Category Archives: Regenerative Medicine News and General Information

Key Protein That Drives Rheumatoid Arthritis Damage

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s own joint tissues, rheumatoid arthritis affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans. A new discovery sheds new light on the molecular processes that drive inflammation seen in rheumatoid arthritis. It could also someday lead to improved treatment of the disease, which currently […]

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. […]

Gum Infection May Be a Risk Factor for Heart Arrhythmia, Researchers Find

Researchers at Hiroshima University have found periodontitis, a gum disease, can lead to severe problems in the body including the heart. In a new study, the team found a significant correlation between periodontitis and fibrosis, a scarring to an appendage of the heart’s left atrium that can lead to an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation. […]

Why MS Patients Develop Progressive Disability

New research shows that the brain and spinal cord scars in people with MS may offer clues to why they develop progressive disability in comparison to related diseases that don’t develop them. In a study researchers and colleagues assessed if inflammation leads to permanent scarring in MS, Aquaporin-4 antibody positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (AQP4-NMOSD) […]

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 […]

New Study Sheds Light on Why Opioids Can Cause Gastrointestinal Problems

Opioids are the gold standard for treatment of chronic and acute pain; however, their use may result in significant gastrointestinal side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and constipation. The reasons behind these side effects are not well understood. A new study is the first report of how opioids like morphine cause gastric inflammation. “Because of a […]

A New Wearable Electrical-Stimulation and Vibration-Therapy System for On-the-Go Neuropathy Treatment

Rice engineering students in the StimuSock team designed a sock with a smart insole that can deliver both transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and vibration therapy that block pain signals to the brain and provide haptic feedback to help with balance issues, respectively. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2022 estimates, over […]

Gut Bacteria Linked to Fatty Deposits in Heart Arteries

In a major Swedish study, researchers have discovered a link between the levels of certain bacteria living in the gut and coronary atherosclerotic plaques.  The new study was based on analyses of gut bacteria and cardiac imaging among 8,973 participants aged 50 to 65 from Uppsala and Malmö without previously known heart disease.  “We found […]