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Researchers find new insight on the link between a gene and congenital heart disease

New insight on the link between a gene called SORBS2 and congenital heart disease has been published today in eLife, with findings that may help explain the cause of the disease in some patients.

8 Jun 2021

The potential of mRNA vaccines for a wide range of diseases

A new review article published in the journal Briefings in Functional Genomics focuses on the general characteristic features and mechanisms of mRNA vaccines. Further, this review has summarized the current progress of mRNA vaccines that have been developed for wide-ranging diseases, including COVID-19 disease.

8 Jun 2021

Are women more likely to develop long COVID?

Researchers found different groups of symptoms persisting after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with fatigue and higher IL-6 levels common in women. About 75% of the patients they treated were women, indicating a link between sex hormones and immune response.

8 Jun 2021

What is the role of monoclonal antibody therapy in treating COVID-19?

A new study has been published in the journal Vaccines that deals with the present state of research on using mAbs for the treatment of the COVID-19 disease. Many clinical trials are being conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of several newly designed mAbs. Some of the mAbs are directed towards immune system responses, i.e., non-SARS-CoV-2 specific mAbs, while others are devised to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 protein structure, i.e., SARS-CoV-2 specific mAbs.

8 Jun 2021

Kidney experts say it’s time to remove race from medical algorithms. Doing so is complicated.

Alphonso Harried recently came across a newspaper clipping about his grandfather receiving his 1,000th dialysis treatment. His grandfather later died — at a dialysis center — as did his uncle, both from kidney disease.

8 Jun 2021

Researchers review environmental risk assessments for recombinant COVID-19 viral vector vaccines

In a recent review, published in the journal Vaccines, researchers in Belgium look at the recombinant viral vector-vaccine candidates that are primarily against SARS-CoV-2 still in development and discuss their features from an environmental risk point of view.

8 Jun 2021

Immunomodulatory therapies for nephrological autoimmune diseases may help treat severe COVID-19

Various viruses and bacteria have long been known to cause autoimmune diseases where there is such a predisposition. This phenomenon also seems to play a major role in SARS-CoV-2, especially in severe courses.

8 Jun 2021

Brain study may lead to new treatments for neuro-immune conditions

The immune system is the brain's best frenemy. It protects the brain from infection and helps injured tissues heal, but it also causes autoimmune diseases and creates inflammation that drives neurodegeneration.

8 Jun 2021

FDA approves monoclonal antibody aducanumab for treating Alzheimer's patients

Today's FDA approval of the monoclonal antibody Aduhelm (aducanumab) to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease reflects years of significant advances in Alzheimer's research. This is the first new Alzheimer's drug approved in 17 years and the first shown to modify the course of the disease, which FDA believes will lead to slowing of patients' cognitive decline.

8 Jun 2021

New technology can explain the effect of genetic factors on brain structure, function

Liang Zhan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, received a $500,000 CAREER award from the National Science Foundation to develop computational tools that improve our understanding of the human brain.

8 Jun 2021

New method successfully reversed male infertility in mice

The ability of stem cells to fix impaired functions of host tissues after transplantation has been a lifesaving breakthrough in treating previously incurable conditions. Much like a coin toss, however, the fate of the transplanted stem cells is unpredictable. They may choose self-renewal, grow into a different kind of tissue, or die.

8 Jun 2021

New drug shows promise against lung cancer caused by genetic mutation

The new drug sotorasib reduces tumor size and shows promise in improving survival among patients with lung tumors caused by a specific DNA mutation, according to results of a global phase 2 clinical trial.

8 Jun 2021

Distinct spike protein mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variant in Russia

Additionally, a novel variant has recently been characterized by researchers from Russia in the journal Viruses. The variant, first discovered in January 2021 in Northwest Russia, is characterized by distinct spike protein mutations.

7 Jun 2021

International travelers may pick up destination-specific antimicrobial resistance genes, study reveals

Travelers abroad may pick up bacteria and other vectors containing genes conferring antimicrobial resistance which remain in the gut when returning to their home country, according to a study published in Genome Medicine.

7 Jun 2021

Study reveals mechanism through which 'good' viruses can attack 'bad' bacteria

The battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria: A new study at Tel Aviv University revealed a mechanism through which "good" viruses can attack the systems of "bad" bacteria, destroy them and block their reproduction.

7 Jun 2021

Novel method allows rapid, absolute quantification of viral nucleic acids

Researchers from Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine, an Interdisciplinary Research Group at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, have developed a new method for rapid and accurate detection of viral nucleic acids - a breakthrough that can be easily adapted to detect different DNA/RNA targets in viruses like the coronavirus.

7 Jun 2021

Experimental monoclonal antibody could be a new weapon against HIV epidemic

An experimental, lab-made antibody can completely prevent nonhuman primates from being infected with the monkey form of HIV, new research published in Nature Communications shows.

7 Jun 2021

Potential leptin therapy for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

In those with fatty liver disease, a person's fat goes to their liver instead of their fat tissue, either because of an absence of fat depots, which is seen in the rare genetic disease lipodystrophy, or because the depots are too full, which is seen in people with obesity.

7 Jun 2021

The genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in the USA

In a research paper recently uploaded to the preprint server medRxiv by Capoferri et al. (June 4th, 2021), the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 through each phase is examined in detail using publicly available genomic data available from before 2021, highlighting the need to continuously track and assess the evolution of the virus to ensure the future efficacy of the currently available vaccines.

7 Jun 2021

Kawasaki disease in children has reduced during COVID-19 due to pandemic prevention efforts

The rate of Kawasaki disease in South Korea has substantially decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly due to pandemic prevention efforts, such as mask-wearing, hand-washing and physical distancing, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

7 Jun 2021