Elevated blood levels of toxic chemicals found in pesticides, nonstick cookware, and fire retardants have been tied to an increased risk for celiac disease in young people, new research shows. According to NYU Grossman School of Medicine researchers who led the study, people with the immune disorder have severe gut reactions, including diarrhea and bloating,...
Month: <span>May 2020</span>
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Too little sleep can mean more asthma attacks in adults
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL – (MAY 12, 2020) – A good night’s sleep is crucial to good health. A new article in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) reveals that too little sleep, and occasionally too much sleep, can negatively impact adults with...
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New weapon identified in arsenal against disease
Scientists at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences have discovered a new way for T cells to attack cells infected by viruses or deranged by cancer. Published online by the journal Science on Thursday 7 May 2020, the new research from the Dustin Group describes the...
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World-first saliva test detects hidden throat cancer
by Queensland University of Technology A simple saliva test developed by QUT biomedical scientists has detected early throat cancer in a person who had no symptom and no clinical signs of cancer. In what is believed to be a world-first, the non-invasive test picked up HPV-DNA in a saliva sample from an infected healthy person....
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Body’s own marijuana helps us forget traumatic memories
by Leiden University The endogenous compound anandamide—often referred to as the body’s own marijuana—plays a role in erasing memories of a traumatic event. This was discovered by an international team led by Leiden chemist Mario van der Stelt. The results have been published in Nature Chemical Biology and may provide a starting point for the...
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Researchers develop new drugs for treating polycystic hepatorena
Polycystic hepatorenal diseases are hereditary genetic disorders characterized by the progressive development of multiple symptomatic cysts in the kidneys and/or liver that may cause alterations in the function of those organs and/or complications associated with their growth. Right now, there are no effective pharmacological treatments and the only curative option is organ transplant. Researchers at...
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Protein shapes matter in Alzheimer’s research
by Allison Mills, Michigan Technological University Sometimes proteins misfold. When that happens in the human brain, the pileup of misfolded proteins can lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS. Proteins do not misbehave and misfold out of the blue. There is a delicate ecosystem of biochemical interactions and environments that usually let them...
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Researchers link high calcium levels in mitochondria to neuronal death in Alzheimer’s disease
by Brian Burns, Massachusetts General Hospital For the first time, using a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists have documented a link between raised levels of calcium in mitochondria and neuronal death in the living brain. This relationship was previously documented in cell culture, but seeing this phenomenon in living mice makes it more likely...
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Why some people are more prone to anxiety
by Society for Neuroscience Gene expression of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) in the right amygdala and vlPFC correlated with anxiety-like behavior in the human intruder test. Credit: Quah et al., JNeurosci 2020 Anxiety-prone people can blame serotonin cleanup proteins gone awry in their amygdala, according to research in marmosets recently published in JNeurosci. Targeting...
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Single-cell RNA seq developed to accurately quantify cell-specific drug effects in pancreatic islets
by CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences The pancreas is an abdominal organ that produces digestive enzymes as well as hormones that regulate blood sugar levels. This hormone-producing function is localized to the islets of Langerhans, which constitute clusters of different endocrine cell types. Among those are beta cells,...