Body
Osteoporosis, a bone disease linked to ageing, is characterised by a loss of bone density, micro-architectural deterioration of the bones and an increased risk of fractures. With one third of postmenopausal women affected, it is a major public health problem.
The CA125 antigen, a plasma membrane glycoprotein found in the tissues of the female reproductive tract, is commonly used for the detection of ovarian cancer but works poorly on its own in identifying early stage cancers. The cancer specificity can be improved significantly when CA125 detection is combined with targeting aberrant sugar structures in the tumour.
New research shows improving the lifestyle of women with obesity during pregnancy could mean long-term cardiovascular benefits for their children.
The study, led by King's College London and supported by the British Heart Foundation and Tommy's charity, examined how an antenatal diet and physical activity intervention in pregnant women with obesity could positively influence the health of the women and their children three years after giving birth.
In an editorial for the American Journal of Public Health, faculty from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) led by Dean Ayman El-Mohandes highlight the long-standing public health-related inequities among people of color in the United States--which have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic--and call upon New York City lawmakers to put forth policies to achieve a more equitable distribution of basic necessities such as employment, food, health care, housing, and education.
CHICAGO --- Severely ill COVID-19 patients on ventilators are placed in a prone (face down) position because it's easier for them to breathe and reduces mortality. But that life-saving position can also cause permanent nerve damage in these vulnerable patients, reports a newly accepted study from Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Scientists believe the nerve damage is the result of reduced blood flow and inflammation. Other non-COVID-19 patients on ventilators in this position rarely experience any nerve damage.
Cancer immunotherapy is the manipulation of the immune responses naturally present in the human body to fight cancer. Often, these immune responses are blocked by cells or molecules that prevent them from killing cancer cells, and the tumour is able to establish itself and grow.
Public confidence in vaccines varies widely between countries and regions around the world, with signs that public trust may be improving in parts of Europe, whilst several countries experiencing political instability and religious extremism are seeing growing scepticism that vaccines are safe, and the spread of misinformation online is threatening vaccination programmes worldwide.
A blood test that can identify a variety of mutations in advanced breast cancer can reliably match women to effective targeted treatments, early results of a major clinical trial reveal.
The plasmaMATCH trial provides the strongest evidence yet that simple blood tests known as 'liquid biopsies' can benefit women with breast cancer by tracking their disease as it evolves and directing them to the most effective treatments.
Knowledge may be critical for personalized medicine
Information could be used for diagnostics, drug development, predicting outcomes
Genes found for women's breast cancer progression, male balding patterns
CHICAGO --- Biological sex has a small but ubiquitous influence on gene expression in almost every type of human tissue, reports a new study from Northwestern Medicine, the University of Chicago and the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona. Gene expression is the amount of product created by a gene for cell function.
Researchers led by Takeo Yoshikawa at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered a biomarker that can detect autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool-aged children. Published in Brain Communications, the new study found that levels of the protein FABP4 were much lower in four- to six-year-old children with ASD than they were in other typically developing children. Experiments in mice that lacked FABP4 revealed changes in neurons that resemble those found in the postmortem brains of people with ASD.
A recent study examining pain among cannabis users suggests that--unlike long-term opioid use--regular cannabis use does not appear to increase pain sensitivity.
Doctoral student Michelle St. Pierre, who conducts research in the psychology department at UBC Okanagan, recently published a study looking for differences in pain tolerance of people who frequently use cannabis compared to those who don't.
BOSTON - The death of a family pet can trigger a sense of grief in children that is profound and prolonged, and can potentially lead to subsequent mental health issues, according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In a paper appearing in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the team found that the strong emotional attachment of youngsters to pets might result in measurable psychological distress that can serve as an indicator of depression in children and adolescents for as long as three years or more after the loss of a beloved pet.
Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT) are a rare, fast-growing form of brain cancer that usually strikes children three years and younger, though they can occur in older children and adults. There are multiple treatments, but no definitive standard of care and long-term survival is poor.
Jupiter's moons are hot.
Well, hotter than they should be, for being so far from the sun. In a process called tidal heating, gravitational tugs from Jupiter's moons and the planet itself stretch and squish the moons enough to warm them. As a result, some of the icy moons contain interiors warm enough to host oceans of liquid water, and in the case of the rocky moon Io, tidal heating melts rock into magma.
Systematic efforts and a clear structure are decisive factors in the transition to person-centred health care. A University of Gothenburg study, published in the scientific journal BMJ, reflects what is now a decade of experience and research in the field.
Expectations are growing stronger for health care to be person-centered, and therefore emanate from a partnership between staff, patients and relatives. But at the same times, the process of introducing and maintaining this way of working is slow and laborious in many places.