UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH CHIEF OF PEDIATRIC PULMONARY MEDICINE AT UPMC CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH, AND THE NIELS K. JERNE CHAIR OF PEDIATRICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE view more CREDIT: UPMC PITTSBURGH, Aug. 25, 2020 – Contrary to earlier results, vitamin D supplements do not prevent severe asthma attacks in at-risk children,...
Tag: <span>cancer therapies</span>
Which OCD treatment works best? New brain study could lead to more personalized choices
by University of Michigan A compilation of brain images from the study of obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment response and its correlation with activation during cognitive and reward processing tasks. Credit: University of Michigan New research could improve the odds that people with obsessive-compulsive disorder will receive a therapy that really works for them—something that eludes more...
New therapy targets breast cancer metastases in brain
Combination therapy reduces tumor size, dramatically improves survival in mice NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY CHICAGO — When breast cancer spreads to the brain, the prognosis is grim. Patients only have about six months to live. Women with HER2-positive breast cancer tend to develop brain metastases in up to 55% of cases. Chemotherapy drugs targeting breast cancer cells...
COVID-19: Immune system derails
DZNE – GERMAN CENTER FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES Contrary to what has been generally assumed so far, a severe course of COVID-19 does not solely result in a strong immune reaction – rather, the immune response is caught in a continuous loop of activation and inhibition. Experts from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the University of Bonn,...
Drug prevents multiple sclerosis relapses in phase 3 trial
by University of California, San Francisco A newly completed phase 3, multicenter clinical trial has found that an immune-modulating drug can silence inflammatory disease activity in a large majority of patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS)—the most common form of the illness, in which symptoms wax and wane. MS is an autoimmune disease in which...
Study uncovers hair cell loss as underlying cause of age-related hearing loss
by Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary In a new study of human ear tissues, hearing scientists have demonstrated that age-related hearing loss, also called presbycusis, is mainly caused by damage to hair cells, the sensory cells in the inner ear that transform sound-induced vibrations into the electrical signals that are relayed to the brain by...
A “feeling” for dementia?
New findings on subjectively perceived memory problems DZNE – GERMAN CENTER FOR NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES A research team led by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) concludes that personal perception can be an important indicator for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. In a new study involving 449 older adults, published in Neurology®, the medical...
What to know about sleep myoclonus
Sleep myoclonus is involuntary, nonrhythmic muscle twitching that occurs either as a person falls asleep or during sleep. Sleep myoclonus is not a disease but a symptom of several different conditions. Sleep myoclonus can also happen without a known cause. In this article, we discuss what sleep myoclonus is, its causes, and how doctors treat...
Study finds drug beneficial for shrinking mesothelioma tumors
by National Cancer Institute A drug that is designed to boost the immune system against mesothelioma, when combined with immunotherapy, was found to be beneficial in a small study involving ten patients. The results, which appeared July 1, 2020, in Science Translational Medicine, suggest that the drug LMB-100 could prolong the life of some patients...
Novel function of platelets in tumor blood vessels found
by Uppsala University Platelets (red) in close contact with tumour vessels (green). Platelets are activated in the tumour microenvironment and secrete a large number of growth factors. Conditional knockout of PDGFB in platelets demonstrates its previously unknown role in pericyte recruitment, maintenance of tumour vascular integrity and host protection against metastasis. Credit: Yanyu Zhang Scientists...