by Qian Ye and Matthew Knight A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt. The outbreak first emerged in China late last year before spreading across the world, prompting an international race to find treatments and vaccines. A drug being tested by...
Unusual immune response in bladder appears to drive repeat UTIs
by Sarah Avery, Duke University As many people know, bladder infections can be a painful and recurring condition, and those who are prone to the infections often report they have to “go” with greater frequency and urgency. These two related conditions are caused by an aberrant immune response that prioritizes repairing tissue in the bladder...
Research shows electroceutical fabric eradicates coronaviruses on contact
by Nicole Wilkins, Indiana University The electroceutical technology offers clinicians a non-antibiotic solution for infection risk reduction and potentially increases its value for use in face masks and possibly other surface treatments. Credit: Chandan Sen With the number of novel coronavirus infections at 4 million and growing as of May 10, use of personal protective...
Found: Brain structure that controls our behavior
For our social life and our profession we must be able to deal with our environment and other people. Executive functions, meaning the basic intellectual abilities that control human thought and action, help us to do this. These include selective attention, otherwise known as the ability to concentrate on one stimulus and suppress others, or...
Sex bias in pain research
It is increasingly clear that male and female humans and rodents process pain in different ways. And that there are important differences in the underlying mechanisms involved at genetic, molecular, cellular, and physiological levels. Despite this fact, according to a review paper from McGill University published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience, most pain research remains overwhelmingly...
Multi-drug regimen for heart failure could meaningfully extend patients’ lives
by Brigham and Women’s Hospital Patients with heart failure have substantially shorter life expectancies than people without this condition. Approximately 6.5 million people in the U.S. and over 64 million people worldwide have heart failure, and about half of them have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). In the last three decades, there have...
Scientists identify chemicals in noxious weed that ‘disarm’ deadly bacteria
by Carol Clark, Emory University Scientists have identified specific compounds from the Brazilian peppertree—a weedy, invasive shrub in Florida—that reduce the virulence of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria. Scientific Reports published the research, demonstrating that triterpenoid acids in the red berries of the plant “disarm” dangerous staph bacteria by blocking its ability to produce toxins. The work...
Preventing ‘cytokine storm’ may ease severe COVID-19 symptoms
For some COVID-19 patients, the body’s immune response may be as destructive as the virus that causes the disease. The persistent high fevers, severe respiratory distress, and lung damage seen in some critically ill patients are all signs of an immune system in overdrive. Now, a new clinical trial will test a treatment that targets...
Researchers identify therapeutic targets to prevent cancer-associated muscle loss
by Rockefeller University Press Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center have identified a key cell signaling pathway that drives the devastating muscle loss, or cachexia, suffered by many cancer patients. The study, which will be published May 22 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, suggests that targeting this pathway with a drug already...
New mobile health tool measures hemoglobin without drawing blood
WASHINGTON — Researchers have developed a way to use smartphone images of a person’s eyelids to assess blood hemoglobin levels. The ability to perform one of the most common clinical lab tests without a blood draw could help reduce the need for in-person clinic visits, make it easier to monitor patients who are in critical...