Researchers believe Virtual Reality (VR) headsets may help reduce children’s anxiety and their experience of pain when they undergo injections in an emergency department (ED). JCU’s Professor Cate Nagle was one of a team of scientists who examined the emerging technology. They analyzed four studies on the use of VR on patients 4 – 17...
by Vanderbilt University Medical Center Some smokers might rationalize continuing to smoke because of lower body weight often associated with the habit. However, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined that even with a lower body mass index (BMI), smokers have a higher risk of depositing fat in and around organs and tissues compared to...
Volunteers can add data with a five-minute online session. Do you get nervous when you can’t think of a word? Chances are it’s a momentary lapse, but problems with language are one of the symptoms that can indicate a neurodegenerative disorder like Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, diagnosing these conditions requires scoring below a rather low threshold...
OAK BROOK, Ill. – A 3D ultrasound system provides an effective, noninvasive way to estimate blood flow that retains its accuracy across different equipment, operators and facilities, according to a study published in the journal Radiology. Measures of blood flow are important in helping clinicians determine how much oxygen and nutrient-carrying blood is reaching organs...
IMAGE OF MOUSE ASTROCYTES SHOWING THE ACTIN CYTOSKELETON (RED) AND LYSOSOMES (GREEN) view more CREDIT: TANIA LOPEZ-HERNANDEZ Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system. This recycling process...
by Boston University School of Medicine Scientists have long believed that a single traumatic brain injury (TBI) earlier in life may contribute to problems with memory, thinking and depression later in life. In most previous studies, however, research failed to examine the possible role of having a history of exposure to repetitive head impacts, including...
by Anna Molin, Karolinska Institutet Knowledge of how human fat tissue is affected by age has long been defined by numerous mouse-based studies. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now, for the first time, been able to conduct a prospective study on humans that provides novel insights into how our fat cells reduce lipid...
by Terry Goodrich, Baylor University A new treatment for stress which combines mindfulness with hypnotherapy has shown positive results in a Baylor University pilot study. The intervention is called “mindful hypnotherapy.” “Mindfulness is a type of meditation that involves focusing attention on present moment awareness. It can help people cope with stress, but can require...
by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center The development of pancreatic cancer is driven by co-existing mutations in an oncogene involved in controlling cell growth, called KRAS, and in a tumor suppressor gene, called p53. But how these mutations cooperate to promote cancer is unknown. A new study co-led by Steven Leach, MD, Director of Dartmouth’s and Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s...
An experimental drug that has been shown to improve the function of diseased and aged mitochondria binds to 12 key proteins involved in energy production, researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine have found. The drug, elamipretide, also called SS-31, has shown promise for treating rare inherited diseases that affect the mitochondria, the...
