Pain-induced changes in the rat brain’s opioid receptor system may explain the limited effectiveness of opioid therapy in chronic pain and may play a role in the depression that often accompanies it, according to new research. These findings clearly show the impact of chronic pain on the brain and its relation to depression. The study,… Continue reading Animal Study Shows Why Opioid Therapy May Not Always Work Well for Chronic Pain
Category: Medical Research
Obese People Underrepresented in Clinical Trials
Although obesity is a risk factor for a number of cancer types and can influence cancer treatment outcomes, obese patients are underrepresented in clinical trials, according to new research. In 2014, kinds of cancer associated with being overweight or obese represented about 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States. But a new… Continue reading Obese People Underrepresented in Clinical Trials
Long-Sought Structure of Telomerase Paves the Way for New Drugs for Aging & Cancer
More than 30 years ago, when University of California, Berkeley researchers discovered telomerase – an enzyme that lengthens chromosome ends and prevents them from fraying enough to kill a cell – speculation ran wild about its role in aging and cancer, setting off a full-court press to produce drugs to activate or block the enzyme.… Continue reading Long-Sought Structure of Telomerase Paves the Way for New Drugs for Aging & Cancer
A Better Weapon in The Fight against Cancer
Johns Hopkins researchers have invented a new class of cancer immunotherapy drugs that are more effective than existing methods at harnessing the immune system’s power to fight cancer. This new approach, reported in Nature Communications, results in a significant decrease of tumor growth, even against cancers that do not respond to existing immunotherapy. “The immune… Continue reading A Better Weapon in The Fight against Cancer
New Hope for Nerve Regeneration?
As biologists at the University of California San Diego looked for genes involved in regenerating critical nerve fibers called axons, they unexpectedly discovered a new genetic pathway that carries hope for victims of traumatic injuries–from stroke to spinal cord damage. UC San Diego Biological Sciences Assistant Project Scientist Kyung Won Kim, Professor Yishi Jin and… Continue reading New Hope for Nerve Regeneration?
Some Bacterial Infections Could Benefit from Alternative Therapies
Developing alternative therapies for mild infections could slow the spread of antibiotic resistance, a problem that can severely hamper the treatment of more severe bacterial infections, according to researchers. The proposal was made by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers Kristofer Wollein Waldetoft and Sam P. Brown in an essay that was published in PLOS Biology.… Continue reading Some Bacterial Infections Could Benefit from Alternative Therapies
A Common Cancer Drug and Hearing Loss
Scientists have found a new way to explain the hearing loss caused by cisplatin, a powerful drug used to treat many forms of cancer, according to a news release from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Using a highly sensitive technique to measure and map cisplatin in mouse and human inner ear tissues, researchers found… Continue reading A Common Cancer Drug and Hearing Loss
A Computer App for Heart Patients
Researchers have developed an app that helps improve heart failure patients’ quality of life and longevity, according to a clinical study. The new app, which monitors heart failure patients’ medical tests and health status and promptly notifies clinicians, was developed by a multidisciplinary team of Intermountain Healthcare medical informatics specialists, home health experts, and clinicians… Continue reading A Computer App for Heart Patients
A New Weapon Against Immune-System Diseases?
Anti-aging proteins are noted for protecting against cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular disease. One protein may also be beneficial to the immune system, new research shows. The protein in question is called SIRT1, more commonly known for being activated by red wine. In the new study, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, scientists from the… Continue reading A New Weapon Against Immune-System Diseases?
A New Technique Reduces Side Effects and Improves Delivery of Chemotherapy Drugs
There is a new method for delivering chemotherapy nanodrugs that increases the drugs’ bioavailability and reduces side-effects, say researchers from Carnegie Mellon University. According to a news release from the university, the study, published online in Scientific Reports, shows that administering an FDA-approved nutrition source prior to chemotherapy can reduce the amount of the toxic… Continue reading A New Technique Reduces Side Effects and Improves Delivery of Chemotherapy Drugs
Managing Antibiotics Not Enough to Reverse Resistance
Merely reducing antibiotic use will not be enough to reverse the growing prevalence of antibiotic resistance to some types of bacteria, researchers say. Besides passing along the genes bestowing antibiotic resistance to their offspring, many bacteria can also swap genes among themselves through a process called conjugation. There has long been a debate, however, as… Continue reading Managing Antibiotics Not Enough to Reverse Resistance
Cancer Cells and Glucose
Researchers have identified a method that restricts the ability of cancer cells to consume glucose, a key source of energy. Malignant cells consume exorbitant amounts of glucose, and shutting down this process has long been a goal of scientists. But until now, there have been no good pharmacological methods to stop cancers’ ability to uptake… Continue reading Cancer Cells and Glucose
Key Strides Being Made in The Battle Against Antibiotics Resistance
Resistance to antibiotics is becoming increasingly prevalent and threatens to undermine healthcare systems across the globe. Now, though, scientists appear to have discovered a way to combat it. Researchers from the University of Bristol, in the UK, defined the relative importance of two mechanisms associated with resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. (Antibiotics including penicillins, cephalosporins and… Continue reading Key Strides Being Made in The Battle Against Antibiotics Resistance
The Cancer Treatment that Causes Malignant Cells to Self-Destruct
Researchers have discovered a compound that causes cancer cells to “commit suicide” –and leave healthy cells alone. The compound, found by investigators at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, was described in the Oct. 9, 2017 issue of Cancer Cell. In experiments, it was directed against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells but may also have potential… Continue reading The Cancer Treatment that Causes Malignant Cells to Self-Destruct
A “Genetic Timetable” and Your Brain
Researchers have discovered a “genetic timetable” in the brain that is timed so precisely, experts can look at the genes in a sample of brain tissue and tell the age of a person. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh analyzed existing data that measured gene expression in brain tissue samples from across the human lifespan –… Continue reading A “Genetic Timetable” and Your Brain
Off-Hours Snacking Leads to Sun Damage? Maybe
Although it may seem bizarre for there to be a connection between off-hours snacking and harmful solar rays, research indicates that could be the case. A study in mice from the O’Donnell Brain Institute and University of California Irvine shows that eating at abnormal times disrupts the biological clock of the skin, including the daytime potency… Continue reading Off-Hours Snacking Leads to Sun Damage? Maybe
The Real Reason Why Female Fertility Decreases After Age 35. It’s Not What You Think.
Age is the single most important factor affecting a woman’s chances of getting pregnant and delivering a healthy child A woman’s chance of conceiving begins to wane at about age 32. For the next few years, the drop is very slight, but after age 35, the decline accelerates significantly. “The most common reason is reduced… Continue reading The Real Reason Why Female Fertility Decreases After Age 35. It’s Not What You Think.
Here’s How Doctors are Moving Beyond Traditional IVF
The first successful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) baby was born almost four decades ago. Since then, IVF has become the gold standard for women trying to conceive and deliver a healthy child. GROWING PRESSURE FOR LESS INVASIVE PROCEDURES However, there is growing pressure for less invasive procedures, lower treatment costs, and better outcomes. Some frustrated patients… Continue reading Here’s How Doctors are Moving Beyond Traditional IVF