Category: 4. Health

  • Researchers discover way to predict treatment success for parasitic skin disease

    Researchers discover way to predict treatment success for parasitic skin disease

    Nearly one million people worldwide are plagued annually by cutaneous leishmaniasis, a devastating skin infection caused by the Leishmania parasite. Predominantly affecting vulnerable populations in tropical and subtropical regions like North Africa and South America, this disease thrives in areas marked by malnutrition, poor housing and population displacement. Left untreated, it can lead to lifelong scars, debilitating disability and deep social stigma. Despite its global impact, there is…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • AI tool can track effectiveness of multiple sclerosis treatments

    AI tool can track effectiveness of multiple sclerosis treatments

    A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can help interpret and assess how well treatments are working for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been developed by UCL researchers.

    AI uses mathematical models to train computers using massive amounts of data to learn and solve problems in ways that can seem human, including to perform complex tasks like image recognition.

    The tool, called MindGlide, can extract key information from brain images (MRI scans) acquired during the care of…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Is AI in medicine playing fair?

    Is AI in medicine playing fair?

    As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into health care, a new study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reveals that all generative AI models may recommend different treatments for the same medical condition based solely on a patient’s socioeconomic and demographic background.

    Their findings, which are detailed in the April 7, 2025 online issue of Nature Medicine, highlight the importance of early detection and intervention to ensure that AI-driven care…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Perceiving one’s own body: Babies sense their heartbeat and breathing

    Perceiving one’s own body: Babies sense their heartbeat and breathing

    Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until know little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals.

    A recent study from Wiener Kinderstudien Lab at the University of Vienna demonstrates for the first time that babies as young as…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Findings on T cell exhaustion: The body prepares early for mild to severe disease

    Findings on T cell exhaustion: The body prepares early for mild to severe disease

    Even in the case of uncomplicated infections, the body prepares itself early on for the possibility of a more severe course. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Munich has now uncovered this mechanism. The scientists showed that, right at the onset of mild illness, the body also produces special T cells previously known only from chronic, severe infections and tumors.

    There are different types of T cells in the body, all of which play a crucial role in…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Diagnostic uncertainty in Parkinson’s disease: Study calls for improved diagnostic processes

    Diagnostic uncertainty in Parkinson’s disease: Study calls for improved diagnostic processes

    A new study by the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Finland, found that a significant proportion of Parkinson’s disease diagnoses are later corrected. Up to one in six diagnoses changed after ten years of follow-up, and the majority of new diagnoses were made within two years of the original diagnosis.

    A recent study published in Neurology reveals significant diagnostic instability in Parkinson’s disease, with 13.3% of diagnoses revised over a 10-year follow-up period. When…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Brain’s own repair mechanism: New neurons may reverse damage in Huntington’s disease

    Brain’s own repair mechanism: New neurons may reverse damage in Huntington’s disease

    New research shows that the adult brain can generate new neurons that integrate into key motor circuits. The findings demonstrate that stimulating natural brain processes may help repair damaged neural networks in Huntington’s and other diseases.

    “Our research shows that we can encourage the brain’s own cells to grow new neurons that join in naturally with the circuits controlling movement,” said Abdellatif Benraiss, PhD, a senior author of the study, which appears in the journal Cell…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Home care cooperatives may be key to addressing the critical shortage of caregivers for the elderly

    Home care cooperatives may be key to addressing the critical shortage of caregivers for the elderly

    Home care cooperatives may be the key to alleviating the shortage of paid caregivers for older Americans, a new study suggests.

    The research, to be published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Network Open, found that participants in cooperatives experienced more respect, control, job support, and compensation than their counterparts in traditional care services. These factors may explain how cooperatives have achieved half the turnover rates of traditional agencies, which are plagued with…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Molecules that fight infection also act on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability

    Molecules that fight infection also act on the brain, inducing anxiety or sociability

    Immune molecules called cytokines play important roles in the body’s defense against infection, helping to control inflammation and coordinating the responses of other immune cells. A growing body of evidence suggests that some of these molecules also influence the brain, leading to behavioral changes during illness.

    Two new studies from MIT and Harvard Medical School, focused on a cytokine called IL-17, now add to that evidence. The researchers found that IL-17 acts on two distinct brain…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Stroke, Dementia, Late-Life Depression Share Many Changeable Risk Factors

    Stroke, Dementia, Late-Life Depression Share Many Changeable Risk Factors

    There are many conditions that are associated with aging, including stroke and dementia. But genetics, environmental conditions, and habits like the type of diet a person eats can affect the likelihood that an aging-related disease will develop. Scientists have now identified seventeen risk factors that are shared by dementia, stroke, and depression in late life. The modification of any of these risk factors can influence a person’s risk of these…

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    News Source: www.labroots.com