UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Bumetanide – a prescription drug for oedema (the build-up of fluid in the body) – improves some of the symptoms in young children with autism spectrum disorders and has no significant side effects, according to a new study from researchers in China and the UK. Published today in Translational Psychiatry, the study demonstrates for the first time that the drug improves the symptoms by decreasing the ratio...
Month: <span>February 2020</span>
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Jumping genes’ help stabilize DNA folding patterns
Long understood as source of novel genetic traits, jumping genes also provide genomic stability WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE “Jumping genes” — bits of DNA that can move from one spot in the genome to another — are well-known for increasing genetic diversity over the long course of evolution. Now, new research at Washington University...
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Levothyroxine-induced Liver Injury Followed by Complete Recovery Upon Cessation of the Drug
A Case ReportAbbas F. Hlaihel; Mudher Z. H. Al-Khairalla DISCLOSURES J Med Case Reports. 2019;13(311) Abstract and IntroductionAbstractBackground: Levothyroxine is a synthetic thyroxine and is the treatment of choice for hypothyroidism. It is a prohormone with minimal intrinsic activity. The drug is de-iodinated in peripheral tissue to form triiodothyronine, which is the active thyroid hormone....
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Single dose of antibodies can knock out HIV in newborns
Combination of 2 antibodies taken 30 hours after virus exposure prevents infection in baby monkeys Date:January 7, 2020 Source:Oregon Health & Science University Summary:A single dose of an antibody-based treatment can prevent HIV transmission from mother to baby, new nonhuman primate research suggests for the first time. This is the first time a single dose of broadly neutralizing antibodies given after viral exposure has been found to prevent infection...
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How the stress of fight or flight turns hair white
Signalling from the sympathetic nervous system of mice when subjected to stress leads to the depletion of a stem-cell population in their hair follicles. This discovery sheds light on why stress turns hair prematurely grey. Shayla A. Clark & Christopher D. Deppmann It has been said that Marie Antoinette’s hair went completely white on the...
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Simple test identifies patients at high risk for future dialysis or transplant
by University of California, San Francisco A low-cost test that screens for excess protein in the urine has been shown to accurately identify patients at higher risk for progressive kidney disease after being hospitalized for acute kidney injury, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco. A low-cost test that screens for...
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Blood pressure drug linked to lower risk of gout
BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER Boston – Affecting more than 7 million adults in the United States, gout is characterized by a sudden onset of pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints and caused by the formation of urate crystal in small spaces between joints that builds up when high amounts of uric acid circulate...
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Anti-cancer drug safe and effective for treating light chain (AL) amyloidosis
Drug considered therapeutic ‘game changer’ of once lethal disease BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (Boston)–There’s a new treatment option available for patients with AL amyloidosis: daratumumab. Studied in a prospective clinical trial, only one of the two clinical trials of this agent in AL amyloidosis worldwide, researchers have found this anti-cancer drug to be well...
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Glial Brain Cells, Long in Neurons’ Shadow, Reveal Hidden Powers
The glial cells of the nervous system have been eclipsed in importance by neurons for decades. But glia are turning out to be central to many neurological functions, including pain perception. The sting of a paper cut or the throb of a dog bite is perceived through the skin, where cells react to mechanical forces and send...
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Study reveals ‘identical’ survival for kidney dialysis patients using different treatments
Research carried out at University of Limerick has shown that life expectancy outcomes for two of the most common forms of kidney dialysis treatment are “virtually identical”. In the largest study of its kind, researchers from the Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) at UL compared the survival of patients with kidney failure that were treated...