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Research findings may point to new treatment for patients with Mitofusin 2 deficiency

Researchers have discovered a novel role for Mitofusin 2, and the findings may point to a new treatment for patients with diseases caused by loss of the mitochondrial protein.

16 Feb 2015

Breath test could detect Parkinson’s

The researchers, with funding from Parkinson’s UK and the British Council, will study around 200 people and see if just by looking at their breath they can determine which have Parkinson’s.

16 Feb 2015

Unemployment linked with around 45 000 deaths by suicide every year

These striking findings suggest that suicide prevention strategies need to target the negative health effects of unemployment in times of economic stability as well as during recession.

16 Feb 2015

Experts question value of current obesity treatments

Many people with obesity can lose weight for a few months, but 80%–95% regain their lost weight eventually. One explanation for this limited long-term success is that reducing caloric intake triggers several biological systems that drive us to eat high-calorie foods and gain weight.

16 Feb 2015

Microbes prevent malnutrition in fruit flies - and maybe humans too

A study by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) sheds significant new light on a surprising and critical role that microbes may play in nutritional disorders such as protein malnutrition. Using fruit flies—Drosophila melanogaster—as a simple and easily studied stand-in for humans, these new findings advance our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying microbial contributions to metabolism and may point to long-term strategies to treat and prevent malnutrition in general.

16 Feb 2015

Achilles tendon can adapt to uphill and downhill running better than previously thought: Study

Like many runners, former BYU track star Katy Andrews Neves has had her share of injuries. Unlike most runners, one of those injuries has been witnessed by millions of people around the world.

16 Feb 2015

Harmless plant extract can help treat Cushing Disease

Cushing Disease, not to be confused with Cushing's Syndrome, is caused by a tumour in the pituitary gland in the brain. The tumour secrets increased amounts of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) followed by cortisol release from the adrenal glands leading to rapid weight gain, elevated blood pressure and muscular weakness.

16 Feb 2015

Public health researchers report frequency of two muscle-weakness disorders

Researchers in public health have reported in the first broad study in the United States the frequency of two muscle-weakness disorders that strike mostly boys: Duchenne muscular dystrophy and Becker muscular dystrophy.

16 Feb 2015

Adolescents experience excessive daytime sleepiness due to marijuana use

A study published recently by researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital, found 10 percent of adolescents sent to a Sleep Center for evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness with testing results consistent with narcolepsy had urine drug screens positive for marijuana, confounding the results.

16 Feb 2015

Discovery offers much needed information about how virulent insect-borne diseases cause infection

For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and trigger severe disease. But UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that this accepted theory is off base. The bacteria do not use host cells; they traffic to lymph nodes on their own and not in great numbers.

16 Feb 2015

KU Leuven researchers find aggressive form of HIV in Cuba

Engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners increases the risk of contracting multiple strains of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Once inside a host, these strains can recombine into a new variant of the virus. One such recombinant variant observed in patients in Cuba appears to be much more aggressive than other known forms of HIV.

16 Feb 2015

Congressional briefing to focus on importance of including female subjects in medical research

The Endocrine Society and Society for Women's Health Research are co-sponsoring a Congressional briefing on February 17 that will focus on the importance of including female subjects in both preclinical and clinical biomedical research, which could potentially revolutionize medical research and scientific discovery.

16 Feb 2015

Researchers demonstrate advantages of implanted defibrillator in preventing non-ischaemic heart failure

Sudden cardiac arrest is a possible cause of death in patients with non-ischaemic cardiac muscle weakness, i.e. a type of heart failure caused by genetics or for which no cause is known. Now, researchers at the University Department of Internal Medicine II at the MedUni Vienna (Clinical Department of Cardiology), as part of an international cooperation, have successfully demonstrated the advantages of an implanted defibrillator (ICD) as a means of prevention in patients with moderately restricted cardiac function, and that patients with the condition must be treated as carefully as patients with ischaemic heart failure which has developed following a heart attack, for example.

16 Feb 2015

NTU Singapore setting up new institute to find cures for human diseases

Nanyang Technological University is setting up a new institute to advance research in the life sciences, with a focus on ramping up Singapore's efforts in finding cures for human diseases.

16 Feb 2015

Study suggests introduction of specific NGF to prevent neuronal degradation in Alzheimer's patients

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet have evaluated a new Alzheimer's therapy in which the patients receive an implant that stimulates the growth of a certain type of nerve cell. The results, which are published in the scientific journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, suggest that the introduction of a nerve growth factor can prevent neuronal degradation in Alzheimer's patients.

16 Feb 2015

Researchers report first evidence of Seoul hantavirus in wild rats in the Netherlands

In a paper just published in the peer reviewed journal Infection, Ecology & Epidemiology, researchers report discovering the first evidence of Seoul hantavirus (SEOV) in the wild rat population in the Netherlands. The discovery comes on the heels of similar ones in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom in recent years, and has some researchers concerned about the potential spread of the virus to humans.

16 Feb 2015

Changes in moles and skin cancer: an interview with Dr Anjali Mahto, Consultant Dermatologist & British Skin Foundation Spokesperson

Melanoma is the 5th most common cancer in the UK and its incidence is continuing to increase since the mid-1970s. Cancer Research UK reports that its rates have increased more rapidly than any of the current ten most common cancers in males and females. Whilst some of this may be attributed to better surveillance and earlier detection, the real problem lies with sun-seeking behaviour and exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

16 Feb 2015

New research shows that psychological factors affect treatment for back-related disability

People with back pain who have low expectations of acupuncture before they start a course of treatment will gain less benefit than those people who believe it will work, according to new research from the University of Southampton.

16 Feb 2015

Study evaluates recent sleep trends for U.S. adolescents

Sufficient sleep is critical for adolescent health, yet the number of hours slept per night has decreased among teenagers in the United States over the last 20 years. A study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that female students, racial/ethnic minorities, and students of lower socioeconomic status are particularly affected, with teens in these categories less likely to report regularly getting seven or more hours of sleep each night compared with their male counterparts, non-Hispanic white teenagers, and students of higher socioeconomic status, respectively.

16 Feb 2015

Climate change causes emergence of more infectious diseases

The appearance of infectious diseases in new places and new hosts, such as West Nile virus and Ebola, is a predictable result of climate change, says a noted zoologist affiliated with the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

16 Feb 2015

Medical Research News

Research findings may point to new treatment for patients with Mitofusin 2 deficiency

Breath test could detect Parkinson’s

Unemployment linked with around 45 000 deaths by suicide every year

Experts question value of current obesity treatments

Microbes prevent malnutrition in fruit flies - and maybe humans too

Achilles tendon can adapt to uphill and downhill running better than previously thought: Study

Harmless plant extract can help treat Cushing Disease

Public health researchers report frequency of two muscle-weakness disorders

Adolescents experience excessive daytime sleepiness due to marijuana use

Discovery offers much needed information about how virulent insect-borne diseases cause infection

KU Leuven researchers find aggressive form of HIV in Cuba

Congressional briefing to focus on importance of including female subjects in medical research

Researchers demonstrate advantages of implanted defibrillator in preventing non-ischaemic heart failure

NTU Singapore setting up new institute to find cures for human diseases

Study suggests introduction of specific NGF to prevent neuronal degradation in Alzheimer's patients

Researchers report first evidence of Seoul hantavirus in wild rats in the Netherlands

Changes in moles and skin cancer: an interview with Dr Anjali Mahto, Consultant Dermatologist & British Skin Foundation Spokesperson

New research shows that psychological factors affect treatment for back-related disability

Study evaluates recent sleep trends for U.S. adolescents

Climate change causes emergence of more infectious diseases

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

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