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Life expectancy and nursing home admission in people with dementia

The average life expectancy of people diagnosed with dementia ranges from 9 years at age 60 to 4.5 years at age 85 for women and from 6.5 to just over 2 years, respectively, in men, finds a systematic review of the latest evidence in The BMJ today.

9 Jan 2025

A new framework for assessing the impact of chemicals on child health

Nations must start testing and regulating chemicals and chemical products as closely as the current systems that safeguard prescription drugs or risk rising rates of chronic illnesses among children, according to a New England Journal of Medicine report by a group of experts writing as the Consortium for Children's Environmental Health.

9 Jan 2025

Exploring the link between housing and health in autistic populations

Affordable and stable housing is critical to improving health across a person's lifespan. People with disabilities, including autism, comprise a significant share of people in need of housing assistance. However, the intersection of housing and health among individuals with autism is largely unknown because data on public housing and public health are not connected.

9 Jan 2025

Functional characterization of variants improves cancer risk assessment and treatment

Findings from a multi-institutional, international study led by researchers from the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center have significantly advanced the understanding of genetic alterations in the BRCA2 gene, a key player in hereditary cancer risk.

9 Jan 2025

Unraveling the molecular mechanisms of disease-causing mutations

Most mutations which cause disease by swapping one amino acid out for another do so by making the protein less stable, according to a massive study of human protein variants published today in the journal Nature. Unstable proteins are more likely to misfold and degrade, causing them to stop working or accumulate in harmful amounts inside cells.

9 Jan 2025

Monoamine neurotransmitters emerge as architects of brain physiology

A collaborative effort between Mount Sinai and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has shed valuable light on how monoamine neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and now histamine help regulate brain physiology and behavior through chemical bonding of these monoamines to histone proteins, the core DNA-packaging proteins of our cells.

9 Jan 2025

Early infections in childhood drive long-term health risks

Early childhood infections significantly increase the risk of severe infections and antibiotic use later in childhood, highlighting the importance of early prevention and monitoring.

8 Jan 2025

Scientists uncover key factors for starting autophagy in cells

Recycling takes place in our cells at all times: in a process called autophagy, cell components that are no longer needed are enclosed by membranes and broken down into their basic building blocks.

8 Jan 2025

Intermittent fasting shows promise in managing obesity and cardiovascular health

A team of scientists led by the University of Granada (UGR), the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) and the CIBER has shown that intermittent fasting (reducing the number of hours of intake and extending the hours of fasting each day) is an effective method for losing weight and improves cardiovascular health in people with obesity problems.

8 Jan 2025

Time-restricted eating rivals Mediterranean diet but falls short for visceral fat loss

Time-restricted eating (TRE) is safe and feasible for weight management but offers no additional benefits over a Mediterranean diet for reducing visceral fat. Early TRE shows promise in reducing subcutaneous fat and improving fasting glucose levels.

8 Jan 2025

Stanford researchers develop AI model to enhance cancer prognosis predictions

The melding of visual information (microscopic and X-ray images, CT and MRI scans, for example) with text (exam notes, communications between physicians of varying specialties) is a key component of cancer care.

8 Jan 2025

New brain stem cell discovery could usher in better treatments for glioblastoma

The discovery of a new type of stem cell in the brain could usher in better treatments for the deadliest brain tumor.

8 Jan 2025

New nanoplatform combines pyroptosis and ferroptosis for enhanced cancer treatment

Photoimmunotherapy is an innovative cancer treatment that combines phototherapy with immunotherapy to selectively target and destroy cancer cells.

8 Jan 2025

UC San Diego joins CDC in groundbreaking pandemic preparedness initiative

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has selected University of California San Diego as one of three partner institutions to establish a groundbreaking pandemic preparedness initiative, the Community and Household Acute Respiratory Illness Monitoring (CHARM) Network.

8 Jan 2025

New AI method predicts gene activity in human cells

Using a new artificial intelligence method, researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons can accurately predict the activity of genes within any human cell, essentially revealing the cell's inner mechanisms.

8 Jan 2025

High-frequency spinal stimulation shows promise in reducing muscle spasticity

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is a promising strategy for reestablishing walking after spinal cord injury, recent studies show.

8 Jan 2025

Study reveals how neuropilin2 gene influences autism and epilepsy development

The gene neuropilin2 encodes a receptor involved in cell-cell interactions in the brain and plays a key role in regulating the development of neural circuits.

8 Jan 2025

Researchers uncover molecular mechanisms driving RNA processing defects in Huntington's disease

A University of California, Irvine-led research team has discovered intricate molecular mechanisms driving the RNA processing defects that lead to Huntington's disease and link HD with other neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal lobar dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jan 2025

Mutation in ASXL1 gene triggers chain reaction leading to blood disorders

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have discovered how a mutated gene kicks off a dangerous chain of events during blood cell production.

8 Jan 2025

Robot use associated with increased employee retention, improved quality of care in nursing homes

Facing high employee turnover and an aging population, nursing homes have increasingly turned to robots to complete a variety of care tasks, but few researchers have explored how these technologies impact workers and the quality of care.

8 Jan 2025