Babies born via cesarean delivery may have an increased risk of developing asthma and food allergies, according to research out of the School of Public Health. The prevalence of children with asthma and allergies has increased over the past two decades, and although genetics may play a role, previous studies have suggested that other factors […]
Mailing colorectal cancer screening kit found effective, regardless of financial incentive
Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the United States, and just six out of 10 adults in the age range recommended for routine screening—50 to 75—reported having it done in 2015. When patients do not keep up with screening, the risk of death is substantially higher, so Penn Medicine researchers, investigating a new […]
Antibiotics: we’ve found faster, better way to identify the right one to use
Bacterial infections are best dealt with rapidly, but lab tests to determine the type of infection a patient has are slow. So if a doctor suspects a bacterial infection, she will probably prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic. In other words, an antibiotic that kills a wide range of disease-causing bacteria. It’s a buckshot approach rather than […]
T-cell specificity found to play a role in attacks on myelin versus β-synuclein in MS
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Germany has found that T-cell specificity plays a major role in immune system attacks on myelin versus β-synuclein in people with multiple sclerosis. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of T-cell behavior in rat models and what they learned. […]
Brain’s cerebellum found to influence addictive and social behavior
In a study published online today in the journal Science, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore, prove for the first time that the brain’s cerebellum—long thought to be mainly involved in coordinating movement—helps control the brain’s reward circuitry. The surprising finding indicates that the cerebellum plays a major role in reward […]
Exposure to numerous pets during infancy found to reduce allergies later on
A team of researchers at the University of Gothenburg has found that when infants live with pets, they grow up to have fewer allergies and other diseases. In their paper published on the open access site PLOS ONE, the group describes their study of datasets that held information on children’s health and whether they had […]
Protein found in patients with severe asthma can help identify who would benefit from targeted drugs
In a novel study, researchers succeeded in identifying patients with a form of severe asthma (type 2 endotype) by measuring periostin concentrations in their airways. These patients with the type 2 (T2) endotype may benefit from newly developed targeted treatments that have the potential to transform their quality of life, report researchers in the journal […]
World’s first human case of rat disease found in Hong Kong
A Hong Kong man has developed the world’s first ever human case of the rat version of the hepatitis E virus, according to new research from one of the city’s leading universities. There had previously been no evidence the disease could jump from rats to humans, the University of Hong Kong said Friday, warning the […]
Heading a soccer ball found to be riskier for female players
(HealthDay)—Female soccer players exhibit more widespread evidence of microstructural white matter alteration than males, despite having similar exposure to heading, according to a study recently published in Radiology. Todd G. Rubin, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 98 individuals enrolled in a larger prospective […]
Obesity and economic status—what we found in Kenya’s slums
Africa is experiencing a demographic and nutrition transition. More and more people are moving to urban areas. Slum communities currently constitute about 56% of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa. That’s more than 200 million people, more than the entire population of Nigeria. Even as under-nutrition or not getting enough calories and nutrients – continues […]