General

Early-stage UAlberta research suggests that taking a cholesterol-lowering statin regularly may help boost the body’s ability to fight off chronic conditions like HIV and cancer. “We concluded that Atorvastatin (marketed under Lipitor, among other names) may be of benefit to patients with HIV and cancer by preventing their T-cells—a type […]

It is estimated that up to 75 percent of breast cancer survivors experience problems with cognitive difficulties following treatments, perhaps lasting years. Currently, few science-based options are available to help. In the journal Cancer, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers report in a pilot study of 87 female […]

Scientists have just discovered how the engine that powers cancer-killing cells functions. Crucially, their research also highlights how that engine is fuelled and that cholesterol-like molecules, called oxysterols, act as a “cut-off” switch making it hard for our ‘Natural Killer’ cells to win the war against cancer. The scientists, led […]

Errors in the regulation of gene expression may contribute to the development of a common form of blood cancer and point to potential treatment strategies, according to a study by scientists from Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a difficult-to-treat cancer of […]

Since the 1970s, general mortality rates in developed countries have declined. On average, lifespans have lengthened by almost a decade. One demographic group that has not reflected this trend: persons with schizophrenia, whose life expectancy is 15 to 20 years shorter than the general population. The average life expectancy in […]

A University of Tokyo research team revealed for the first time that colorectal cancer cells activate the intracellular signaling of a protein called BMP-4 that enables the cells to evade apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The team further found that inhibition of BMP signaling prevented the formation of colorectal tumors, […]

Before symptoms become pronounced, there is no reliable way to identify who is on track to develop Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating movement disorder characterized by tremors, slowness of movement, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination. But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have analyzed Medicare […]

The breast milk of mothers with premature babies has different amounts of microRNA than that of mothers with babies born at term, which may help premature babies catch up in growth and development, according to researchers. In a study, researchers compared the breast milk of mothers with babies born prematurely […]

There is an increased risk of thyroid cancer associated with lower-than-normal thyroid hormone levels, a finding that could have a major impact on patients fighting the disease. The Yale-led study, published in American Association for Cancer Research journal examined the effect of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) on the development of human papillary […]

Although KRAS is one of the major oncogenes associated with aggressive cancers, drugs designed to block KRAS function have not been able to halt cancer progression in a clinical setting.  Until now, KRAS has remained infamously “undruggable.” In a new study, published in Cancer Discovery, University of California San Diego School […]

Privately insured children and those with Medicaid at the time of a cancer diagnosis experience largely similar survival trends, with slight evidence for an increased risk of cancer death in children who were uninsured at diagnosis, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. […]

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are recruiting volunteers for a national study that is exploring whether strategies to improve cardiovascular health also reduce the risk of dementia in those at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The multicenter study is evaluating aerobic exercise, intensive medical management of […]

Older adults are admitted to hospice for short duration despite experiencing symptoms months prior to the end of life, according to a Yale-led study. The finding highlights the need for earlier hospice admission or other strategies to address increasing symptoms and disability at the end of life, the researchers said. […]

Because anticancer drugs are designed to kill growing cells, they also affect normal, fast-growing cells—blood cells forming in the bone marrow, for example, and digestive, reproductive, and hair follicle cells. Chemotherapy may also affect cells in vital organs, such as the heart, kidney, bladder, lungs, and nervous system. Researchers at […]

Scientists working to develop new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases have been stymied by the inability to grow human motor neurons in the lab. Motor neurons drive muscle contractions, and their damage underlies devastating diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy, both of which ultimately lead to paralysis […]

Women who receive a breast cancer diagnosis while they are still young enough to bear children can take time to freeze their eggs and embryos without fear of delaying their cancer treatment, according to research by UC San Francisco scientists who have helped develop a faster fertility preservation technique that can […]

In a two-year study at UCLA, nearly two-thirds of people with advanced melanoma responded positively to a treatment that combines the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab with a herpes virus called talimogene laherpareovec, or T-VEC. Researchers led by Dr. Antoni Ribas found that the treatment’s side effects were manageable, and comparable to […]

While Zika virus causes devastating damage to the brains of developing fetuses, it one day may be an effective treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows […]

UCLA biologists have developed an intervention that serves as a cellular time machine — turning back the clock on a key component of aging. In a study on middle-aged fruit flies, the researchers substantially improved the animals’ health while significantly slowing their aging. They believe the technique could eventually lead […]

Getting older is not something people admire. Your body becomes weaker and you generally start losing some of its capacities. For example, around 1 in 3000 middle-age people start experience reduction of sight. Why is that? A new study from The University of Edinburgh determined genetic reasons for the middle-age […]

At some point no vertebrates had brains and this is weird to think about it. At the beginning of the development of the new life, while it is still in mother‘s womb, vertebrates don‘t have brains and all of a sudden neurogenesis takes place and brain starts forming. How does […]

In developing fetuses, infection by the Zika virus can result in devastating neurological damage, most notably microcephaly and other brain malformations. In a new study, published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine in St. […]

Just as many Danes die of cardiovascular diseases as cancer. However, the majority of funding ends in cancer screening. A major new study now shows that a combined screening for cardiovascular diseases delivers more lifespan per krone spent than, for example, cancer screening programmes. “National screening programmes have been implemented […]

The notorious genetic marker of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, ApoE4, may not be a lone wolf. Researchers from USC and The University of Manchester have found that another gene, TOMM40, complicates the picture. Although ApoE4 plays a greater role in some types of aging-related memory ability, the […]

There are many good ways of maintaining health of your heart. You should exercise, avoid prolonged periods of sitting, eat less fat food and so on. But did you know that staying in education for longer may help you avoiding heart disease? A new study from UCL has shown that […]

UW Medicine researchers recently lead a successful effort to create “designer” stem cells that might lead to advances in cancer and aging, they say. In a paper published this week in the journal PNAS, the scientists showed for the first time that a computer-generated protein can be inserted into stem cells to change their epigenetic memory, whose role is to […]

Cancer cells obtained from a blood test may be able to predict how early-stage lung cancer patients will fare, a team from the University of Michigan has shown. This information could be used to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from additional therapies to head off the spread […]

Can a cell show its biological age? And is it possible to foresee an animal’s lifespan? Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne discovered a connection between the size of the nucleolus – a tiny structure in the very center of the cell – and […]

Bone marrow contains hematopoetic stem cells, the precursors to every blood cell type. These cells spring into action following bone marrow transplants, bone marrow injury and during systemic infection, creating new blood cells, including immune cells, in a process known as hematopoiesis. A new study led by University of Pennsylvania […]