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Men using erectile dysfunction drugs less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Drugs commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

9 Feb 2024

MHRA authorizes COVID-19 vaccines: Comirnaty and Nuvaxovid gain approvals

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a change to the license of the Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 30 micrograms/dose (single-dose vials) after it was found to meet the UK regulator's standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

9 Feb 2024

New treatment targeting aging cells could offer lasting relief for diabetic macular edema

Targeting senescent cells in the retina with a BCL-xL inhibitor shows promise as a durable treatment for diabetic macular edema, potentially offering long-term visual function improvements.

8 Feb 2024

UT Health San Antonio scientist receives $1.2 million to implement early intervention measures for pre-diabetes

More than one out of three people have pre-diabetes, characterized by abnormal blood sugar levels not yet in the diabetes range – and yet associated with significant increases in eye, kidney and neuropathic diseases, and risk of cardiovascular death.

8 Feb 2024

Repeat PlGF testing for pre-eclampsia not beneficial, research finds

A single test to speed up diagnosis of a serious disease in pregnant women does not need to be repeated, new research has found.

8 Feb 2024

Stroke patients see lower death rates with AI-guided treatment

Ischemic stroke survivors who received care recommendations from an artificial intelligence (AI)-based system had fewer recurrent strokes, heart attacks or vascular death within three months, compared to people whose stroke treatment was not guided by AI tools, according to preliminary late-breaking science presented today at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2024.

8 Feb 2024

COVID-19 may increase risk of pregnancy complications through placental DNA changes

DNA changes consistent with life-threatening pregnancy complications have been found in the placentas of pregnant women infected by COVID-19, according to University of Queensland researchers.

8 Feb 2024

Intravenous DMT shows promise in reducing depression symptoms, study reveals

A study in Scientific Reports shows intravenous DMT can significantly reduce depression severity in healthy volunteers, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic psychedelic intervention for mental health disorders.

8 Feb 2024

ANU discovery provides new insight into how the immune system fights malaria

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have discovered a previously unknown ability of a group of immune system cells, known as Atypical B cells (ABCs), to fight infectious diseases such as malaria.

8 Feb 2024

Never-before-documented genetic disorder causes rare lung disease

The macrophage is one of the body's most important inhabitants. Meaning "big eater" in Greek, this immune cell consumes and digests problematic elements from microbes and cancer cells to dust and debris.

8 Feb 2024

Weekly exercise may reduce chronic kidney disease risk in obese people with type 2 diabetes

Clocking up high weekly levels of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity is linked to a lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease in overweight/obese people with type 2 diabetes, finds research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

8 Feb 2024

Higher dietary niacin intake linked to lower COPD risk, study finds

Recent research in Scientific Reports reveals a dose-response relationship between dietary niacin intake and reduced prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suggesting niacin's potential role in mitigating oxidative stress and inflammation in COPD patients.

8 Feb 2024

Immune cells in overdrive: Study finds unbalanced response worsens lung infections

CD4+ T cells have been highlighted in the scientific literature for the important role they play in the immune response to lung infections.

8 Feb 2024

Enzyme released by immune cells may play role in depression

Mount Sinai researchers have shown for the first time that immune cells called monocytes, derived in the bone marrow and released into the bloodstream, can be drawn during stress into sites in the brain that control emotional behaviors.

8 Feb 2024

New immunotherapy borrows cancer's tricks to unleash powerful T cells

Immunotherapies using engineered T cells have ushered in a new era in cancer treatment, but they have their limits. They may cause side effects or stop working, and they do not work at all against 90% of cancers.

8 Feb 2024

Flat positioning may give stroke patients an edge before surgery

Positioning patients with large vessel ischemic (clot-caused) stroke with their heads flat (0-degrees) before surgery to remove the blood clot resulted in significant improvements in neurological function, compared to patients whose heads were elevated (at a 30-degree angle), according to preliminary late-breaking science presented today at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2024.

8 Feb 2024

Study advances search for a blood test to identify disease-associated changes in the brain

Researchers in a Johns Hopkins Children's Center-led study that used genetic material from human blood and lab-grown brain cells say they have made progress in developing a blood test to identify disease-associated changes in the brain specifically linked to postpartum depression and other psychiatric and neurological disorders.

8 Feb 2024

Study discovers a direct connection between the brain and its surrounding environment

In a recent study of the brain's waste drainage system, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, collaborating with investigators at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of the National Institute of Health (NIH), discovered a direct connection between the brain and its tough protective covering, the dura mater.

8 Feb 2024

Monash-led study unveils potential long-term treatment for lupus

Researchers assessed Smith (Sm)-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs) efficacy in halting lupus nephritis (LN) by engineering and testing epitope-targeted Tregs for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) treatment.

8 Feb 2024

FDA’s plan to ban hair relaxer chemical called too little, too late

In April, a dozen years after a federal agency classified formaldehyde a human carcinogen, the Food and Drug Administration is tentatively scheduled to unveil a proposal to consider banning the chemical in hair-straightening products.

8 Feb 2024