 17,018 individuals with autoimmune diseases who were treated with anti-TNFα medications–mostly infliximab, etanercept, and adalimumab–and...
Post
Study suggests genetic testing for young people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
A subset of patients treated for decades for autoimmune disease may have monogenic diabetes that can be treated by pills. JOSLIN DIABETES CENTER BOSTON — (July 2, 2019) — A Joslin Diabetes Center study among people treated for type 1 diabetes for many years has discovered that a minority may have monogenic diabetes, a non-autoimmune inherited condition that in...
Post
Combat veterans more likely to experience mental health issues in later life
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, Ore. – Military veterans exposed to combat were more likely to exhibit signs of depression and anxiety in later life than veterans who had not seen combat, a new study from Oregon State University shows. The findings suggest that military service, and particularly combat experience, is a hidden variable in research on aging, said Carolyn Aldwin, director of the Center for Healthy Aging Research...
Post
FDA approves new multiple myeloma drug despite toxicity concerns
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a new drug to treat patients with multiple myeloma, overruling a panel of outside cancer experts who expressed concerns about its toxicity. The new multiple myeloma drug, called selinexor, will be marketed by Karyopharm Therapeutics under the brand name Xpovio. The FDA cleared Xpovio under an accelerated,...
Post
COULD GENE MODIFICATION BE A SKELETON KEY FOR CURING ALZHEIMER’S?
While CRISPR technology is generating a new wave of optimism for curing neurological diseases, experts warn that it has to be one part of a larger approach. TARA FERNANDEZ It’s hard to ignore the fanfare. CRISPR and other genome-editing technologies are set to redefine the way we treat a vast array of illnesses, from cancer to inherited...
Post
No tumor is an island
by Dr Kat Arney, Cancer Research UK For decades tumors have been viewed as ‘other’—malignant, unruly growths that are distinctly separate from the ordered physiological system within which they live. This view has shaped our approach to treat cancer: cut it out if it’s small enough, zap it with radiotherapy, or attack it with ever-more-precisely targeted drugs. However,...
Post
Smart Wrist Band Helps People with Affective Disorders to Monitor Emotions
CONN HASTINGS Researchers at the University of Lancaster have developed a smart material that can help those with affective disorders, such as anxiety, bi-polar disorder and depression, to monitor their emotions. The smart material, worn as a wrist band, can alert the user to a change in emotion in real time, sometimes even if they have not become fully aware of it themselves, helping them to...
Post
Is a diabetes drug the key to aggressive breast cancer?
By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Paula Field New research finds that the diabetes drug metformin changes stem cancer cells in a way that makes them easier to target with a new form of treatment. The findings could help treat triple-negative breast cancer, which is particularly aggressive. Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive form of breast cancer...
Post
Medicines made of solid gold to help the immune system
By studying the effects of gold nanoparticles on the immune cells related to antibody production, researchers at UNIGE, at Swansea University and at the NCCR ‘Bio-inspired Materials’ are paving the way for more effective vaccines and therapies UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE Over the past twenty years, the use of nanoparticles in medicine has steadily increased. However, their safety and effect...
Post
A cure for baldness is on the way as scientists successfully grow ‘unlimited’ hair on mice using stem cells
A potential cure for baldness was presented at the International Society for StemCell Research (ISSCR) conference on Thursday in Los Angeles Scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys have created hair follicles that grow through the skin using human induced pluripotent stem cells In tests scientists grafted human stem cells and mice cells together on scaffolds placed under the skin of hairless mice and were able to grow hair follicles Now they’re refining the process to...