Author Archives: Rocio Gallegos, MD

ALS is a devastating neurodegenerative disease in which the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord dysfunction and die. It results in the loss of voluntary muscle movement, which leads to paralysis and eventual death. Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered for the first time how a mutated gene disrupts the function […]

Scientists have found that an enzyme called Fumarate Hydratase is repressed in macrophages, a frontline inflammatory cell type implicated in a range of diseases including Lupus, Arthritis, Sepsis and COVID-19. Professor Luke O’Neill, says: “No-one has made a link from Fumarate Hydratase to inflammatory macrophages before and we feel that this process might be targetable […]

Scientists have discovered an additional potential cause of the genetic mutations that result in rare conditions such as Huntington’s disease (HD). The neurodegenerative diseases usually are inherited, given that the expansion of CAG repeats in a gene can be passed down the generations. Previously, it had been thought the damage in these genetic diseases was […]

A deaf adult cannot recover the ability to hear, because the sensory hearing cells of the inner ear don’t regenerate after damage. In two new studies, scientists explain why this is the case and how we might be able to change it. “In the non-sensory supporting cells of the inner ear, key genes required for […]

Glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of brain cancer, grows rapidly to invade and destroy healthy brain tissue. The tumor sends out cancerous tendrils into the brain that make surgical tumor removal extremely difficult or impossible. Now, scientists have found the immunotherapy treatment anti-CTLA-4 leads to considerably greater survival of mice with glioblastoma. Furthermore, […]

E-cigarettes and marijuana have similar harmful effects on the heart as tobacco cigarettes, opening the door to abnormal heart rhythms, reports a team of researchers at UC San Francisco. “We found that cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana greatly interfere with the electrical activity, structure, and neural regulation of the heart,” said lead author Huiliang Qiu, MD, […]

Over 20 years, a new research team examined people’s regular dietary intake, paying particular attention to non-nutritive sweeteners commonly found in artificial sweeteners. They found that long-term consumption of aspartame, saccharin and diet beverages were linked to increased fat stores in the abdomen and fat within muscle.  “This study showed that habitual, long-term intake of […]