by Lori Solomon The absolute risk for thyroid cancer is low among patients receiving glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) therapy, but risk is elevated in the first year of treatment, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Juan P. Brito, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues...
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Low-dose oral ketamine shows promise in treating PTSD symptoms
by University of the Sunshine Coast One 10 ml vial of 1000 mg ketamine. Credit: Psychonaught/Wikipedia A new study has found small amounts of liquid ketamine administered in a clinical setting can significantly reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, with fewer side effects. Published in European Neuropsychopharmacology, the study by researchers from the new National PTSD Research Centre at...
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Q&A: How a scientist helped ban a chemical connected to Parkinson’s disease
by Laura López González, University of California, San Francisco Credit: CC0 Public Domain The U.S. will ban nearly all uses of the common industrial cleaning agent, trichloroethylene (TCE), this year—more than 50 years after it led to one of the country’s worst cases of contaminated drinking water. It has been found in up to a third...
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Viral protein Nef enables a step toward off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapy for cancer
by Jim Stallard, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain CAR T cell therapy is one of the most promising new cancer treatments to emerge in recent years. It involves removing a patient’s own immune T cells and engineering them to recognize specific targets on the surface of the cancer cell. A major limitation...
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Why ‘cough CPR’ is not the lifesaver it’s made out to be
by Genaro C. Armas Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Misinformation has circulated for years on social media about how coughing forcefully can treat a heart attack. Health experts are quick to debunk that myth and warn that “cough CPR” is ineffective. “Anytime anyone is having chest pain or other symptoms of a heart attack, get to a...
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Harnessing chaos: How the brain turns randomness into robust memory
by Charles Choi, Columbia University Credit: Rungratsameetaweemana lab/Columbia Engineering Random noise, such as background hubbub on a phone call, is usually thought of as unwanted interference. Now researchers at Columbia Engineering find the brain may harness unavoidable random fluctuations of its activity to perform useful computations, particularly in tasks relying on memory. These findings not only...
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Study uncovers new link between infections and heart failure
by Jeremy Olson Credit: CC0 Public Domain People hospitalized for infections—almost any infections—are at substantially increased risk years later for heart failure, according to collaborative research by the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic. The study of more than 14,000 people over two decades doesn’t establish cause and effect, but advocates said Thursday that it...
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New study uncovers how gliomas disrupt brain function and points to rapid therapeutic reversal
by Brittani Wright, Columbia University A representative field of the tumor-infiltrated cortex (glioma cells: mCherry; red) of a Thy1-EGFP-M mouse (neurons; green), scale bar: 250 mm. Credit: Canoll Lab A study led by Dr. Peter Canoll’s lab, in collaboration with researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Zuckerman Institute, and Irving Institute for Cancer Dynamics, along...
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What can you do to prevent getting bird flu?
by University of Chicago Credit: Italo Melo from Pexels Public health officials are closely monitoring the latest bird flu outbreak that has sickened or killed millions of birds, chicken and cattle in the U.S. The virus, also known as avian influenza or H5N1, has spread to dozens of humans, mostly farm and dairy workers. Unless you’re...
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Key protein that intensifies psoriasis identified
by Case Western Reserve University c-Rel deficiency protects mice from TLR7-induced psoriasiform skin pathology but not from systemic inflammation. Psoriasis, a painful and uncomfortable inflammatory skin condition that affects millions worldwide, flares up from the activity of disease- and infection-protecting immune cells. In a new study, researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have...