by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute A QIMR Berghofer study has discovered how the medications given to people with Parkinson’s disease cause some patients to develop addictive behaviours such as problem gambling, binge eating, hypersexuality and excessive shopping. Medicines that increase dopamine levels in the brain are the cornerstone of treatment for symptoms of Parkinson’s...
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Poor evidence cannabis improves mental health: study
People with psychiatric disorders may want to pass on the joint—at least until further research is done, a new Australian study suggests. The paper, published Monday in The Lancet Psychiatry, looked at 83 previous studies conducted over almost four decades on medical cannabinoids, including products from the cannabis plant, such as leaves, buds and oils....
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How does hormone therapy affect heart health in transgender people?
Cardiovascular health in transgender people requires a multifaceted approach to care, according to a new report that looked at a range of issues in how hormone therapy affects heart health. The study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, set out to create a guidepost for future medical care by examining past research...
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New insights could help block the path of cancer ‘super-highways’
by The Francis Crick Institute A key mechanism controlling tissue structure, which could help identify drugs that make it harder for cancer cells to spread, has been identified by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute. The two studies, published in Nature Materials and PLOS Computational Biology, explain the mechanism that causes changes in the structure...
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More knowledge on the role of gut bacteria in diet and health
We often say: “You are what you eat”. However, individuals actually react differently to the same diet. One reason is that our gut contains a massive community of microbes—the gut microbiome—that functions differently from person to person. The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded nearly 60 million Danish kroner through its Challenge Programme to a research...
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Salt helps proteins move on down the road
With a lot of hard work and a dash of salt, Rice University scientists have taken a step toward simplifying drug manufacture. Rice chemist Christy Landes and her colleagues reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences their strategy to make polymer membrane-based separation of proteins more efficient. “It costs about $3 billion...
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Consuming alcohol leads to epigenetic changes in brain memory centers
Triggers in everyday life such as running into a former drinking buddy, walking by a once- familiar bar, and attending social gatherings can all cause recovering alcoholics to “fall off the wagon.” About 40 to 60 percent of people who have gone through treatment for substance abuse will experience some kind of relapse, according to...
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Novel antibodies could provide a universal flu vaccine
Currently available flu vaccines are based on the rapidly changing viral hemagglutinin (HA) antigen, and are therefore quickly outdated. Thus new vaccines need to be developed each year. Now, a new study published in the journal Science on October 25, 2019, reports on a set of three novel antibodies that bind to another type of...
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New research divided over links between inflammation and depression
By Rich Haridy Over the last decade an idea that once sat on the fringes of mainstream science has slowly edged its way closer to the center. Since the 1980s researchers have identified a distinct association between inflammation and depression. Of course, alongside that research the biggest development in the field of psychiatry in the...
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Study reveals link between alterations in RNA splicing and Alzheimer’s disease
Reviewed by Kate Anderton, B.Sc. (Editor) A collaborative study published today in the journal Cell Reports provides evidence for a new molecular cause for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease. The study, led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, integrates data from human brain autopsy samples...