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Trump drastically inflates annual fentanyl death numbers

Former President Donald Trump claimed at a recent campaign rally that more than 300,000 Americans are dying each year from the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, and that the number of fentanyl overdoses was the "lowest" during his administration and has skyrocketed since.

23 Aug 2024

Disability rights activist pushes government to let him participate in society

Garret Frey refuses to be sidelined. Frey has been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 37 of his 42 years. He has spent decades rejecting the government's excuses when he and others with disabilities are denied the support they need to live in their own homes and to participate in society.

23 Aug 2024

Risankizumab outperforms ustekinumab in treating moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease

Researchers compare the therapeutic efficacy of risakizumab and ustekinumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease.

23 Aug 2024

Maternal smoking increases risk of severe neonatal morbidity, even at low intensity

Researchers explore the association between severe neonatal morbidity and maternal smoking before or during pregnancy.

23 Aug 2024

New Mpox strain sparks global health alert

On Wednesday, August 14th, 2024, in response to the active circulation of clade 1 monkeypox virus (MPXV) in Central Africa and the recent expansion of a subtype (1b) thought to be more lethal and transmissible in East Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), paving the way for enhanced coordination between regional health systems and the active engagement of stakeholders to tackle this global outbreak. The following day, Thursday August 15, Sweden reported the first positive case of clade 1b mpox on European soil. This led the French government to place the French health system on maximum alert on Friday, August 16, and the French authorities have now begun to re-evaluate the health recommendations established in 2022 during the previous mpox outbreak in preparation for the probable emergence of cases in the country.

23 Aug 2024

New evidence supports the effectiveness of thiazides for kidney stone prevention

Higher thiazide doses are associated with greater reductions in urine calcium, which in turn correlate with fewer symptomatic kidney stone events, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study published in JAMA Network Open.

23 Aug 2024

Exploring the impact of thyroid hormone on brain function

Thyroid hormone plays a key role in regulating a range of physiologic functions, including metabolism, temperature, heart rate, and growth. It accomplishes this impressive array of activities by interacting with almost every organ system in the body. Yet despite a long history of research on how thyroid hormone influences different organs, its effects on arguably the most crucial organ -; the brain -; have remained shrouded in mystery.

23 Aug 2024

The impact of stem cells on the epigenetic clock

How old are you, really? Your chronological age is the number of years you have been alive. Your biological age is how old your cells are which scientists believe may better assess one's age-related health and disease risk. People biologically age at different rates, depending on genetic and environmental factors, so that a person's chronological age does not necessarily match their biological age. In recent years, direct-to-consumer biological age tests have become increasingly accessible and popular as interest has increased in this nascent science.

23 Aug 2024

Probiotic offers protection against intestinal damage

There is a critical unmet need to help tighten and maintain a healthy intestinal barrier and treat a leaky gut. Researchers have now found that a unique strain of probiotic bacteria, Bifidobacterium bifidum BB1, enhances intestinal barrier function and protects against penetration of bacteria and various harmful agents in the intestine. The findings, detailed in an article in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier, can help advance the development of novel, targeted, naturally occurring probiotic therapy for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other inflammatory diseases, such as fatty liver disease or alcoholic liver disease, that are associated with a leaky or disordered intestinal barrier.

23 Aug 2024

FDA-approved drug could revolutionize organ transplantation

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University report that they were able to successfully put tadpoles of Xenopus laevis frogs into a hibernation-like torpor state using donepezil (DNP), a drug approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer's. The team had previously used another drug, SNC80, to achieve similar results in tadpoles and enhance the survival of whole mammalian hearts for transplants, but SNC80 is not approved for clinical use in humans because it can cause seizures. By contrast, DNP is already being used in the clinic, meaning it potentially could be rapidly repurposed for use in emergency situations to prevent irreversible organ injury while a person is being transported to a hospital.

23 Aug 2024

Immune cells' two-pronged approach to maintaining acetyl-CoA reserves

Immune cells use two different routes to produce acetyl-CoA, an essential metabolite required to fight infection and cancer, reports a study led by Van Andel Institute scientists.

23 Aug 2024

Redlined communities face higher mental health risks from air pollution

Air pollution is bad for mental health. That much is clear. Now, new research shows the impact may be even worse in neighborhoods that were historically redlined.

23 Aug 2024

Virginia Tech leads national initiative to predict and prevent future pandemics

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 don't respect boundaries, moving between species and continents and leaving destruction as they go. Beating the next pathogen with pandemic potential means getting good at crossing borders ourselves -; between fields of study, between research universities, and between scientists and the wider community.

23 Aug 2024

Mosquitoes detect infrared radiation for host seeking

While a mosquito bite is often no more than a temporary bother, in many parts of the world it can be scary. One mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, spreads the viruses that cause over 100,000,000 cases of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and other diseases every year. Another, Anopheles gambiae, spreads the parasite that causes malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria alone causes more than 400,000 deaths every year. Indeed, their capacity to transmit disease has earned mosquitoes the title of deadliest animal.

23 Aug 2024

SCARB2 deficiency disrupts bile acid metabolism and gut microbiome

The study details the connection between SCARB2 deficiency and gastrointestinal dysfunction, revealing that the loss of SCARB2 leads to alterations in bile acid metabolism and dysbiosis in the gut microbiome. This disruption affects the signaling pathway involving FXR, which normally regulates bile acid synthesis and intestinal lipid absorption. The hyperactive FXR in Scarb2-deficient mice leads to a decrease in epithelial cell turnover and lipid malabsorption, particularly impacting the absorption of vitamin E, which is crucial for maintaining neurological health. The researchers further explored the impact of these changes on the gut-liver axis and found alterations in the expression of genes related to bile acid synthesis.

23 Aug 2024

ChatGPT shown to save time in responding to patient inquiries

The groundbreaking ChatGPT chatbot shows potential as a time-saving tool for responding to patient questions sent to the urologist's office, suggests a study in the September issue of Urology Practice, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

22 Aug 2024

$1.35 million grant to enhance safety and wellbeing in long-term care facilities

Researchers from the University of Colorado College of Nursing and CU School of Medicine on the Anschutz Medical Campus were awarded a $1.35 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to design and implement technologies that improve resident safety and employee wellbeing at long-term care facilities.

22 Aug 2024

New $400 million donation reinforces Columbia's leadership in biomedical science

Columbia University announced today a new $400 million gift from Roy and Diana Vagelos, which will secure Columbia's leadership in biomedical science research and education and produce a vast array of compelling opportunities for improving society's health and wellbeing.

22 Aug 2024

Declining senses linked to worse mental health in older adults

Most people -; up to 94% of U.S. adults -; experience at least some dulling of their senses with age, finding themselves squinting at screens, craving stronger flavors, and missing snatches of conversations more and more frequently.

22 Aug 2024

$5 million grant to address combat wound infections in Ukraine

Faculty members in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have been awarded $5 million by the U.S. Department of Defense to work with partners in Ukraine on clinical and logistical challenges associated with modern large-scale combat operations and prolonged casualty care.

22 Aug 2024