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Researchers identify immune cell subset that may drive chronic inflammation

For the first time, researchers have identified that an immune cell subset called gamma delta T cells that may be causing and/or perpetuating the systemic inflammation found in normal aging in the general geriatric population and in HIV-infected people who are responding well to drugs (anti-retrovirals).

11 Dec 2018

Research findings could lead to new targets for cancer-fighting therapeutics

A molecular pathway that's frequently mutated in many different forms of cancer becomes active when cells push parts of their membranes outward into bulging protrusions, Johns Hopkins researchers report in a new study.

11 Dec 2018

People who eat red meat have high levels of chemical associated with heart disease, study finds

Researchers have identified another reason to limit red meat consumption: high levels of a gut-generated chemical called trimethylamine N-oxide, that also is linked to heart disease.

11 Dec 2018

Study provides new understanding of mysterious 'hereditary swelling'

An upper arm that swells to twice its normal size. A stomach that inexplicably swells up causing colic pain, vomiting or diarrhea. Or a life-threatening variant with severe swelling of the face, lips, tongue and larynx, bringing the risk of obstructed airways and death by suffocation.

11 Dec 2018

Low-salt diet may be more beneficial for females than males

A low-salt diet may be more beneficial in lowering blood pressure in females than males, report scientists who found that while actual salt retention isn't higher in females, there is still an effect that drives pressure up.

11 Dec 2018

Cloned antibodies show potential to treat, diagnose life-threatening fungal infections

Despite public health efforts, many people who get fungal infections in their blood streams die, even if they can be identified and treated with antifungal drugs. These therapies are often ineffective on their own and increasingly the infections are becoming resistant to treatment with some of the front line antifungal drugs.

11 Dec 2018

New review focuses on electrospinning techniques used in musculoskeletal tissue engineering

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that stabilizes the shoulder joint. It also helps in the motion of the shoulder. Rotator cuff tear is the most common condition involving ailing shoulders. It happens due to normal muscle tissue wear and tear by repeating the same motion again and again, without resting the muscles.

11 Dec 2018

New study reveals yin-yang personality of dopamine

For decades, psychologists have viewed the neurotransmitter dopamine as a double-edged sword: released in the brain as a reward to train us to seek out pleasurable experiences, but also a "drug" the constant pursuit of which leads to addiction.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers shed new light on how to combat Shiga and ricin toxins

Min Dong, PhD, and his lab are world experts in toxins and how to combat them. They've figured out how Clostridium difficile's most potent toxin gets into cells and zeroed in on the first new botulinum toxin identified since 1969.

11 Dec 2018

Researchers capture high-resolution X-ray and NMR image of key immune regulator

A new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital provides a biophysical and structural assessment of a critical immune regulating protein called human T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain containing protein-3 (hTIM-3).

11 Dec 2018

Sprayable gel could help prevent recurrences of cancer after surgery

Many people who are diagnosed with cancer will undergo some type of surgery to treat their disease -- almost 95 percent of people with early-diagnosed breast cancer will require surgery and it's often the first line of treatment for people with brain tumors, for example.

11 Dec 2018

Slow-growing type of glioma may be vulnerable to immunotherapy, suggests study

Immunotherapy has proved effective in treating a number of cancers, but brain tumors have remained stubbornly resistant.

11 Dec 2018

Dermatology providers show interest in recommending cannabinoids to patients

The cannabis plant and its derivatives have been used in medicinal treatments for millennia. With the recent legalization of medical marijuana in 33 states across the country, as well as Washington, D.C., several specialties are weighing the possibilities of integrating cannabinoids into patient therapies, including dermatology.

11 Dec 2018

Novel 3D printing workflow helps predict leaky heart valves

More than one in eight people aged 75 and older in the United States develop moderate-to-severe blockage of the aortic valve in their hearts, usually caused by calcified deposits that build up on the valve's leaflets and prevent them from fully opening and closing.

11 Dec 2018

Ezogabine treatment reduces motor neuron excitability in ALS patients, study shows

Brian Wainger, MD, PhD, of the Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital presented initial, top-level results of a recently completed phase 2 clinical trial of ezogabine (also called retigabine) on December 9 at the Motor Neurone Disease Association annual meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.

11 Dec 2018