Researchers at Tohoku University have shown that astrocytes — star-shaped glial cells that control the local ionic and metabotropic environment of the brain — exhibit an acid response with REM sleep in mice. They theorize that the acid response could be the underlying drive for specific information processing and generating plasticity during sleep. They further […]
Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute in Canada and the University of Exeter in the UK explored the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and dementia in more than 12,388 participants of the US National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center, who had a mean age of 71 and were dementia-free when they signed up. Of […]
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease associated with progressive neurodegeneration and accumulation of neurological disability. A novel cell therapy has been developed aiming to slow or reverse neurological disability in patients with MS. The treatment approach utilizes bone marrow cells called mesenchymal stem cell-derived neural progenitors (MSC-NPs) that are injected into the spinal […]
Understanding how the knee joint environment affects cartilage cells is crucial for joint health. Knowledge of cell-driven cartilage degeneration mechanisms can support the development of effective pharmaceutical interventions for osteoarthritis. Researchers have now incorporated the influence of cells in a new numerical model to discover degeneration processes in mechanically loaded and inflamed cartilage. The burden […]
Traditional organ transplants are complicated endeavors. From long wait times to assessing the immunological similarities of patients and potential donors, it can take years until a match is found. According to the Health Resource and Service Administration, seventeen Americans die each day waiting for an organ transplant. Scientists are exploring substitutes for transplantation, including the […]
Inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis have complex disease mechanisms that can differ from patient to patient with the same diagnosis. This means that currently available drugs have little effect on many patients. Using so-called digital twins, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now obtained a deeper understanding of the “off and on” proteins that control these […]
According to the CDC, over 37 million Americans—about 1 in 10 individuals—have diabetes, and approximately 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Normally, a hormone called insulin moves glucose (sugar) from the blood into cells, where it’s used for energy. But in type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t use or produce insulin properly, and glucose […]
People who suffer from insomnia were 69% more likely to have a heart attack compared to those who didn’t have the sleep disorder during an average nine years of follow-up, according to new research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology. In addition, when […]
University of South Australia researchers are calling for exercise to be a mainstay approach for managing depression as a new study shows that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counselling or the leading medications. Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the review is the most comprehensive to date, encompassing 97 reviews, […]
Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for the treatment of severe blood cancers is the only medical intervention that has cured two people living with HIV in the past. An international group of physicians and researchers from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and the United States has now identified another case in which HIV infection has been […]