The immune-boosting properties of breast milk have long been known. Now a team of scientists led by Johns Hopkins pediatric surgeon-in-chief David Hackam, M.D., Ph.D., says experiments in mice reveal how breast milk works to ward off the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating intestinal disorder that affects 12 percent of premature babies and claims the lives of one in four of those who have it.
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The likelihood of being bitten by mosquitoes could be linked to our genes, according to a study carried out on twins published April 22, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Fernández-Grandon from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and colleagues.
Researchers have described the previously unproven role of the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) in causing asthma, a disease which affects 300 million people worldwide. The team used mouse models of asthma and human airway tissue from asthmatic and non-asthmatic people to reach their findings.
New research led by NYU Langone Medical Center examines what happens when a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) who is clinically stable stops taking their medication.
The international, multi-site study found almost 40 percent of patients had some disease activity return when they stopped taking their meds.
The findings were presented at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting held April 18-25, in Washington, D.C.
Genes usually always be expressed as in Western writing: from left to right on the white canvas of our DNA. So when we speak of the activity of our genome, in fact we are referring to the expression of genes in this sense of the double-stranded DNA.
However, for some time, it is known the existence of a few sequences 'rebel' DNA that are activated in reverse: from right to left. They are known as antisense transcripts.
The most diverse collection of bodily bacteria discovered in humans has been among an isolated tribe of Yanomami Indians in the remote Amazonian jungles of southern Venezuela - they have a microbiome 40 percent more diverse than people living in industrialized countries.
Cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with reduced metabolic syndrome risk among smokers, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The study was published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Smoking is estimated to cause 443,000 deaths each year in the United States, primarily from cancer, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A new study has found that wind instrument players have a reduced risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea.
Scientists have discovered a protein that plays a central role in promoting immunity to viruses and cancer, opening the door to new therapies.
Experiments in mice and human cells have shown that the protein promotes the proliferation of cytotoxic T cells, which kill cancer cells and cells infected with viruses. The discovery was unexpected because the new protein had no known function and doesn't resemble any other protein.
An international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have found genetic overlap between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and two significant cardiovascular disease risk factors: high levels of inflammatory C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma lipids or fats. The findings, based upon genome-wide association studies involving hundreds of thousands of individuals, suggest the two cardiovascular phenotypes play a role in AD risk - and perhaps offer a new avenue for potentially delaying disease progression.
Obesity was associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer in African American men and that risk grew by nearly four times as body-mass index (BMI) increased, according to a new study. African American men have the highest incidence of prostate cancer of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, as well as the highest rates of aggressive disease and prostate cancer death. These elevated risks likely arise from both social and biologic factors. The associations of obesity with prostate cancer risk are complex.
Two studies in mice add to the evidence that the phthalate DEHP, a plasticizing agent used in auto upholstery, baby toys, building materials and many other consumer products, can undermine female reproductive health, in part by disrupting the growth and function of the ovaries.
Loss of muscle volume is a common and often debilitating outcome of traumatic orthopedic injury, resulting in muscle weakness and suboptimal limb function. A new therapeutic approach in which small pieces of autologous muscle can be expanded in a collagen hydrogel and used to regenerate functional muscle at the sight of injury, instead of relying on a donor muscle graft, would be especially beneficial for repairing large areas of muscle loss. A study demonstrating the feasibility of using autologous minced tissue grafts for muscle regeneration is published in BioResearch Open Access.
New research might bring a frown to even the most heavily botoxed faces, with scientists finding how some of the potent toxin used for cosmetic surgery escapes into the central nervous system.
Researchers at The University of Queensland have shown how Botox - also known as Botulinum neurotoxin serotype A - is transported via our nerves back to the central nervous system.
Botox - best known for its ability to smooth wrinkles - has been extremely useful for the treatment of over-active muscles and spasticity as it promotes local and long-term paralysis.
Today it is not possible to predict how or if malignant melanomas will spread. Melanoma metastases are furthermore extremely difficult to eliminate as traditional treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy is mostly ineffective. Only ten per cent of the patients survive once they reach an advanced stage with distant metastases.