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Pirfenidone significantly reduces a marker of heart muscle scarring

Patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction who took the antifibrotic drug pirfenidone saw a significant reduction in a marker of heart muscle scarring compared with patients who received a placebo, based on findings from an early-phase trial presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session.

18 May 2021

UNSW researchers find novel way to attack the 'fortress' surrounding pancreatic tumors

Tackling the scar tissue that shields pancreatic tumors from effective drug access is a promising advance in a notoriously hard-to-treat cancer.

17 May 2021

CNIO researchers unravel why motor neurons die in ALS patients

In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the progressive death of neurons that control body movement leads to paralysis of muscles in the limbs and gradually of the whole body, which ultimately makes it impossible to breathe. ALS is currently untreatable, and its cause is unknown.

12 May 2021

Blocking fat-busting enzyme with a drug compromises cardiac repair during acute heart failure

Blocking the fat-busting enzyme lipoxygenase with a synthetic inhibitor throws the immune system's innate inflammatory response out of whack, compromising cardiac repair during acute heart failure, USF Health researchers found.

10 May 2021

Study shows why some stroke patients do not have abnormal heart rhythms

Scientists have shed light on why some people who have a stroke do not also have abnormal heart rhythms, even though their hearts contain similar scar tissue. Their results, published today in eLife, could help identify the best treatments for people who might be at risk of recurrent stroke, new heart disorders, or both.

5 May 2021

Using silicone and sugar to make the softest brain implants

Brain implants are used to treat neurological dysfunction, and their use for enhancing cognitive abilities is a promising field of research.

4 May 2021

New study reveals mechanisms that result in lethal COVID-19

A new study is drawing the most detailed picture yet of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung, revealing mechanisms that result in lethal COVID-19, and may explain long-term complications and show how COVID-19 differs from other infectious diseases.

30 Apr 2021

In poisoned Montana town, Warren Buffett-owned railroad accuses clinic of Medicare fraud

Patricia Denny and her husband, Jeff, had hoped to one day get an RV and travel the country. Instead, Jeff has been forced into retirement at age 54 by a lung disease caused by the asbestos that's polluted the small town of Libby, Montana, for decades.

29 Apr 2021

Purified exosomal product accelerates wound healing in preclinical models

Difficult-to-treat, chronic wounds in preclinical models healed with normal scar-free skin after treatment with an acellular product discovered at Mayo Clinic.

28 Apr 2021

ASPS survey reveals COVID-19's impact and patient demand for plastic surgery

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) - the world's largest plastic surgery organization, representing nearly 8,000 members - today released the 2020 results of the organization's annual procedure survey coupled with national consumer research reflecting trends during the COVID-19 era to help predict what 2021 will bring.

28 Apr 2021

USP7 inhibitors could increase the anticancer effects of CDK1 compounds in cancer patients

Understanding the components that control cell division is fundamental to understanding how life works and how alterations in this delicate process can cause diseases such as cancer.

19 Apr 2021

Introducing a neuro regenerative gene into mice with spinal cord injury improves motor function

Nagoya University researchers have identified a gene that plays a crucial role in regenerating neurons of African clawed frog tadpoles, which has an unusually high capacity for nerve regeneration.

31 Mar 2021

Research consortium identifies cell stress mechanisms for chronic inflammatory liver disease

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare, chronic, inflammatory disease of the bile ducts and is difficult to treat, since its causes have not yet been adequately researched.

30 Mar 2021

Research sheds light on a new neuroprotective mechanism to control damage following brain injury

When the brain suffers injury or infection, glial cells surrounding the affected site act to preserve the brain's sensitive nerve cells and prevent excessive damage.

26 Mar 2021

New imaging technique can better identify the presence of residual cancers in rectal tissues

Rectal cancer, along with colon cancer, is the third-most common type of cancer in the United States, and treatment and surgery greatly affect the quality of life of patients.

26 Mar 2021

Researchers discover new molecular target that could treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified a new molecular target that could potentially treat the deadly, aging-related lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

10 Mar 2021

Organ-on-chip consortium receives huge grant to develop a universal standard for pharmaceutical industry

Scientists are pushing ahead building 'organ-on-chips', small chips with human cells, which are useful, for example, for studying cancerous metastases in the bloodstream or the development of scar tissue, or for testing the effect of drugs or food outside a human body.

10 Mar 2021

Researchers reprogram glial cells into new neurons to heal spinal cord injury

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have successfully reprogrammed a glial cell type in the central nervous system into new neurons to promote recovery after spinal cord injury--revealing an untapped potential to leverage the cell for regenerative medicine.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers create new nerve cells, spur recovery after spinal cord injury

Using genetic engineering, researchers at UT Southwestern and Indiana University have reprogrammed scar-forming cells in mouse spinal cords to create new nerve cells, spurring recovery after spinal cord injury.