NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE, YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE Peruvoside, a plant-based compound that is commonly used to treat heart failure, has been discovered to be able to prevent up to 12 medically important viruses, all originating from different virus families. These viruses are of medical significance as they cause prevalent viral diseases, such as...
Month: <span>June 2023</span>
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Research challenges current thinking on the genetic causes of very early menopause
by University of Exeter Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The genetic causes of very early menopause will have to be reconsidered after researchers found that nearly all women who carried variations thought to cause the condition in fact had their menopause at an older age. Until now, variants in any one of more than 100 genes were thought to...
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Stem cell model of human brain development suggests embryonic origins of Alzheimer’s disease
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH IMAGE: HUMAN 3D CORTICAL SPHEROID WITH A PSEN1 MUTATION. CREDIT: ERIN HURLEY, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mainly affects the older population. Recent research found early disease signs in cell culture models of early human brain development, raising the possibility that the disease has its origins much earlier...
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Mouse study suggests pain not perceived in the same way in people with Alzheimer’s disease
by King’s College London Attenuated inflammatory arthritis pain in TASTPM is caused by microglia that are insensitive to Gal-3. a Illustration of the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, where nociceptor terminals synapse on laminae I projection neurons. b In homoeostasis, microglia constantly survey the parenchyma by responding to cues in their microenvironment. c During inflammatory arthritis, TLR4+ P2Y12+ microglia...
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Potential treatment for rare autoimmune disorder adapted from CAR-T therapy
Evidence from a small-scale clinical trial suggests that a variation of the advanced blood cancer immunotherapy known as CAR-T could be adapted to treat myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder of the nervous system. The modified CAR-T therapy, short for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell, used by scientists offers the potential for a longer-lasting reduction in myasthenia gravis symptoms and...
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Uncovering the hidden genetic connections behind COVID-19 and comorbidities
By Pooja Toshniwal Paharia Jun 21 2023 Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers performed a protein diffusion network analysis using tissue-specific gene regulatory networks (GRNs) to identify predispositions and comorbidities of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes and the linking mechanisms. Study: Comorbidity genetic risk and pathways impact SARS-CoV-2...
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An app can transform smartphones into thermometers that accurately detect fevers
by Stefan Milne, University of Washington A team led by researchers at the University of Washington has created an app—FeverPhone—that transforms smartphones into thermometers without adding new hardware. To take someone’s temperature, the screen of a smartphone is held to a patient’s forehead. Shown here is lead author Joseph Breda (left), a UW doctoral student in the Paul...
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Scientists discover pathogenic mechanism and novel treatment for Klebsiella pneumoniae
by Hong Kong Polytechnic University C57BL6 mice were inoculated with 104 CFU of indicated Kp strains and the Kaplan–Meier survival curve was recorded. n = 10/group. b Spleen weight and representative image of spleens harvested from Kp-infected mice. c Bacterial load in various organs of mice at 12 hpi. n = 5/group. d Cell suspensions recovered from the lungs and...
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Researchers identify protein that helps HIV remain silent
by Bruno Geoffroy, University of Montreal Throughout the course of antiretroviral therapy, HIV hides quietly in reservoirs inside CD4+ T lymphocytes, white blood cells that play a role in activating the immune system against infection. The existence of these viral sanctuaries explains why antiretroviral therapy has to be maintained throughout a patient’s lifetime in order to keep the virus...
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An Update on Long COVID and Psychiatric Symptoms
PSYCHIATRY Inflammation from COVID can result in structural and functional brain changes. Updated June 20, 2023 | Reviewed by Davia Sills KEY POINTS Individuals with long COVID may experience a spectrum of clinical manifestations. The invasive properties of COVID can cause inflammation in the brain and central nervous system. Patients with long COVID can experience psychiatric symptoms. No...