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Study shows potential of phage therapy to treat alcoholic liver disease

Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that specifically destroy bacteria. In the early 20th century, researchers experimented with phages as a potential method for treating bacterial infections.

13 Nov 2019

Colorado researchers find lower vaccination rates among pediatric transplant patients

University of Colorado researchers have found lower vaccination rates among children who receive liver transplants, increasing the risk of sickness for those children, who already face significant health issues.

13 Nov 2019

Regular co-use of pain and sleep medications may increase risk of frailty in older adults

Researchers from the Oregon Research Institute and Florida Atlantic University are the first to demonstrate statistically significant links between self-reported regular use of prescription drugs for pain and/or sleep, and longitudinal risk of frailty in adults ages 65 and older.

13 Nov 2019

Targeting the formation of alpha-synuclein aggregates may slow Parkinson's progression

Aggregates of the protein alpha-synuclein arising in the gut may play a key role in the development of Parkinson's disease.

13 Nov 2019

Study explains how variation in spinal patterns may lead to scoliosis

A pediatric researcher has identified patterns of spinal curvature in younger children that may be likely to develop into scoliosis by adolescence.

13 Nov 2019

Cleveland Clinic researchers identify novel target for anti-fibrotic therapies

In a new study published in Science Signaling, Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a novel target for new therapies that may help to treat or prevent a host of fibrotic conditions, which contribute to nearly half of overall mortality in the United States.

13 Nov 2019

Using AI to improve psychiatric care

A new paper in Schizophrenia Bulletin shows that artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors to diagnose the mental health of patients with speed and accuracy. The new app designed for mobiles has been developed to improve patient monitoring using cues picked up from their speech, and is based on machine-learning tools.

13 Nov 2019

Deterministic mechanoporation of cells en masse to cure cancer

What if you could cure cancer by re-engineering patients' cells to better target and destroy their own tumors? With the advent of powerful new cellular engineering technologies, this is no longer the stuff of science fiction.

13 Nov 2019

Caution: blood infections traced to probiotics

Probiotics aren’t harmless, says a new study published on November 7, 2019 in the journal Nature Medicine. In fact, some patients may be put at serious risk by the bacteria in probiotics. Doctors should weigh the risks of probiotics in severely ill or immunocompromised patients before prescribing them, as their benefits may be significantly smaller than the danger in such situations.

13 Nov 2019

Uncovering the secret weapon of rabies viruses

In a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, scientists have discovered the exact site at which the immune system is disabled by the rabies virus, opening the way for a new and highly effective means of rabies prevention. This is a long-awaited discovery and could transform the field of rabies immunization.

13 Nov 2019

Latest body weight and weight loss trends reflect challenges to health goals

A new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open on November 13, 2019, says that while more adults joined weight-loss programs in the period 1999 to 2016, the results weren’t quite satisfactory. People are heavier today, by about 2.8 Kg, on average, than at the beginning of the study, though about 42% of all people are trying to lose weight by diverse methods including dieting, exercise, cutting down on sweets and drinking more water.

13 Nov 2019

Opioid overdose treatment: intranasal vs intramuscular naloxone

Opioid addiction and dependency have become a common plague in many countries of the world. Accompanying these conditions, opioid overdose is being increasingly encountered in many emergency settings. The standard and highly effective antidote for this is naloxone hydrochloride, an opioid antagonist which has been in use for over 4 decades.

13 Nov 2019

Study finds children become less active as they move through primary school

Children become less physically active as they go through primary school, a new study found. Between the ages of 6 and 11, children lost more than an hour of excise per week, with a greater decline on weekends.

13 Nov 2019

Tall people more likely to develop atrial fibrillation

Size may matter when it comes to having a safe and steady heart. A new study shows tall people are more likely to develop from an irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation (AFib).

13 Nov 2019

Certain professions and late dinners bad for women’s heart health

A new study from a team from Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has revealed that post-menopausal women in certain professions are more likely to suffer from heart diseases and other heart problems.

13 Nov 2019

New biomarker discovered in cancer stem cells

In the world of cancer biology, not all biomarkers are created equal. These molecules that alert doctors that an abnormal process may be underway can appear as an array of aberrant proteins, such as hormones, enzymes or signaling molecules, and vary from patient to patient. Because they are a mixed bag, no one drug exists to attack them.

13 Nov 2019

Researchers find mechanism that controls the growth of B1-cells

Directly after birth, the immune system completes production of a subtype of antibody-producing immune cells, B-1, that are to last for a lifetime. No more B1-cells are formed after that point. However, these cells are self-reactive - they produce not only antibodies against foreign substances, but also against the body's own substances, and it is unclear why the immune system allows for the development of these particular cells.

13 Nov 2019

AI-driven automated system can help design biochemical pathways to produce lycopene

A new proof-of-concept study details how an automated system driven by artificial intelligence can design, build, test and learn complex biochemical pathways to efficiently produce lycopene, a red pigment found in tomatoes and commonly used as a food coloring, opening the door to a wide range of biosynthetic applications, researchers report.

13 Nov 2019

New method could optimize facial analysis to detect genetic syndromes

Each year, over a million children are born with a genetic disease. Although about half of genetic syndromes present facial dysmorphology, abnormal facial features are often subtle at birth and their identification by paediatricians can prove challenging. Delays and errors in diagnosis have a significant impact on mortality and morbidity associated with genetic syndromes.

13 Nov 2019

Pacemaker-like device improves heart function in patients with chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy

With the advent of new therapies, cancer patients are surviving longer than ever before -- but the incidence of side-effect chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy (CHIC), or weakness of the heart muscle, is increasing.

13 Nov 2019