DECODE GENETICS Scientists at deCODE genetics a subsidiary of Amgen report in Arthritis & Rheumatology that the level of cartilage acidic protein-1 (CRTAC1) in plasma is a potential biomarker of osteoarthritis (OA) through its association with OA risk and progression to joint replacement. The level of CRTAC1 in plasma was recently associated with osteoarthritis (OA)...
Month: <span>October 2022</span>
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Brain discovery holds key to boosting body’s ability to fight Alzheimer’s, MS
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH SYSTEM IMAGE: UVA NEUROSCIENTIST JOHN LUKENS, PHD, SAID THE NEW DISCOVERY “PROVIDES A POTENT STRATEGY TO ELIMINATE THE TOXIC CULPRITS THAT CAUSE MEMORY LOSS AND IMPAIRED MOTOR CONTROL IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE.” CREDIT: DAN ADDISON | UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA COMMUNICATIONS UVA Health researchers have discovered a molecule in the brain responsible for...
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Drug discovery method identifies naturally occurring metabolite that converts ‘bad’ fat to ‘good’ fat
SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE IMAGE: ZAFIRLUKAST INDUCES THE PRODUCTION OF BROWN ADIPOCYTE TISSUE. FOR PREADIPOCYTES TREATED WITH ZAFIRLUKAST (RIGHT IMAGE), BROWN ADIPOCYTES (SHOWN IN RED) WERE MUCH MORE PREVALENT THAN PREADIPOCYTES GROWN WITH THE DMSO CONTROL (LEFT IMAGE). CREDIT: SCRIPPS RESEARCH AND CALIBR LA JOLLA, CA— “Metabolism” describes the body’s chemical changes that create the necessary materials...
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New mitochondrial disease identified in identical twins
by Massachusetts General Hospital Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In a set of identical twins, investigators led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children’s Hospital Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified a mitochondrial disease not previously reported. Diseases that affect mitochondria—specialized compartments within cells that contain their own DNA and convert the food we eat into...
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Novel monoclonal antibody therapy for SARS-CoV-2
by Marla Paul, Northwestern University Graphical abstract. Credit: Journal of Clinical Investigation (2022). DOI: 10.1172/JCI162282 An entirely new approach to monoclonal antibody therapy shows that targeting the more genetically stable internal protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus rather than the surface spike protein can also clear SARS-CoV-2, reports a study from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Illinois...
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Pain-sensing gut neurons protect against inflammation
by Weill Cornell Medical College Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.11.014 Neurons that sense pain protect the gut from inflammation and associated tissue damage by regulating the microbial community living in the intestines, according to a study from researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The researchers, whose report appears Oct. 14 in Cell, found in a preclinical model...
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Operations for diverticulitis decreased in 2020, but the degree of disease severity increased
by American College of Surgeons Operations for diverticulitis decreased in 2020, but severity of disease increased. Credit: American College of Surgeons The first year of the COVID pandemic significantly altered how patients and providers treated diverticulitis, causing a significant drop in operations to manage the disease but a corresponding increase in the proportion of more...
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Tool helps ID young children at high risk for asthma
The CHILDhood Asthma Risk Tool (CHART) can identify children at high risk for asthma at as early as 3 years of age, according to a study published online Oct. 6 in JAMA Network Open. Myrtha E. Reyna, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and colleagues developed and evaluated the use of a symptom-based screening...
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Scientists discover possible target for treating and preventing osteoarthritis
by University of Florida Credit: CC0 Public Domain Wear and tear on joints can lead to inflammation, breakdown of cartilage and development of osteoarthritis. Scientists at UF Scripps Biomedical Research have found a possible new target to fight this painful cascade. In a study published Thursday in the journal PLOS One, biochemist Patrick Griffin, Ph.D., and...
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Scientists reappraise the role of ‘zombie’ cells that anti-aging medicine has sought to eliminate
by University of California, San Francisco Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Not all senescent cells are harmful “zombies” that should be wiped out to prevent age-related disease, according to new research from UC San Francisco, which found that some of them are embedded in young, healthy tissues and promote normal repair from damage. Scientists have now...