Culture
SAN DIEGO -- Promising findings from preclinical animal studies show the potential of gene therapy for treating incurable neurological disorders. In new research presented today, scientists successfully used gene therapy to slow the progression and improve symptoms of disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2018, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
SAN DIEGO -- Excessive stress during fetal development or early childhood can have long-term consequences for the brain, from increasing the likelihood of brain disorders and affecting an individual's response to stress as an adult to changing the nutrients a mother may pass on to her babies in the womb. The new research suggests novel approaches to combat the effects of such stress, such as inhibiting stress hormone production or "resetting" populations of immune cells in the brain.
(Boston)--Researchers have identified a genetic variation that may influence chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) disease severity.
TMEM106B is one of the first genes to be implicated in CTE. It may partially explain why some athletes present with severe CTE symptoms while others are less affected despite similar levels of head trauma.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Demographic and cultural differences strongly influence the coping styles young people use when they're affected by a natural disaster, and these disparities should be taken into account when providing services to help them recover from these traumatic experiences, a new study found.
University of Illinois social work professors Tara M. Powell and Kate M. Wegmann led the study, which utilized a new method of assessing coping among disaster-affected youths to address the limitations of a commonly used survey called Kidcope.
From the standpoint of heart health, the Tsimane are a model group. A population indigenous to the Bolivian Amazon, the Tsimane demonstrate next to no heart disease. They have minimal hypertension, low prevalence of obesity and and their cholesterol levels are relatively healthy. And those factors don't seem to change with age.
Boston, MA -- To be more transparent and to promote communication with patients after medical injuries, many hospitals have implemented a new approach called the communication-and-resolution program (CRP). Through these programs, hospitals openly communicate with patients after adverse events, investigating specifics, providing explanations, and, when necessary, taking responsibility and proactively offering compensation. Medical centers that have adopted this program believe it will help to improve patient safety and that it is the hospital's ethical obligation to disclose medical errors.
A prognostic model developed using a machine learning approach could identify African-American breast cancer patients with increased risk of death, according to results of a study presented at the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held here Nov. 2-5.
NEW ORLEANS -- An interactive online LGBT cultural competency training program for oncologists may be acceptable, feasible, and improve LGBT-related knowledge and clinical practices, according to preliminary results of a pilot study of oncologists in Florida to be presented at the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held here Nov. 2-5.
NEW ORLEANS --Latinos in the United States experienced an overall increased risk of cancer death with each generation born in this country, according to results of a study presented at the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held here Nov. 2-5.
NEW ORLEANS -- African-Americans caring for loved ones with cancer were less likely than their white peers to report distress and depression, possibly due to stronger social support, according to results of a study presented at the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held here Nov. 2-5.
When you park in the office car park, you usually have no problem finding your car again at the end of the day. The next day, you might park a few spots further away. However, in the evening, you find your car, even though the memories of both days are very similar. You find your car (also) because our brains are able to store memories of very similar events as distinct memories in a process called pattern separation.
Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and Amsterdam UMC have disclosed the nature of how T cells protect the brain against harmful viruses. The results of the study, which are published in Nature Communications, are important for investigating the role of the immune system in numerous brain disorders.
Immune system
An insect larva found in the caves of Intervales State Park, an Atlantic Rainforest remnant in the municipality of Ribeirão Grande, São Paulo State, Brazil, was initially of no interest to the research group led by biochemist Vadim Viviani, a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Sorocaba. The researchers are investigating bioluminescence, the capacity of living organisms to produce their own light.
New research led by Lijun Song, associate professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University, and graduate student Phillip Pettis suggests that knowing people in high and diverse positions may be good or bad for your health. The culprit? Economic inequality.
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could change the way scientists look at one of the most essential enzymes in medicine in hopes of designing better and more cost-effective drugs in the future.
Enzymes are molecules that speed up chemical reactions inside cells. The human body is home to thousands of enzymes that perform vital functions such as the digestion of fat and the breakdown of sugar into glucose.