JAMA Network OpenPeer-Reviewed Publication JAMA Network About The Study: This systematic review and network meta-analysis found that spinal cord stimulation therapies for treatment of chronic pain in back and/or lower extremities were associated with greater improvements in pain compared with conventional medical management. These findings highlight the potential of spinal cord stimulation therapies as an effective...
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Brain-training games remain unproven, but research shows what activities do benefit cognitive functioning
by NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Credit: NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Like a fire alarm sending signals to evacuate a smoky building, the immune system has internal guards to help the body sense and respond to danger. However, for people with risks for heart disease, these warning signals can have a negative consequence:...
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Brain-training games remain unproven, but research shows what activities do benefit cognitive functioning
by Ian McDonough and Michael Dulas, The Conversation Credit: CC0 Public Domain Some 2.3 million of U.S. adults over 65—more than 4%—have a diagnosis of dementia. But even without a diagnosis, a certain amount of cognitive decline is normal as age sets in. And whether it’s due to fear of cognitive decline or noticing lapses in cognition...
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Huntington’s disease gene may also enhance early brain development and intelligence
by Jennifer Brown, University of Iowa Years-to-onset (YTO)-dependent brain functional changes. Credit: Annals of Neurology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/ana.27046 The genetic mutation that causes Huntington’s disease (HD)—a devastating brain disease that disrupts mobility and diminishes cognitive ability—may also enhance early brain development and play a role in promoting human intelligence. This revelation comes from more than 10 years of...
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Discovery reveals how low-dose ketamine, a ‘lifesaving’ drug for major depression, alleviates symptoms within hours
by Ellen Goldbaum, University at Buffalo These images demonstrate the different binding sites in NMDA receptors that the UB team has discovered are responsible for ketamine’s distinct clinical effects, as an anesthetic at high doses and as an anti-depressant at very low doses. The image on the left shows ketamine bound in the central pore of...
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A promising kidney-targeting drug delivery system enriches synthetic RNA molecules and small molecules
by Erica Yirenkyi, Iva Toudjarska, University of Connecticut Graphical abstract. Credit: Molecular Therapy (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.10.020 Since its discovery in 1998 and winning the Nobel Prize in 2006, ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference has become an invaluable tool for drugmakers to silence disease-causing genes. Nearly three decades later, drug makers have developed six approved small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics...
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Light-based therapy reduces pain associated with peripheral diabetic neuropathy, study concludes
by Thais Szegö, FAPESP Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A study conducted at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil has concluded that the use of monochromatic infrared light in conjunction with conventional physical therapy is a promising alternative for the treatment of peripheral diabetic neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that most often affects...
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Treatment advances and predictive biomarkers stand to improve bladder cancer care
by University of North Carolina Health Care Credit: AI-generated image Recent advances in bladder cancer treatments may offer hope of curative care to more patients, including those with high-risk localized, muscle-invasive disease, according to an editorial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Matthew Milowsky, MD, FASCO, a bladder cancer expert at UNC School of Medicine...
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Genetic platform identifies ‘Achilles heel’ of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
by University of Otago WG-CRISPRi screening in M. tuberculosis strain mc26206. Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54072-w A University of Otago-led study has found a highly vulnerable weakness in drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, offering new possibilities for treatment. In the study, published in Nature Communications, researchers developed a genetic platform to identify biological pathways in a drug-resistant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that...
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Joint pain associated with depressive symptoms accelerates cognitive decline in the elderly, finds study
by Maria Fernanda Ziegler, FAPESP Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Elderly people who have symptoms of depression and moderate or severe joint pain tend to show faster cognitive decline, especially in the area of memory. This was shown by a study published in the journal Aging & Mental Health. The conclusions are based on data from 4,718 participants aged 50...