Author Archives: Francisco Fernandez, MD

Supplement Used for Diabetes Shows Promise Against Lung Cancer in New Study

Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer, with over 2 million new cases reported in 2020 worldwide. It is also the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, with 1.79 million reported deaths in 2020.  Non-small cell lung cancer accounts for up to 85% of all lung cancer cases, remains the most common type of lung […]

A Higher Intake of Dairy Was Associated with Increased Prostate Cancer Risk in New Study

The incidence of prostate cancer increases with age. Although only 1 in 350 men under the age of 50 years will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, the incidence rate increases up to 1 in every 52 men for ages 50 to 59 years. The incidence rate is nearly 60% in men over the age of […]

The Benefits of Olive Oil Consumption for Cardiovascular Health

Olive oil consumption has been shown to have health benefits, especially to lower cardiovascular disease risk, but its associations with total and cause-specific mortality are unclear. In a recently published study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers evaluated whether olive oil intake is associated with total and cause-specific mortality in 2 […]

A New Method to Kill Bacterias Using Light

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the greatest challenges facing humankind. It is currently responsible for 700,000 deaths/year. By 2050, 10 million lives/year worldwide will be at risk from drug-resistant infections.  Commonly used antibiotics are becoming increasingly ineffective against a growing number of drug-resistant pathogens and the development of new antimicrobial agents has stagnated. There […]

IL-9 Receptor Used to Enhance T Cells and Kill Tumors

The use of synthetic receptor signaling has the potential to overcome major barriers in the treatment of solid tumors, including the need for chemotherapy by endowing adoptively transferred T cells with new functions.  Recently, a team of researchers has found that a synthetic IL-9 receptor allows cancer-fighting T cells to do their work without needing […]

Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Systemic Lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a diffuse connective tissue disease that often affects multiple organs and systems, such as the kidneys, blood system, and nervous system.  The disease is more common in women, and patients that have the condition need to take long-term glucocorticoids and immunosuppressants such as cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, and other drugs in […]

Novel Vaccine Showed Efficacy in the Treatment of Solid Tumors

In order for our immune system to establish an adequate antitumor activity, it requires antigen-specific lymphocytes to undergo activation, expansion, and differentiation, which is determined by the interaction between T cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs).  That is why the control of APC function is a critical step for therapeutic strategies that require T-cell stimulation, with […]

Commonly Used Lipid-Lowering Drug Could Help Prevent Brain Atrophy in MS

Multiple sclerosis is a major cause of disability, particularly in young adults in temperate climates. Despite much success with drugs that substantially reduce relapse frequency during the initial inflammatory, relapsing-remitting phase, more than half of patients eventually develop non-relapsing, secondary progressive multiple sclerosis one to two decades after the onset of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. This […]

For the First Time, Doctors Were Able to Transplant Human Liver 3 Days After it Was Explanted

Organ transplantation is a very complicated procedure. Different factors must be met in order to be successful, such as compatibility between the donor and recipient, the process of moving the live organ from donor to recipient, and maintaining it working properly until it reaches its destination.  The traditional method of moving a transplant organ involves […]

Platelet-Rich Plasma for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral entrapment neuropathy. The gradual ischemia resulting from high pressure with accompanying compression of the median nerve (MN) within the carpal tunnel is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of CTS.  CTS can cause inflammation of the intercarpal tendon including the flexor pollicis longus, deep and superficial […]