Atherosclerosis is a disease in which fat, cholesterol, and other substances build up inside artery walls. This can lead to plaque formation, which can block arteries and cause heart attacks and strokes. Immune cells play a key role in cleaning the blood, by interacting with red blood cell extracellular vesicles (RBCEVs), which are nano-sized particles […]
Global prevalence of Spinal Cord InjuryI is estimated to be between 0.7 and 1.2 million cases per year, with falls and road accidents being the major causes. Despite incurring a cost of $4 billion per year in direct healthcare and indirect costs in the US alone, there are no licensed drugs that can tackle the […]
Antibiotics work by targeting specific parts of a bacteria cell, such as the cell wall or its DNA. Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics in a number of ways, including by developing efflux pumps — proteins that are located on the surface of the bacteria cell. When an antibiotic enters the cell, the efflux pump […]
The number of steps you should walk every day to start seeing benefits to your health is lower than previously thought, according to the largest analysis to investigate this. A new study found that walking at least 3967 steps a day started to reduce the risk of dying from any cause, and 2337 steps a […]
In what is believed to be a world first discovery, University of Otago researchers have found wheat gluten causes brain inflammation in mice. “Mice are an excellent model to study human physiology. They have a very similar circulatory, reproductive, digestive, hormonal and nervous system. The study investigated whether a standard diet, referred to as low […]
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by areas of inflammation in the central nervous system. The immune system attacks the body’s own structures and destroys the covering of nerve cells, known as the myelin sheath. The picture research has painted of the illness is somewhat more complicated, however. It can cause a variety of neurological symptoms, […]
A multi-institutional consortium of researchers led by a team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the COVID-19 International Research Team (COV-IRT) has found that the genes of the mitochondria, the energy producers of our cells, can be negatively impacted by the virus, leading to dysfunction in multiple organs beyond the lungs. Mitochondria are found […]
Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have designed a probiotic to suppress autoimmunity in the brain, which occurs when the immune system attacks the cells of the central nervous system. Autoimmunity in the brain is at the core of several diseases, including multiple sclerosis. “When a drug is taken, its concentration in the bloodstream peaks […]
Researchers have developed a gene therapy that treats chronic pain by indirectly regulating a specific sodium ion channel, according to a new study published. The innovative therapy is made possible by the discovery of the precise region where a regulatory protein binds to the NaV1.7 sodium ion channel to control its activity. Sodium ion channels […]
Bones can repair themselves after a minor break or fracture, leaving us as good as new. Unfortunately, after a larger injury bones often don’t heal well. Although there are many different ways to improve bone repair over larger areas in animal models, very few techniques translate well into the clinic. A research team decided to […]