Several previous studies of persisting problems after COVID have involved MRI brain scanning. Although researchers have found differences compared with healthy brains, these differences are not specific to COVID-19. “It can be frustrating for me as a doctor when I understand that the patients have problems, but I can’t find an explanation because there’s nothing […]
A new study provides a better understanding of how the brain responds to injuries. Researchers at the George Washington University discovered that a protein called Snail plays a key role in coordinating the response of brain cells after an injury. The study shows that after an injury to the central nervous system (CNS) a group […]
The problem of foodborne metal contamination has taken on new urgency, thanks in part to a 2021 US Congressional Report detailing high levels of metals found in infant food pulled off grocery shelves. Food crops can absorb heavy metals from contaminated soil, air, and water. As a result, traces of dangerous heavy metals — lead, […]
Smoking shrinks the brain, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Since people’s brains naturally lose volume with age, smoking effectively causes the brain to age prematurely, the researchers said. Scientists have long known that smoking and smaller brain volume are linked, but they’ve never been sure […]
For decades, scientists have noted an intriguing similarity between a deficiency in vitamin B12 and multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the CNS and which can produce neurodegeneration. Both vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin) deficiency and MS produce similar neurological symptoms, including numbness or tingling in hands […]
Some Covid-19 vaccines safely and effectively used lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver messenger RNA to cells. A new MIT study shows that different nanoparticles could be used for a potential Alzheimer’s disease (AD) therapy. In tests in multiple mouse models and with cultured human cells, a newly tailored LNP formulation effectively delivered small interfering RNA […]
In some diseases, the underlying processes can start years before a diagnosis is made. A new study finds that people who later develop multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have conditions like depression, constipation and urinary tract infections five years before their MS diagnosis than people who do not develop MS. The conditions were […]
3D eye scans can reveal vital clues about kidney health that could help to track the progression of disease, research suggests. Researchers used highly-magnified images to detect changes to the retina — the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that senses light and sends signals to the brain. They found that the […]
Disease of the small airways in the lungs is a potential long-lasting effect of COVID-19, according to a new study. The study found that small airways disease occurred independently of initial infection severity. The long-term consequences are unknown. “There is some disease happening in the small airways independent of the severity of COVID-19,” said study […]
Many individuals with kidney dysfunction develop anemia, or a shortage of healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen to the body’s tissues. Some treatments for anemia are linked with serious cardiovascular side effects, but a new class of oral drugs called hypoxia inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors may be comparable to placebo in these trials. These […]