Author Archives: Karely Vega, MD

Microwaving Baby Food: Billions of Nanoplastics

The fastest way to heat food and drink might also rank as the fastest route to ingesting massive quantities of minuscule plastic particles, says new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Experiments have shown that microwaving plastic baby food containers available on the shelves of U.S. stores can release huge numbers of plastic particles — […]

Espresso Can Prevent Alzheimer’s Protein Clumping in Lab Tests

Whether enjoyed on its own or mixed into a latte, Americano or even a martini, espresso provides an ultra-concentrated jolt of caffeine to coffee lovers. But it might do more than just wake you up. Research now published in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry shows that, in preliminary in vitro laboratory tests, espresso […]

New Prostate Cancer Biomarkers

University of South Australia researchers have identified three new biomarkers for prostate cancer to help identify and differentiate potentially aggressive cases of the disease which kills more than 300,000 men each year. An international team of scientists led by UniSA Professor of Molecular Medicine Doug Brooks has made the breakthrough, which assists pathologists when visualising […]

PFAS Reduce the Activity of Immune Cells, Study Suggests

Because they are persistent, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are also known as “chemicals for eternity.” They can lead to liver damage, thyroid disorders, obesity, hormonal disorders, and cancer.  A team of researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) has now shown that PFAS can also reduce the activity of human immune cells […]

An Early Breakfast May Reduce the Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Eating breakfast after 9 a.m. increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 59% compared to people who eat breakfast before 8 a.m. This is the main conclusion of a study in which ISGlobal, an institution supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, took part and which followed more than 100,000 participants in a French cohort. […]

New Study Shows Anti-Inflammatory Drugs as a Promising Target for Alzheimer’s Disease

A recent study from the lab of the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Director Linda Van Eldik, Ph.D., has been published in PLOS ONE. The work centers around the idea that various anti-inflammatory drugs could be effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).  This study focused on a protein known as p38. Many labs […]

Nanomedicine for Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is on the rise worldwide. The benefits of current medications are limited by problematic side effects.  In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a South Korean research team has now introduced a new method of treatment. It is based on nanoparticles that mimic a special […]

Immune Cells to Help Treat AFib

Current treatments for atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart condition characterized by fast and irregular beats that can lead to stroke and heart failure, have multiple side effects and are ineffective for preventing AFib recurrence. New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in Science reveals that certain immune cells play […]

Lipid Test Can Reveal Risk of Preeclampsia

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered a way to identify pregnant women at risk of preeclampsia, a serious disorder characterized by high blood pressure and kidney dysfunction which can result in premature delivery, seizures and even death. Complications from the condition are the second-leading cause of maternal death around the world. The […]

Ketamine for Treatment-Resistant Depression

A low-cost version of ketamine to treat severe depression has performed strongly in a double-blind trial that compared it with placebo. In research published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers led by UNSW Sydney and the affiliated Black Dog Institute found that more than one in five participants achieved total remission from their […]