Body
Targeting obesity through exercise and calorie restriction is often the first line of approach to treat diabetes and related cardiovascular disorders, such as cardiomyopathy. A recent animal study published in The FASEB Journal explored an alternative sirtuin-based therapy to block the development of obesity and cardiomyopathy under conditions of excess nutrition, when diet restriction and regular exercise are not feasible.
Accurate and timely diagnosis of the tropic disease visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the pillars for reducing VL deaths. Currently available serological tests for diagnosing VL vary widely in their performance and may, as a whole, be inadequate for VL diagnosis, researchers report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Researchers at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), published today in Molecular Cancer Research a study where they identify methylation patterns associated with different subtypes of breast cancer, and a subclassification of the group of "triple negatives", a breast cancer type typically associated with poor prognosis. In addition, researchers identified changes in DNA methylation associated with the response to docetaxel, a common therapy. The research was led by Dr. Eva González-Suárez, head of the IDIBELL Transformation and Metastasis research group.
Philadelphia, July 18, 2019 - Aging men with low testosterone levels who take testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) are at a slightly greater risk of experiencing an ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), or myocardial infarction, especially during the first two years of use, reports a study appearing in The American Journal of Medicine, published by Elsevier.
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered how an aggressive form of prostate cancer called double-negative prostate cancer (DNPC) metastasizes by evading the immune system. The investigators also reported on the pre-clinical development of a new therapy, which, when given in combination with existing immunotherapies, appears to stop and even reverse metastasis in mouse models.
Researchers at the University of Sussex have identified how differences in the genetic sequence of the two main strains of the cancer-associated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can alter the way the virus behaves when it infects white blood cells.
When EBV enters white blood cells it drives them to grow rapidly and continuously, making them 'immortal'. In some cases this can lead to the development of lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
A new class of diabetes medications is masking the potentially dangerous condition of ketoacidosis at the time of surgery. Testing for acid load in the blood of diabetes sufferers who are taking gliflozin medications is needed in order to avoid complications associated with ketoacidosis - a potentially lethal build-up of acid in the blood.
A study published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia found 42 cases of people with diabetes who presented for various surgeries, while taking gliflozin medications, experienced ketoacidosis while their blood sugar level was normal.
AURORA, Colo. (July 18, 2019) - Mothers living near more intense oil and gas development activity have a 40-70% higher chance of having children with congenital heart defects (CHDs) compared to those living in areas of less intense activity, according to a new study from researchers at the Colorado School of Public Health.
Boston, MA - In Botswana, an intervention in 15 communities to test for and treat HIV infection in all adult residents was effective in increasing population viral suppression to very high levels (meaning that the virus becomes undetectable and can't be transmitted while patients are taking effective treatment), according to a new study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, and collaborators at several other institutions.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Both numbers in a blood pressure reading -- the "upper" systolic and the "lower" diastolic -- independently predicted the risk of heart attack or stroke in a very large Kaiser Permanente study that included more than 36 million blood pressure readings from more than 1 million people. The study, which was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, runs counter to decades of previous research indicating that high systolic blood pressure is more likely than diastolic pressure to result in adverse outcomes.
Researchers have created a comprehensive test based on machine learning algorithms to better guide the management of patients with pancreatic cysts - a potential precursor of pancreatic cancer. The new assay, called CompCyst, outperformed the current gold standard-of-care in an international, multicenter study of 875 patients. Crucially, the test would have avoided surgery in 60% of patients who underwent unnecessary surgical removal, suggesting its use could lead to fewer unneeded surgeries and lower health and economic costs.
PHILADELPHIA (July 17, 2019) - It is well understood that urban black males are at a disproportionately high risk of poor health outcomes. But little is known about how the neighborhood environments where these men live contribute to their health.
ATHENS, Ohio (July 17, 2019) - The drug addiction epidemic continues to plague the country, and thousands of lives are cut short each year due to overdose. Tragically, when a person's life ends prematurely, much of their potential impact on the world is lost as well. This includes both lost benefits to society and lost experiences for family and friends left behind.
PHILADELPHIA -- Our lungs work tirelessly all through the day to keep us breathing, seamlessly expanding and contracting. When lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred, it can lose its flexibility, making it harder to breathe.
In a review publishing July 17 in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, researchers examined how artificial intelligence (AI) could affect drug development in the coming decade.
Big pharma and other drug developers are grappling with a dilemma: the era of blockbuster drugs is coming to an end. At the same time, adding new drugs to their portfolios is slow and expensive. It takes on average 10-15 years and $1.5-2B to get a new drug to market; approximately half of this time and investment is devoted to clinical trials.