Advances in medical treatments and prevention strategies have dramatically decreased mortality from coronary heart disease over the past 40 years. However, a recent study found that heart attack rate is increasing in younger women. The overall heart attack rate remains higher in men, but fatalities are more common among women. Cardiovascular disease is the leading…
Scientists at the Institute of Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have developed a novel way with genome sequences to study and better understand transmission, treat and ultimately eradicate Plasmodium vivax, the most widespread form of malaria. P. vivax is a single-celled transmitted by mosquitoes. It is the most widespread human malaria…
As clinicians and researchers in traumatic brain injury and neurodegeneration, we are concerned by the tone of reporting on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) that has developed over the past decade, highlighted in an article in The New York Times. Misleading reporting can have unintended, negative consequences and we call for balance from the medical and scientific…
Because of a defective gene, these individuals lack an essential enzyme in their liver to eliminate bilirubin, a toxic bile pigment that accumulates in all body tissues causing jaundice and potentially leading to irreversible and lethal neurological damage. Researchers from the EU-funded CURECN project are studying that defective gene, known as UGT1A1, and developing and…
Study finds proteins found in blood samples at the end of the first trimester may predict preterm births before 35 weeks gestation; including among first-time mothers. Pregnancy can be a time of uncertainty for expecting mothers and their clinical care teams. Nearly 10 percent of births are preterm, taking place before 37 weeks gestation. Preterm…
Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), also known as human herpesvirus 1 and 2 (HHV-1 and HHV-2), are two members of the human Herpesviridae family, a set of viruses that produce viral infections in the majority of humans. Both HSV-1 (which produces most cold sores) and HSV-2 (which produces most genital herpes)…
The scientific community has made great strides over the past decade in the development of a new class of cancer therapy called immunotherapy, a treatment that activates a patient’s own immune system to target cancer cells. One type of immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has shown pronounced activity in certain cancers,…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is certain to play a pivotal role across all aspects of modern life in the coming years. Healthcare is no exception. Google’s recent announcement of an AI-driven algorithm to detect eye disease in those with diabetes is a case point; begs the question: To what extent will AI play a role in…
In the human intestinal system, a complex community of microorganisms, the intestinal microbiome, metabolizes food components that have not readily been digested. However, there are also microbial degradation processes occurring in the colon that may have negative effects on the human host. In the research team Microbial Ecology, headed by biologist Dr David Schleheck, a…
Patients with sepsis are particularly vulnerable to readmissions. The researchers describe the associated etiology and risk factors for readmission; in patients with sepsis using a large administrative database inclusive of patients of all ages and insurance status. Readmission after sepsis hospitalization is common and is associated with considerable costs; according to a study published in…
Comprehensive clinical genomic testing of an adolescent patient; including whole genome sequencing, helped researchers identify mutations in a single gene that drive the most common childhood melanoma. The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital study appears as an advance online publication today in the journal Nature Medicine. Further research found that 33% of young people with spitzoid…
A study led by researchers at Cardiff University means that more people of African descent who have treatment-resistant schizophrenia could be safely given the drug best proven to manage their symptoms. The team identified a genetic and benign cause in people of African descent for lower neutrophil levels: a condition that can also be a…