June 13, 2019

NIH-developed technique prevents obstruction in heart valve replacement

A novel technique has proven successful in preventing coronary artery obstruction during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a rare but often fatal complication. Called Bioprosthetic Aortic Scallop Intentional Laceration to prevent Iatrogenic Coronary Artery obstruction (BASILICA), the technique will increase treatment options for high-risk patients who need heart valve procedures. […]
June 13, 2019

A microscopic topographic map of cellular function

A decade of research leads MU scientists to a better understanding of how materials move out of cells. The flow of traffic through our nation’s highways and byways is meticulously mapped and studied, but less is known about how materials in cells travel. Now, a team of researchers at the University […]
June 13, 2019

Immunotherapy Drug Shows Potential to Cure Advanced Lung Cancer

In a new study including Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital researchers, the cancer immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), increased survival for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a disease once considered an aggressive, and uniformly fatal cancer. The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical […]
June 13, 2019

Study: unhealthy gut promotes spread of breast cancer

An unhealthy, inflamed gut causes breast cancer to become much more invasive and spread more quickly to other parts of the body, new research from the University of Virginia Cancer Center suggests. Melanie Rutkowski, a research faculty member in UVA’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology, found that disrupting the […]
June 12, 2019

New gene-editing system precisely inserts large DNA sequences into cellular DNA

Researchers identify and develop new CRISPR-associated transposase system for targeted integration of DNA, adding key capabilities to gene-editing technology. A team led by researchers from Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, has characterized and engineered a new gene-editing system that can precisely and […]
June 12, 2019

Cause of hardening of the arteries – and potential treatment – identified

A team of UK scientists have identified the mechanism behind hardening of the arteries, and shown in animal studies that a generic medication normally used to treat acne could be an effective treatment for the condition. The team, led by the University of Cambridge and King’s College London, found that […]
June 12, 2019

Gene mutations are pointing towards the root causes of the multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a disease, which is characterized by the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. There is no cure and existing treatments can have tremendous side effects. Eventually MS leads to disability. Now an international team of scientists led by the University of British […]
June 12, 2019

Global study links better education, wealth to improved heart health

Findings from a sweeping global study conducted by SFU Health Sciences professor Scott Lear, among others, reveal a direct correlation between socioeconomic status and one’s susceptibility to heart attacks and strokes. Lear, who holds the Pfizer/Heart & Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Prevention Research at St. Paul’s Hospital, is the […]
June 12, 2019

Younger women who suffer a heart attack are almost always smokers

Smoking is the overriding cause of heart attacks for people between the ages of 30 and 50, and register-based studies from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital can now contribute with figures and ratios: Three out of four younger patients with a major heart attack are smokers – and for […]
June 12, 2019

The goal is personalised medicine for patients with schizophrenia

No more trial and error: If things go as Professor Søren Dinesen Østergaard and his new Postdoc Fredrik Hieronymus hope, patients with schizophrenia will be treated using personalised medicine in the not so distant future. The research project is supported by the Lundbeck Foundation to the tune of DKK 1.6 […]
June 12, 2019

A “one-two punch” to wipe out cancerous ovarian cells

Researchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have developed a two-step combination therapy to destroy cancer cells. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, they show the superior therapeutic effectiveness of the “one-two punch” on cells of ovarian cancer patients, based on manipulation of the state of cellular […]
June 12, 2019

Radiation Treatment Increases Cardiac Risk for Lung Cancer Patients

As advances in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) extend patients’ lives, more of these patients are facing a different threat: adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and heart failure. A new retrospective study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute examined […]
June 12, 2019

Approach Could Help in Treating Glioblastoma, Other Rare Cancers

Large randomized clinical trials can uncover biomarkers that indicate which cancer treatments are likely to work best for individual patients. But it’s been challenging to find these biomarkers in rarer cancers where such robust data aren’t available. Using a new approach that combines data from human tumors grown in mice […]
June 12, 2019

Researchers Discover How the Brain Changes When Mastering a New Skill

Mastering a new skill — whether a sport, an instrument or a craft — takes time and training. While it is understood that a healthy brain is capable of learning these new skills, how the brain changes in order to develop new behaviors is a relative mystery. More precise knowledge […]
June 11, 2019

Improving breast cancer treatment

Oestrogen receptive positive breast cancer can be treated by drugs, such as fulvestrant, that interfere with the action of oestrogen. Although these drugs are often effective for a while, the cancer can frequently become resistant and the drugs stop working. In the trial, researchers investigated whether they could reverse or […]
June 11, 2019

Sleeping with artificial light at night associated with weight gain in women

Sleeping with a television or light on in the room may be a risk factor for gaining weight or developing obesity, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The research, which was published online in JAMA Internal Medicine, is the first to find an association between any exposure […]
June 11, 2019

Drug delays type 1 diabetes in people at high risk

A treatment affecting the immune system effectively slowed the progression to clinical type 1 diabetes in high risk individuals, according to findings from National Institutes of Health-funded research. The study is the first to show that clinical type 1 diabetes can be delayed by two or more years among people who are […]
June 11, 2019

Drug makes tumors more susceptible to chemo

Many chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by severely damaging their DNA. However, some tumors can withstand this damage by relying on a DNA repair pathway that not only allows them to survive, but also introduces mutations that helps cells become resistant to future treatment. Researchers at MIT and Duke University […]
June 10, 2019

Going nuts for anti-aging

The pecan is a North American deciduous walnut tree. Its seeds, pecan nuts, are sweeter in flavor than walnuts and are said to be more popular than almonds in the U.S. What deserves attention is the pecan nut’s antioxidant power. It’s said to have more anti-aging effect than the walnut, […]
June 10, 2019

Immunotherapy Delays Type 1 Diabetes Onset in People at High Risk

A two-week course of an experimental immunotherapy called teplizumab dramatically reduced type 1 diabetes (T1D) diagnosis rates in people at high risk for the disease, according to newly published phase II clinical trial results. This is the first time a drug has been able to delay or prevent the disease, […]
June 10, 2019

Struggling to find a fix for type 2 diabetes

Treatments for both adults and children need to change to avoid a type 2 diabetes epidemic, researchers say. Intervening aggressively to roll back the onset of type 2 diabetes does works in adults, but once the medication and treatment ends, the disease always returns, according to a study published in the journal Diabetes […]
June 10, 2019

Artificial intelligence tool to help detect brain aneurysms

Doctors could soon get some help from an artificial intelligence tool when diagnosing brain aneurysms – bulges in blood vessels in the brain that can leak or burst open, potentially leading to stroke, brain damage or death. The AI tool, developed by researchers at Stanford University and detailed in a […]
June 10, 2019

How to Quell a Cytokine Storm: International Team Finds New Ways to Dampen an Overactive Immune System

BRCA—the family of DNA-repair proteins associated with breast, ovarian prostate, and pancreatic cancers—interacts with a multipart, molecular complex that is also responsible for regulating the immune system. When certain players in this pathway go awry, autoimmune disorders, like lupus, can arise. Now, researchers in the Perelman School of Medicineat the University […]
June 10, 2019

For dying patients, early plans can improve quality of life

Researchers encourage more conversation, better documentation of wishes. Careful documentation of a hospice patient’s end-of-life wishes – and prominently noting that information in health records early – could prevent unwanted hospitalizations and medical interventions, a new study suggests. Researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed the health records of 1,185 […]
June 10, 2019

Study reveals how cells choose their fate

Cells prepare for different developmental paths and make multiple choices on their way to their final state, a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Harvard Medical School and elsewhere published in Science shows. The findings can help pinpoint where cells may “take the wrong turn” and become malignant. The human […]
June 8, 2019

A Precise Look at Alzheimer’s Proteins

PNNL scientist sifts for clues from more than 1,000 human brains A substance known as amyloid beta protein gets a lot of attention from scientists. Beta amyloid, as it’s also called, is a normal brain protein found in everyone, but for unknown reason it gunks up in the brains of […]
June 7, 2019

DNA nanorobots target HER2-positive breast cancer cells

According to the Mayo Clinic, about 20% of breast cancers make abnormally high levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). When displayed on the surface of cancer cells, this signaling protein helps them proliferate uncontrollably and is linked with a poor prognosis. Now, researchers have […]
June 7, 2019

Ultimate Destiny: how Undifferentiated Cells commit to their Biological Fate

From the light-sensing cones of the retina to the blood-pumping muscle of the heart to the waste-filtering units of the kidneys, the human body is made up of hundreds of cell types exquisitely specialized to perform their jobs with great precision. This complexity, however, belies the fact that each of […]