by Jonathan Rogers, The Conversation Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain “People have forgotten what life is all about,” Robert De Niro’s character says in the film “Awakenings” after being revived from the shut-down state he had been in for 30 years. “They’ve forgotten what it is to be alive.” Based on a true story told by Dr. Oliver Sacks,...
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Database analysis identifies ‘sweet spot’ for safe surgery after heart attack
by University of Rochester Medical Center Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain After a heart attack, aging adults face double or triple the risk of life-threatening complications—like a debilitating stroke or another heart attack—when they move forward with elective noncardiac surgeries too soon, according to new University of Rochester research published in JAMA Surgery. A deep dive into the...
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Twin study illuminates how turncoat T cells launch nervous system assaults in multiple sclerosis
by Delthia Ricks , Medical Xpress Transcriptomic and TCR-based characterization of the CD8+ T cell populations from the PBMCs of the MS TWIN STUDY. Credit: Science Immunology (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adj8094 Few autoimmune disorders are more challenging for patients than multiple sclerosis, a progressive condition that can affect vision, impair the ability to walk, cause extreme bouts of...
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Heart signals brain to boost sleep for healing after heart attack, study finds
by The Mount Sinai Hospital Microscopy images of monocytes in the brain of a mouse after a heart attack. Schematic of hypothesized mechanism: after a heart attack, monocytes are released from the bone marrow and recruited to the brain where they produce TNF to increase sleep which limits stress signaling to the heart and promotes heart...
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Harnessing the brain’s ability to suppress inappropriate immune responses may offer improved treatment
by Washington University School of Medicine Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The brain constantly engages in dialogue with the body’s immune system. Such communication appears aimed at ensuring a delicate balance between defending against injury and infection and guarding healthy tissue. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have revealed how the two...
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Most patients with mitochondrial disease can be diagnosed via genomic sequencing, study says
by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Graphical abstract. Credit: Genetics in Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.gim.2024.101271 More than half of people with mitochondrial disease can be diagnosed via genomic sequencing, a finding that will revolutionize care for families, according to a new study. And the Melbourne researchers have discovered what boosts and impacts the testing results, especially among children. The...
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Reprogramming brain cells into neurons: New findings on astroglia has implications for regenerative medicine
by King’s College London Astroglial origin of the vast majority of Ascl1SA6-Bcl2 iNs. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl5935 Researchers have successfully demonstrated how astroglia—cells that support the functioning of the brain—can be reprogrammed into cells resembling interneurons. The research, published in Science Advances, represents not only an important step forward in neuronal engineering, but also has vital implications for regenerative...
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Big chains are paid $23.55 to fill a blood pressure prescription: Small drugstores get $1.51
by Andy Miller, KFF Health News Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain While customers at Adams Family Pharmacy picked up their prescriptions on a hot summer day, some stopped in for coffee, ice cream, homemade cake, or cookies. It wasn’t a bake sale, but the sweets bring extra revenue as pharmacist and co-owner Nikki Bryant works to...
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Once again, tuberculosis becomes world’s top infectious disease killer
by Robin Foster In the highest tally ever recorded for tuberculosis cases, the World Health Organization report that over 8 million people worldwide were diagnosed with the lung disease last year. Of that number, 1.25 million people died of TB, the new report found, meaning that it is once again the leading cause of deaths from infectious...
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Data suggest ED visit rate 36.1 per 1,000 older adults with Alzheimer’s disease
by Elana Gotkine For adults aged 65 years and older with Alzheimer’s disease, the emergency department visit rate was 36.1 visits per 1,000 adults in 2020 to 2022, according to an October data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics. Loredana Santo, M.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, and...