During their first physician visit, patients experiencing newly diagnosed chronic musculoskeletal pain are prescribed opioids more often than physical therapy, counseling, and other nonpharmacologic approaches, according to a new study published in the Journal of Pain. The use of opioids over other approaches stands in contrast with clinical recommendations for the use of nonopioid pain...
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New SARS-like virus may be spreading outside China
Global health policymakers have announced that they are investigating the emergence of a new virus — one very similar to the dangerous severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus — in Thailand and Japan, hinting at worries that it could spread farther. Cases of a new SARS-like virus have emerged in China and now in Thailand...
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Studies of membrane vesicles pave the way to innovative treatments of degenerative diseases
A paper came out in Cells in December 2019 KAZAN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY Research team leader Marina Gomzikova, employee of the Gene and Cell Technologies Lab, started working on extracellular microvesicles (ECMVs) in 2013, when she was enrolled in her PhD course. Since then, very promising properties were found in ECMVs derived from human mesenchymal stem...
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New small molecule to treat Alzheimer’s disease and Dravet syndrome
by Gladstone Institutes Gladstone researchers, in collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche group, have shown therapeutic efficacy of a new experimental drug in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and a rare genetic form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome. The small molecule increases the activity of a subset of neurotransmitter (NMDA) receptors that...
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Neutrophils are equipped with a ‘disarmament’ program that prevents the immune system going ‘out of control’
The newly identified immune control system is located within one of the most important cell types of the immune system, the neutrophil CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES CARDIOVASCULARES CARLOS III (F.S.P.) Scientists at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) have discovered a ‘disarmament’ mechanism that protects our bodies against uncontrolled activity of the immune system....
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UMass Amherst researchers identify new mechanism involved in promoting breast cancer
Study found two cosmetics chemicals damage DNA of breast cells at low doses UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST A new approach to studying the effects of two common chemicals used in cosmetics and sunscreens found they can cause DNA damage in breast cells at surprisingly low concentrations, while the same dose did not harm cells without...
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Sticky situation inside blood vessels can worsen stroke damage
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA AT AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY AUGUSTA, Ga. (Jan. 15, 2020) – A stroke appears to create a sticky situation inside the blood vessels of the brain that can worsen damage days, even months later, scientists report. They have found that after stroke, exosomes — nanosized biological suitcases packed with an assortment of cargo...
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Racial disparities in heart failure explained
by UT Southwestern Medical Center Researchers at UT Southwestern have uncovered evidence that the higher prevalence of “malignant” enlargement of the heart among blacks contributes to the higher incidence of heart failure in this population. The new study is published online in the journal Circulation. Left ventricular hypertrophy or LVH is the enlargement and thickening...
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Blood-clotting protein and blood platelets promote immune evasion, cancer progression
by Ohio State University Medical Center A new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC—James) reveals how a clotting protein and blood platelets can promote cancer progression and suppress immune responses to cancer. The findings show how thrombin, a...
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Brain blood flow sensor discovery could aid treatments for high blood pressure and dementia
by University College London A study led by researchers at UCL has discovered the mechanism that allows the brain to monitor its own blood supply, a finding in rats which may help to find new treatments for human conditions including hypertension (high blood pressure) and dementia. For decades, scientists have suspected that the brain had...