Mauricio Wajngarten, MD December 23, 2022 The relevance of oral anticoagulants (OACs) for older adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) does not need to be reiterated. It has been posited that the availability of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) would substantially increase the prevention of thromboembolic events in older adults with AF, given the superior safety profile of these...
Year: <span>2023</span>
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Acupuncture may aid irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea
by Lori Solomon Acupuncture is safe and feasible for patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), according to a pilot study published online Dec. 29 in JAMA Network Open. Ling-Yu Qi, from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and colleagues randomly assigned 90 individuals with IBS-D to acupuncture (either specific acupoints [SA] or nonspecific acupoints...
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Solar-powered cells: Light-activated proton pumps generate cellular energy, extend life
by University of Rochester Medical Center Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain New research in the journal Nature Aging takes a page from the field of renewable energy and shows that genetically engineered mitochondria can convert light energy into chemical energy that cells can use, ultimately extending the life of the roundworm C. elegans. While the prospect of sunlight-charged cells in humans...
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Study discovers triple immunotherapy combination as possible treatment for pancreatic cancer
by University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Axial CT image with i.v. contrast. Macrocystic adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head. Credit: public domain Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a novel immunotherapy combination, targeting checkpoints in both T cells and myeloid suppressor cells, that successfully reprogrammed the tumor immune...
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Ketamine found to increase brain noise
by Anastasia Lobanova, National Research University Higher School of Economics Izhikevich, Edelman / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America An international team of researchers including Sofya Kulikova, Senior Research Fellow at the HSE University-Perm, found that ketamine, being an NMDA receptor inhibitor, increases the brain’s background noise, causing higher entropy of incoming sensory signals...
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New HIV treatment shot given only twice a year could be a ‘game changer’
by Nada Hassanein, USA Today Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The Food and Drug Administration has approved Sunlenca, an injectable therapy to suppress HIV for patients who suffered drug resistance to other regimens. Experts say the new injectable, which works with less frequent dosing, can be a game changer for those whose infections don’t respond to...
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Study reveals how chronic blood cancer transitions to aggressive disease
by Julia Evangelou Strait, Washington University School of Medicine A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a strategy for preventing a chronic, slow-growing type of blood cancer from progressing to an aggressive form of leukemia. Shown is bone marrow from a mouse treated with a compound that blocks DUSP6, a key...
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An mRNA vaccine strategy under study to fight the flu—as a shot and intranasal spray
by Delthia Ricks, Medical Xpress Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Messenger RNA vaccine technology, once an arcane area of research, became household terminology because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now scientists are working on an mRNA flu vaccine strategy that, at least in this study, involves a first dose administered as a shot but a booster administered...
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Study reveals novel role of PPARγ acetylation in macrophages in impairing adipose tissue function
Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.,Dec 30 2022 As a chronic pro-inflammatory disease, obesity is closely associated with the development of various diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancers. Obesity is now a major concern for public health. Macrophages have been known to play an important role in the development of obesity. Recent...
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TROUBLE WITH AMBIENT NOISE? COULD BE BRAIN CELLS FIRING
The result, they say, creates a “fuzzy” sound stage that makes it difficult for the brain to focus on one type of sound—such as spoken words—and filter out surrounding “noise.” Scientists have long linked inevitable age-related hearing loss to hair cells in the inner ear that become damaged or destroyed over time. But the researchers say their...