Author Archives: Karely Vega, MD

Researchers report that medications that promote slow to moderate weight loss may improve survival rates for people with weight issues who also have knee or hip osteoarthritis. Rapid weight loss prompted by anti-obesity drugs may increase the chance of premature death among people with weight issues who also have knee or hip osteoarthritis, according to […]

A class of type 2 diabetes medications that includes weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic might also help prevent colorectal cancer, according to new study published in the journal JAMA Oncology. Researchers report that these drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), help manage diabetes and spur weight loss by lowering […]

A groundbreaking study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University suggests a class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes may also reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The findings, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, support the need for clinical trials to determine whether these medications could prevent one of the deadliest […]

The lab of Yongchao C. Ma, PhD, at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago uncovered a novel mechanism that leads to motor neuron degeneration in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). This discovery offers a new target for treatment that overcomes important limitations of gene therapy and other […]

Most neurodegenerative diseases, including dementias, involve proteins aggregating into filaments called amyloids. In most of these diseases, researchers have identified the proteins that aggregate, allowing them to target these proteins for diagnostic tests and treatments.  But, in around 10% of cases of frontotemporal dementia, scientists had yet to identify the rogue protein.  Now, scientists have […]

What happens in the human brain when we learn from positive and negative experiences? To help answer that question and better understand decision-making and human behavior, scientists are studying dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter produced in the brain that serves as a chemical messenger, facilitating communication between nerve cells in the brain and the body. […]

The increased legalization of cannabis over the past several years can potentially increase its co-use with alcohol. Concerningly, very few studies have looked at the effects of these two drugs when used in combination. In a series of new studies, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used rats to understand how brain structure and […]

Pancreatic beta cells (β-cells) reside in a cluster of cells in the pancreas known as the islets of Langerhans. Pancreatic β cells are the only cells that produce insulin — a hormone that decreases blood glucose levels. A decrease in pancreatic β cells is a major cause of diabetes. Scientists have long known that pancreatic […]

Insulin is a hormone that decreases blood glucose levels. The only cells that produce insulin are pancreatic beta cells (β-cells), and a decrease in these cells is a major cause of diabetes. Although therapies aimed at increasing pancreatic β-cells are eagerly awaited, a strategy that can increase β-cells has, thus far, not been developed. In […]