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Discovery could lead to more effective vaccines, personalised therapies for TB

Tuberculosis (TB) used to kill one in seven people around the world before the advent of antibiotics. However the increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistant TB means that doctors are running out of options in trying to combat this bacterium.

18 Feb 2016

Study explores link between CSF biomarkers and cognition in Parkinson's disease

Many patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Identifying biomarkers for cognitive impairment could be instrumental in facilitating both early diagnosis of MCI and developing new cognitive-enhancing treatments. New research published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease indicates that lower concentrations of α-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is associated with reduced performance on several cognitive tests.

18 Feb 2016

African Americans with common genetic variants at increased risk for blood clots

New research published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), identifies common genetic variants predominantly found in African Americans that double their risk for blood clots.

18 Feb 2016

Insomnia and nightmares may increase depression risk

A new study of firefighters suggests that insomnia and nightmares may increase the risk of depression by impairing the ability to access and leverage emotion regulation strategies effectively.

18 Feb 2016

Antibiotics may be linked to delirium and other brain problems

Antibiotics may be linked to a serious disruption in brain function, called delirium, and other brain problems, more than previously thought, according to a "Views and Reviews" article published in the February 17, 2016, online issue of Neurology, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

18 Feb 2016

Study provides new paradigm for understanding role of immune system in type 1 diabetes

Researchers from The University of Colorado, in collaboration with St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, have identified what may be the initial target of the immune response that causes type 1 diabetes.

18 Feb 2016

Local neighbourhoods strongly influence health behaviour and obesity risk

Where you live and how you view your neighbourhood is strongly related to your health behaviour and your risk of developing obesity, according to research published this week.

18 Feb 2016

Chemotherapy better than chemoradiotherapy in reducing distant pancreatic cancer recurrences

Patients who received chemotherapy after surgical resection of pancreatic cancer have fewer distant disease recurrences and longer overall survival than those who also had adjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

18 Feb 2016

Study may lead to potential drug targets for tumor formation in pulmonary tuberous sclerosis complex

In a new study published in the American Association of Cancer Research's journal Cancer Research, a pair of investigators at Rutgers and Columbia universities has identified a gene that may provide a new source of potential drug targets for tumors that arise in pulmonary tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).

18 Feb 2016

Beiging of white fat could be harnessed to combat diabetes

Researchers are getting closer to learning how to turn white fat cells into brown fat cells, in a process called "beiging," to bring down blood sugar levels and fight diabetes. The team, led by Joseph Baur, PhD, an assistant professor of Physiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published their findings this month in the journal Diabetes.

18 Feb 2016

Caltech researchers identify gene that causes severe insomnia when overactivated

Caltech biologists have performed the first large-scale screening in a vertebrate animal for genes that regulate sleep, and have identified a gene that when overactivated causes severe insomnia. Expression of the gene, neuromedin U (Nmu), also seems to serve as nature's stimulant--fish lacking the gene take longer to wake up in the morning and are less active during the day.

18 Feb 2016

Autoantibodies can potentially detect lung cancer at early stage

Preliminary research has identified autoantibodies, immune proteins found in the blood specific for one's own proteins, that can potentially detect lung cancer early by distinguishing between smokers with or without lung cancer and also discriminate between lung cancer and low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) detected non-cancerous lung lesions.

18 Feb 2016

Pioglitazone drug may prevent recurrent stroke and heart attacks

Pioglitazone, a drug used for type 2 diabetes, may prevent recurrent stroke and heart attacks in people with insulin resistance but without diabetes.

18 Feb 2016

Maternal diabetes could be a risk factor for low milk supply

A new study shows that women with diabetes during pregnancy face a significantly higher risk of having a low milk supply.

18 Feb 2016

Eating one portion of fish a week helps reduce dementia risk

Eating at least one portion of fish per week helps to reduce a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related illnesses. This was evidenced by international research conducted at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).

18 Feb 2016