Body

Researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have developed a computational model to calculate 'skeletal age', a personalised estimate of an individual's risk of bone fracture and premature death.

The skeletal age calculator, which will be accessible to doctors and health professionals, aims to better identify those at risk of a first bone fracture and subsequent fractures, and also estimates how fractures impact life expectancy.

A global survey of healthcare providers by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) has revealed unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on worldwide healthcare delivery for osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a chronic, age-related disease which is associated with life-changing fragility fractures. Approximately 740,000 people lose their lives following hip fractures every year.

FOLSOM, Calif., February 9, 2021 - A new animal study, published in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition, suggests regular walnut consumption may be a promising intervention for reducing negative outcomes associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, a widespread bacterial infection that affects more than half of the world's population.

While the World Health Organization (WHO) continues its mission to Wuhan investigating the origin and early transmission of SARS-CoV-2, a new study led by scientists from Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, shows that SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses (SC2r-CoVs) are circulating in animals as far away as Thailand. The study, published in Nature Communications today, reported that high levels of neutralising antibodies against the virus were present in both bats and pangolins found in the Southeast Asian country.

Amsterdam, NL, February 9, 2021 - Globally, nearly 300,000 babies are born with neural tube defects including spina bifida (SB) each year.

A study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School found a way to detect the presence of ovarian cancer in patients using Pap test samples, normally used to detect cervical cancer. Currently, no early warning system exists for ovarian cancer, which in 2021, is estimated to kill more than 13,700 women, according to the American Cancer Society.

CHICAGO: Elderly patients (70 years and over) with locally advanced esophageal (E) and esophagogastric junction (EGJ) cancer (located in the stomach and esophagus) should be considered for optimal therapy that has the potential to cure. This therapy regimen includes initial chemoradiotherapy (NACR) and surgical resection, an operation that removes the cancerous part of the organ.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (Feb. 9, 2021) -- Scientists have devised a new approach for detecting and potentially heading off the effects of two rare pediatric diseases before birth.

The study, performed in mouse models of the diseases and published today in Cell Reports, represents an important step toward much-needed early interventions for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and Silver-Russell syndrome.

Under the Biden Administration, New Yorkers' acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine has increased significantly. In September, 55% of residents reported they would take the vaccine when it became available and this January, 64% reported they would take it.

Differences in vaccine acceptance persist across racial and ethnic groups. Among Whites and Asians acceptance is 70-72%; among Blacks and Latina/os it is 57-58%. On a positive note, the largest increase in rate of acceptance was seen among Black respondents, up from 33% in September to 57% in January.

The development of the so-called small molecules is a promising field of the pharmaceutical industry. Small molecules are organic compounds with a small molecular mass. They are often based on heterocycles--carbon rings that also include atoms of nitrogen and other elements. The synthesis of small molecules is much cheaper than the development of drugs based on antibodies or other biological molecules; however, their properties are still understudied.

To achieve target delivery of drugs to cells and organs, scientists have to be able to transport the molecules of pharmaceutical substances to targets using a controllable carrier. The role of such a carrier can be played by special particles, such as lipid droplets or magnetic nanoparticles. Among the latter, the most popular are the ones based on iron oxides. Their sizes range from 1 to 100 nm, which is dozens of times smaller than animal cells, and they can be moved within a body using an external magnetic field.

ATLANTA--ProAgio, a drug developed by Georgia State University biology professor Zhi-Ren Liu and his team, is effective at treating pancreatic cancer and prolonging survival in mice, according to a study published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

A second study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, shows the drug is also effective against triple-negative breast cancer, a fast-growing and hard-to-treat type of breast cancer that carries a poor prognosis.

Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. In this review article the authors Xiuling Li, Shunung Liang, Chee Hwee Tan, Shuwen Cao, Xiaoding Xu, Phei Er Saw and Wei Tao from Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China and Center for Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA discuss the potential benefits of four plants endogenous to China and the enhancement of their therapeutic efficacy by nanotechnology intervention.

A new paper in Oxford Open Immunology, published by Oxford University Press, examines prior findings in the field of neuroimmunology that suggest potential treatment strategies for patients suffering long-term symptoms from COVID-19.

Below please find a summary and link(s) of new coronavirus-related content published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The summary below is not intended to substitute for the full article as a source of information. A collection of coronavirus-related content is free to the public at https://www.acpjournals.org/topic/category/coronavirus.