Category: 4. Health

  • Surgery doesn’t always help with chronic rhinosinusitis — a new risk score predicts treatment efficacy

    Surgery doesn’t always help with chronic rhinosinusitis — a new risk score predicts treatment efficacy

    A new CT-scan based risk score facilitates the identification of patients at risk of revision endoscopic sinus surgery due to chronic rhinosinusitis.

    “This allows for early prediction of disease progression and planning of further treatment,” says Professor Sanna Toppila-Salmi of the University of Eastern Finland.

    The results of the Finnish multi-centre study were published in Clinical and Translational Allergy.

    Symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis, i.e., inflammation of the nasal and sinus…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Western diet causes inflammation, traditional African food protects

    Western diet causes inflammation, traditional African food protects

    A switch of just two weeks from a traditional African diet to a Western diet causes inflammation, reduces the immune response to pathogens, and activates processes associated with lifestyle diseases. Conversely, an African diet rich in vegetables, fiber, and fermented foods has positive effects. This study, published in Nature Medicine, highlights the significant impact of diet on the immune system and metabolism.

    Lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • How researchers are shining a light on kidney disease

    How researchers are shining a light on kidney disease

    For patients with polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a common genetic disorder that ravages the waste-removing organ with cysts, dialysis and transplantation are among the only treatments.

    More than 12.4 million people worldwide suffer from the dominant form of the condition. Now, Rutgers University geneticists have uncovered fresh details of how the disease progresses — findings that could open the door to new therapies.

    In a study published in Nature Communications, Inna Nikonorova, a…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • PEPITEM sequence shows effects in psoriasis, comparable to steroid cream

    PEPITEM sequence shows effects in psoriasis, comparable to steroid cream

    Birmingham scientists have shown that a sequence of just three amino acids may reduce the severity of psoriasis, when applied topically in an emollient cream.

    The researchers, whose study is published in Pharmacological Research, identified the smallest part of a peptide (small protein) called PEPITEM, which occurs naturally in the body and regulates inflammation.

    The study also showed that both PEPITEM and the three amino acid (tripeptide) sequence delivered a significant reduction in the…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Some gut bacteria could make certain drugs less effective

    Some gut bacteria could make certain drugs less effective

    A new study, published today in Nature Chemistry by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Yale University, shows how common gut bacteria can metabolize certain oral medications that target cellular receptors called GPCRs, potentially rendering these important drugs less effective.

    Drugs that act on GPCRs, or G protein-coupled receptors, include more than 400 medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of many common conditions such as…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Could targeting Parkinson’s outside of the brain improve symptoms?

    Could targeting Parkinson’s outside of the brain improve symptoms?

    Parkinson’s doesn’t just affect movement and the brain — it may also impact the heart, according to new research from the University of Surrey. Scientists from Surrey’s School of Veterinary Medicine suggest that targeting a key protein outside of the brain could help manage Parkinson’s-related heart issues.

    In a new study published in Experimental Physiology, Surrey researchers studied mouse models and found a harmful build-up of the alpha-synuclein protein, which is associated with…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Precision medicine could be possible in the fight against antibiotic resistance

    Precision medicine could be possible in the fight against antibiotic resistance

    The first-of-its-kind in-depth bacterial evolutionary map could pave the way for the development of precision treatments for certain antibiotic-resistant infections, such as urinary tract infections.

    Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and their collaborators, have developed a new way of using large-scale long-read sequencing data to investigate circular genetic structures called plasmids in the most commonly studied…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Thirst and hunger neurons | ScienceDaily

    Thirst and hunger neurons | ScienceDaily

    To ensure we get the calories and hydration we need, the brain relies on a complex network of cells, signals, and pathways to guide us when to eat, drink, or stop. Yet, much about how the brain deciphers the body’s needs and translates them into action remains unknown. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, in collaboration with the University of Regensburg and Stanford University, have identified specific populations of neurons in the amygdala — an emotional…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • Cognitive decline comes sooner for people with heart failure

    Cognitive decline comes sooner for people with heart failure

    There are over six million Americans with heart failure who are at greater risk of losing their cognitive abilities earlier in life, a study suggests.

    The research team, led by Michigan Medicine, examined the cognitive abilities of nearly 30,000 adults over time, comparing those who did and did not develop heart failure.

    The researchers found heart failure is associated with a significant decrease in cognition at the time of diagnosis.

    Global cognition and executive functioning also declined…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com

  • 17 modifiable risk factors shared by stroke, dementia, and late-life depression

    17 modifiable risk factors shared by stroke, dementia, and late-life depression

    Age-related brain diseases such as stroke, dementia, and late-life depression are a debilitating part of growing older, but people can lower their risk of these diseases through behavioral and lifestyle changes. In a new extensive systematic review, Mass General Brigham researchers identified 17 modifiable risk factors that are shared by stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. Modifying any one of them can reduce your risk of all three conditions. The findings, which provide evidence to…

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    News Source: www.sciencedaily.com