New insights into the journey from health to disease in the human liver have been made by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, the University of Cambridge and their collaborators. In the largest study of its kind, the team documented in unprecedented detail how the accumulation of changes in our […]
Limited English proficiency may worsen chronic disease outcome
(HealthDay)—In predominantly English-speaking settings, patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and chronic conditions have higher rates of emergency department revisits and hospital readmissions than patients with English proficiency (EP), according to a research letter published in the Oct. 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Shail Rawal, M.D., from the University of […]
Killing brain cells believed to fight Alzheimer's could delay disease
Alzheimer’s could be halted with treatment which eliminates immune cells in the brain, scientists claim Tangled tau protein in the brain is a recognised tell-tale of an Alzheimer’s patient When tau becomes knotted, immune brain cells known as microglia attack it But in doing so, the microglia actually damages the neuron and causes damage Alzheimer’s […]
Risk of congenital heart disease soars if dads drink alcohol, study
Men ‘should stop drinking alcohol SIX MONTHS before trying for a baby to protect their child against killer heart diseases’ Study of 340,000 births found 44% increased risk if dads drank in three months Binge drinking was related to a 52 per cent higher likelihood of the birth defects Alcohol is a known teratogen which […]
Uncovering new therapeutic targets for airway inflammation in sickle cell disease
A new study by De, Agrawal, Morrone et al, chal-lenges the common notion that airway inflammation in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is secondary to asthma, even though the two disorders often coexist. In a recent pilot, cross sectional study, both systemic and airway inflammatory markers were compared in patients with sickle cell disease with and […]
‘Relaxed’ enzymes may be at the root of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease
Treatments have been hard to pinpoint for a rare neurological disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), in part because so many variations of the condition exist. So far, mutations on more than 90 genes have been positively linked to the disorder; a patient needs just one of those mutations for the disease to emerge. Regardless of which […]
Medical student with rare disease finds possible cure from studying his own blood samples
A doctor’s race against time to find a cure to his rare disease Dr. David Fajgenbaum was a third-year medical student when he suddenly fell ill and was diagnosed with Castleman disease. Determined not to give up on life, the doctor relapsed four times before he took it upon himself to find a cure for […]
AI estimates a person’s risk of dying from heart disease
AI can estimate a patient’s risk of dying from heart disease by analysing just 15 minutes of scans, scientists claim Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a system called RiskCardio The technology was made for patients with acute coronary syndrome Draws on sample of ECG data to sort a patient into a ‘risk category’ Scientists in […]
Study gives clues to the origin of Huntington’s disease, and a new way to find drugs
The first signs of Huntington’s, an inherited disease that slowly deteriorates bodies and minds, don’t typically surface until middle age. But new findings suggest that something in the brain might be amiss long before symptoms arise, and earlier than has ever been observed. Using a new technology, Rockefeller scientists were able to trace the causes […]
Eye scan sheds new light on Alzheimer’s disease
New research by Australian scientists has demonstrated that a quick, non-invasive eye scan can identify changes in the retina that could be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. In a world-first, the team led by Associate Professor Peter van Wijngaarden and Dr. Xavier Hadoux from the Centre for Eye Research Australia and University of Melbourne, has […]