While the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic fuels tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks, it does not drive the development and transmission of multidrug-resistance in TB patients as previously suspected, according to a study published in eLife.
The findings, from a collaboration between Norwegian, British and Argentinian scientists, also show that TB drug resistance is not more likely to evolve in HIV-positive patients compared to HIV-negative patients.
Accumulation of fat deposits in muscle tissue is strongly linked to the onset of insulin resistance, a hallmark of Type 2 diabetes. Identifying the muscle-specific molecular pathways that contribute to insulin resistance may lead to potential therapies that reduce the risks and complications for Type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related disorders.
Washington, DC - August 8, 2016 - For the first time in Brazil, a particular antibiotic resistance mechanism conferring resistance to the important antibiotic, colistin, has been detected in a human. It was in a strain of Escherichia coli that was isolated from a diabetic patient's foot infection. The mechanism, called MCR-1, was incorporated into a plasmid, a short piece of DNA that exists independent of the genome, which can jump from one bacterium to another, spreading the resistance.
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. (August 8, 2016)--A bird species that does a poor job spreading West Nile virus (WNV) but is particularly likely to get mosquito bites may explain why human infections with the disease are relatively uncommon in Atlanta, Georgia--despite evidence of high rates of virus circulating in the local bird population, according to a new study published online today in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Lake Nona, Fla., August 8, 2016 (embargoed until 4:00 P.M. EST) -- Researchers at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified a new potential target for drugs to prevent type 2 diabetes. A paper published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that blocking a cellular glucose sensor in muscle improves insulin responsiveness.
DALLAS, August 8, 2016 -- For the first time in history, people living in low- and middle-income countries have a higher prevalence of hypertension - or high blood pressure - than people living in high-income countries, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.
A 2010 data analysis involving more than 968,000 participants from 90 countries found that more than 30 percent of adults worldwide live with high blood pressure, and 75 percent of those adults live in low- and middle-income countries.
People who live in provinces with policies that allow pharmacists to administer influenza vaccines are more likely to be vaccinated, according to a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
How smart were human-like species of the Stone Age? New research published in the Journal of Archaeological Science by a team led by paleoanthropologist April Nowell of the University of Victoria reveals surprisingly sophisticated adaptations by early humans living 250,000 years ago in a former oasis near Azraq, Jordan.
The decrease in fishery productivity in Lake Tanganyika since the 1950s is a consequence of global warming rather than just overfishing, according to a new report from an international team led by a University of Arizona geoscientist.
The lake was becoming warmer at the same time in the 1800s the abundance of fish began declining, the team found. The lake's algae - fish food - also started decreasing at that time.
However, large-scale commercial fishing did not begin on Lake Tanganyika until the 1950s.
The social costs related to lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan, amount to $395 million from April 2014, when the city switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River, to the present day, not counting the $58 million already spent by the state on medical care and water provisions. The analysis by Peter Muennig at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health appears as a letter in the journal Health Affairs.
Biologists have discovered high levels of pesticides and other contaminants from marine mammals in the tissues of endangered California condors living near the coast that they say could complicate recovery efforts for the largest land bird in North America.
Teenagers who regularly play online video games tend to improve their school results, according to new research from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
But school students who visit Facebook or chat sites every day are more likely to fall behind in maths, reading and science.
Associate Professor Alberto Posso, from RMIT's School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, investigated the results of testing by the globally recognised Program for International Student Assessment.
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified an additional mechanism for resistance to targeted treatment for BRAF-mutant melanoma. Their paper, receiving advance online publication in Nature Medicine, reports that inactivating mutations in two genes responsible for regulating key aspects of cell division can reactivate the signaling pathway driving tumor growth that had been blocked by BRAF inhibitor drugs.
Researchers have found evidence that a natural fruit extract is capable of dissolving calcium oxalate crystals, the most common component of human kidney stones. This finding could lead to the first advance in the treatment of calcium oxalate stones in 30 years.
Two different approaches to insurance expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were associated with increased outpatient and preventive care, reduced emergency department use, and improved self-reported health compared to nonexpansion in another state, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.