AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY New research suggests that it may be possible to simplify the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) without compromising accuracy. Contrary to the standard practice of administering several tests to diagnose DVT, using only a D-dimer blood test may help health care providers identify patients who require additional screening, according to a new...
Month: <span>October 2020</span>
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Tiny Robots Walk Through Colon to Deliver Drugs, Sample Tissue
Delivering drugs to internal organs and tissues is usually achieved through ingested medications, but these are often diluted and intercepted before enough can reach the intended destination. Targeted delivery is preferred but usually very difficult to accomplish, particularly when there’s a lot of fluids and movement. This is the case with the colon, an organ...
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Wearable tech will help people manage multiple sclerosis
U of A researchers, precision health company team up to develop sensor small enough to wear behind the ear but powerful enough to reduce costly hospital visits. University of Alberta researchers are teaming up with a precision-health innovator to develop a low-cost wearable sensor to help people suffering from chronic neurologic conditions treat their illness remotely while reducing...
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Harnessing the power of nanobodies to rebuild kidneys
UW Medicine scientists are driving a bold, multi-partner experiment to stimulate the repair and regeneration of human kidney cells. A favorable outcome could jump-start a new therapy model for 850 million people worldwide who live with kidney disease. The National Institutes of Health recently announced the project’s funding: $4 million over five years. The study focuses on...
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3 FACTORS SHED LIGHT ON COVID-19 OXYGEN LEVEL MYSTERY
Researchers have begun to solve one of COVID-19’s biggest and most life-threatening mysteries: how the virus causes “silent hypoxia,” a condition where oxygen levels in the body are abnormally low. Those low oxygen levels can can irreparably damage vital organs if gone undetected for too long. More than six months since COVID-19 began spreading in the...
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COVID-19 antibodies in the blood of patients fade rapidly after symptoms subside, study finds
Antibodies made by the body to fight COVID-19 — the transfusion of which is being trialled as a treatment for other, more severe patients — fade rapidly after recovery. Experts from Canada studied the blood of recovering coronavirus patients, finding that the extent of the immune defences drop 6–10 weeks after their first symptoms. Plasma transfusions have not been...
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Scientists discover a new mechanism for cellular defense against viral and bacterial infections
by Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (F.S.P.) A study published in the journal Science and coordinated by researchers of IDIBAPS, the UB and the Spanish National Center of Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) describes a new immune defense mechanism unknown until now. It is a mechanism orchestrated by lipid droplets (LDs), the cellular organelles capable of...
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Researchers find trigger that leads to faster nerve healing
by Bryan Gentry, University of South Carolina University of South Carolina scientists are exploring ways to make nerve regeneration happen faster and more successfully. A new study published in Current Biology identifies the biological triggers that promote quicker nerve regeneration. From their previous studies, the researchers knew that damaged nerves regrow more quickly when “stress granules” in the site of the nerve injury...
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Lineage tracing of direct astrocyte-to-neuron conversion for brain repair
GUANGDONG-HONGKONG-MACAU INSTITUTE OF CNS REGENERATION, JINAN UNIVERSITY IMAGE: NEURONS CONVERTED FROM LINEAGE-TRACED ASTROCYTES. Regeneration of functional new neurons to repair injured human brain is a long-term unsolved problem up till today. The lack of neuroregeneration is one of the major reasons why so many brain disorders such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease do not have...
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Investigational ALS drug prolongs patient survival in clinical trial
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL BOSTON – An experimental medication that was recently shown to slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, has now demonstrated the potential to also prolong patient survival. The findings come from a clinical trial conducted by investigators at the Sean M. Healey & AMG...