Tag: Diseases and Conditions

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan have discovered that a gene associated with human intellectual ability is necessary for normal memory formation in mice. Published in Nature Neuroscience, the study shows that mice with only one copy of the gene replay shorter fragments of their previous experiences during periods of rest,

When it first starts to develop, the heart is a simple tube. Reporting in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at MDC have now described how it forms itself into a its characteristic S-shape and how the ventricles and atria finally develop. Their findings will help scientists to better understand the development of congenital heart diseases.

Around two to six per cent of all people with obesity develop obesity already in early childhood; it’s in their genetic cards. Obesity-causal mutations in one of their ‘appetite genes’ gives them a strong genetic predisposition for developing obesity, also called monogenic obesity. Their experience of hunger is overruling and their feeling of satiety limited.

A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association summarizes the state-of-the-science of genomic medicine — the study of the health effects of the molecular interactions of a person’s unique genes — for studying cardiovascular traits and disorders and for therapeutic screening. “The promise of genomic medicine is to be able to use a patient’s

A portable device common in optometrists’ offices may hold the key to faster diagnosis of schizophrenia, predicting relapse and symptom severity and assessing treatment effectiveness, a Rutgers University study finds. In the study, published in the May 2018 issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, researchers used RETeval, a hand-held device developed to record electrical

The doctors who have spent years studying the case call it “a series of fortunate events.” What began as a remarkable response to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is now providing evidence about the human genome and immune response that could help turn gene therapy non-responders into responders. Researchers at the University of

Millions of neurons in the gastrointestinal tract coordinate their activity to generate the muscle contractions that propel waste through the last leg of the digestive system, according to a study of isolated mouse colons published in JNeurosci. The newly identified neuronal firing pattern may represent an early feature preserved through the evolution of nervous systems.

Better educational opportunities and higher incomes may be key to closing the gap of cardiovascular health behaviors — including smoking, physical activity, and diet quality — between black and white Americans, according to a new study led by a University of Iowa researcher. The study, headed by Kara Whitaker, assistant professor in the UI’s Department

With summer coming, it’s only a matter of time before the smells and tastes of barbecued foods dominate the neighborhood. But there’s a downside to grilling that can literally get under your skin. In a study appearing in Environmental Science & Technology, scientists report that skin is a more important pathway for uptake of cancer-causing

It can be a good idea to bring your spouse to a GP medical examination if you are obese. Because Danish researchers from the Departments of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University have in a new study found a connection between the BMI of one spouse and the other spouse’s risk

Increasingly, liver transplant centers are changing a long-standing practice of delaying potentially life-saving liver transplantation for patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis until after they stopped drinking alcohol for six months, according to a new study scheduled for presentation at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2018. Study implications “Liver transplant for severe alcoholic hepatitis is being increasingly

The mechanism our immune cells use to clear bacterial infections like tuberculosis (TB) might also be implicated in Parkinson’s disease, according to a new collaborative study led by the Francis Crick Institute, Newcastle University and GSK. The findings, which will be published in The EMBO Journal, provide a possible explanation of the cause of Parkinson’s

Anaplastic thyroid cancer is almost uniformly fatal, with an average lifespan of about 5 months after diagnosis. And standard treatment for the condition includes 7 weeks of radiation, often along with chemotherapy. “We put patients through toxic treatment for seven weeks when most will only live five months. I’m not sure that’s how I would

A team of Texas A&M and Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists now have a deeper understanding of a large switch/sucrose non-fermentable (SWI/SNF) protein complex that plays a pivotal role in plant and human gene expression that causes life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Their findings could lead to more targeted therapies and help with physiological improvements

A large international study led by a Hamilton researcher has found a patient-centric treatment that works for people with mild asthma. People with mild asthma are often prescribed a daily treatment regimen, but up to 80 per cent do not follow the routine, using inhalers only when they have an asthma attack. Now the researchers

Scientists have shown for the first time that the blueprint for the four chambers of the human heart exists in the humble zebrafish, a study in eLife reports. The discovery provides key insights into processes that go wrong in congenital heart defects and means that researchers now have a simple model for further research that

An article published in Nature Medicine with the collaboration of the research group of Dr. Manel Esteller, director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ICREA Researcher and Professor of Genetics of the University of Barcelona, and Drs. Dave Monk and Isidre Ferrer, from the same center, shows

Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) is a rare disease in which abnormal cells build up inside the veins responsible for carrying oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart. It restricts blood flow through these vessels, eventually sealing them off entirely if left untreated. Typically affecting young children, the most severe form of PVS progresses very

Researchers from Columbia University have developed a new technique for the powerful gene editing tool CRISPR to restore retinal function in mice afflicted by a degenerative retinal disease, retinitis pigmentosa. This is the first time researchers have successfully applied CRISPR technology to a type of inherited disease known as a dominant disorder. This same tool

In a recent Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica study, a combined lifestyle intervention including dietary counseling and twice-weekly exercise classes during pregnancy resulted in a slightly longer first stage of labor, without any other effects during labor or delivery. Women reporting to have high physical activity level (>35 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity/day) in late