Category: Health Problems

It’s a common expression to say that your brain is full. Although the brain doesn’t literally fill up, in recent years researchers have discovered that the brain does sometimes push out old memories in order to take up new ones. Now, a team at Scripps Research has shown for the first time the physiological mechanism

UC San Francisco scientists have figured out why some lung cancers become drug-resistant after initially responding to targeted therapies. In the process, they devised a new two-pronged approach that yields an effective treatment for these cancers in the laboratory and holds tremendous promise for the future of precision medicine, they said. The findings are detailed

Undertaking a Ph.D. can be very stressful, due to a range of challenges. These include having to develop discipline expertise as well as generic skills (such as academic writing and maintaining motivation) during a largely solo pursuit. Concern has been growing about the prevalence of mental health issues (such as depression and anxiety) among Ph.D.

Might people be more likely to help a stranger or donate money immediately after watching the latest Marvel film? Heroes demonstrate extraordinary courage, go to great lengths to help others, and live meaningful lives. They are inspirational moral examples for many people—but do their heroic actions trigger people to give a helping hand themselves? A

Over a decade ago, I wrote a piece for a psychiatric journal entitled “Is Bigotry a Mental Illness?” At the time, some psychiatrists were advocating making “pathological bigotry” or pathological bias – essentially, bias so extreme it interferes with daily function and reaches near-delusional proportions – an official psychiatric diagnosis. For a variety of medical

Bifurcation lesions are a challenge, even for an experienced cardiac surgeon. Currently, there are two surgical techniques for dealing with them, but no medical consensus on which one applies to which case. Russian scientists have now successfully tested a new surgical technique involving stents and drug-eluting balloon catheters on 128 patients. “We decided to study

In a Geriatrics & Gerontology International study of 51 individuals living with dementia who attended community-based adult day health centers, behavioral observations of a music intervention showed a positive change in mood and a decrease in agitation. Participants demonstrated significant increases in joy, eye contact, eye movement, being engaged, and talkativeness, and a decrease in

Malaria affects 216 million people worldwide — mostly younger children in sub-Saharan Africa — and causes 445,000 deaths annually. Although the mosquito-borne, parasitic disease is preventable and curable, barriers exist in diagnosing the illness. The standard blood test used for diagnosis can be cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive, and its availability is limited in settings where

(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday expanded approval for the use of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin) injection in combination with chemotherapy for adult patients with specific types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). The FDA stated in a press release that this approval is the first for treatment of newly diagnosed PTCL. Adcetris, a monoclonal

Although there is good news about smoking—only 14 percent of Americans smoke, the lowest number ever, according to a 2017 National Health Interview Survey—challenges remain. In a given year, more than 40 percent of smokers make no attempt to quit. For those who do, it can take many tries—estimates vary from six to 30—before they

Using technology similar to the type that powers facial and speech recognition on a smartphone, researchers at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have trained a computer to analyze breast cancer images and then classify the tumors with high accuracy. In a study published in the journal NPJ Breast Cancer, researchers reported

Many older patients who are considered frail by medical standards receive anticoagulants (blood thinners) and undergo cardiac catheterization during a heart attack. While these treatments can be helpful, they also can cause major bleeding, and frailty is an important bleeding risk factor according to a study published today in in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. The research

Across the country, billboards are popping up suggesting that vaccines can kill children, when the science behind vaccination is crystal clear – vaccinations are extremely safe. Researchers who study the beliefs of anti-vaxxers have found many different reasons, not just religious or political, as to why some parents refuse to get their children vaccinated. As

NEWTON, Mass., Nov. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq:KPTI), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to selinexor, the Company’s first-in-class, oral SINE compound for the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have received at least

A newborn baby’s brain responds to being touched on the face, according to new research co-led by UCL. Babies use this sense of touch—facial somatosensation—to find and latch onto their mother’s nipple, and should have this ability from birth. Premature babies often have difficulty feeding, and underdevelopment of their facial sensitivity may be one of

(HealthDay)—A healthy lifestyle for lowering cholesterol should be emphasized for reducing cardiovascular risk across the life course, according to a guideline published online Nov. 14 in Circulation to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, held from Nov. 10 to 12 in Chicago. Scott M. Grundy, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of

A combination of two drugs, which prompt the body’s immune system to identify and kill cancer cells, is a safe treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and has shown some signs of efficacy. Results from a phase I/II clinical trial in 25 patients, presented at the 30th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets

New research published in the Journal of Physiology presents a breakthrough in the treatment of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). RLS is a common condition of the nervous system that causes an overwhelming irresistible urge to move the legs. Patients complain of unpleasant symptoms such as tingling, burning and painful cramping sensations in the leg. More

(HealthDay)—For patients with takotsubo syndrome (TTS), those with cardiogenic shock (CS) have an increased risk for mortality, according to a research letter published online Nov. 10 in Circulation to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, held from Nov. 10 to 12 in Chicago. Davide Di Vece, M.D., from the University Hospital

Scientists at The Wistar Institute and collaborators have successfully engineered novel DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) targeting Zaire Ebolavirus that were effective in preclinical models. Study results, published online in Cell Reports, showed that DMAbs were expressed over a wide window of time and offered complete and long-term protection against lethal virus challenges. DMAbs may also