The pill suppresses appetite by tricking the gut into feeling full with hormones Forty volunteers of varying high weights are needed for the study in London Researchers have high hopes it could reduce surgeries and type 2 diabetes A ‘fat pill’ that could help millions beat the bulge could be available within five years, researchers...
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Investigators study effect of switching insulin medications
Boston, MA — In the United States, the drug price for insulin has skyrocketed over the last two decades. While the price has increased for all forms of insulin, newer, “analogue” insulin medications such as glargine and lispro have become especially expensive. This is particularly true for patients with insufficient drug coverage or for Medicare...
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Vitamin D could lower the risk of developing diabetes
CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 30, 2019)–The benefits of vitamin D in promoting bone health are already well known. A new study out of Brazil suggests that vitamin D also may promote greater insulin sensitivity, thus lowering glucose levels and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of...
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‘Bugs’ in the gut might predict dementia in the brain
DALLAS, Jan. 30, 2019 — The makeup of bacteria and other microbes in the gut may have a direct association with dementia risk, according to preliminary research to be presented in Honolulu at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2019, a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science and treatment...
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BIDMC researchers ID, treat faulty brain circuitry underlying symptoms of schizophrenia
BOSTON – Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness that affects more than three million Americans. Anti-psychotic medication can control schizophrenia’s psychotic symptoms, including the hallucinations and delusions that are well-known hallmarks of the disease. However, there are no effective treatments for the disease’s ‘negative symptoms’ – so-called because they involve a loss of...
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Intestinal immune cells play key role in metabolic regulation, cardiovascular health
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified what appears to be an important checkpoint in dietary metabolism, a group of cells in the small intestine that slow down metabolism, increasing the amount of ingested food that is stored as fat rather than being quickly converted into energy. In the report published in Nature...
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Could higher levels of testosterone hold the key to slower aging?
A new study of older men carried out by The University of Western Australia has found there is a link between men who have higher levels of the sex hormone estradiol, produced from testosterone, and slower ageing. Ball-and-stick model of the testosterone molecule, C19H28O2, as found in the crystal structure of testosterone monohydrate. Credit: Ben...
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Your identity is almost entirely based on unconscious brain processes
We often think that our deeply held beliefs, opinions, and emotions are the result of a long time spent thinking. We see ourselves as an executive of sortssomewhere inside our own head, pondering, making plans, and coming to decisions. This is what is known as a top-down model of executive control. It isn’t only laypeople...
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When the structure of tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) challenges the very concept of cell
Cells in our bodies have the ability to speak with one another much like humans do. This communication allows organs in our bodies to work synchronously, which in turn, enables us to perform the remarkable range of tasks we meet on a daily basis. One of this mean of communication is ‘tunneling nanotubes’ or TNTs....
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Scientists shed light on processes behind age-related decline in brain structures
Ageing can cause damage to support cells in the white matter, which in turn may lead to damage in the grey matter of the hippocampus, finds a new study by Cardiff University. The discovery gives researchers a new area to focus on in the search for treatments that can protect cognitive function. Claudia Metzler-Baddeley, from...