Category Archives: Regenerative Medicine News and General Information

Opioids Recruit the Immune System to Cause Withdrawal Symptoms

Researchers have uncovered one way that opioid use seems to result in withdrawal symptoms, identifying a previously unknown pathway in the immune system that results in unstable and dysfunctional connections among brain cells. Although the immune system has long been implicated in opioid withdrawal, the new findings, published January 19 in Cell, are the first […]

Long-Term Exposure to Nitrate in Drinking Water May Be a Risk Factor for Prostate Cancer

The nitrate ingested over the course of a person’s adult lifetime through the consumption of tap water and bottled water could be a risk factor for prostate cancer, particularly in the case of aggressive tumors and in younger men. This is the conclusion of a study conducted in Spain and led by the Barcelona Institute […]

AI Tool Can Identify Normal And Abnormal Chest X-Rays

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool can accurately identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays in a clinical setting, according to a study published in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Chest X-rays are used to diagnose a wide variety of conditions to do with the heart and lungs. An abnormal chest […]

Plastic Food Containers Can Contain PFAS

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame are adding to their list of consumer products that contain PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a toxic class of fluorine compounds known as “forever chemicals.” In a new study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters, fluorinated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic containers — used for household cleaners, pesticides, […]

Drunk Mice Sober Up After A Hormone Shot

A hormone called fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) protects mice against ethanol-induced loss of balance and righting reflex, according to a study publishing on March 7 in the journal Cell Metabolism. “We’ve discovered that the liver is not only involved in metabolizing alcohol but that it also sends a hormonal signal to the brain to […]

New Potential Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases

The key to the development of autoimmune diseases, and thus the way to inhibit this development, lies in our cells, but the underlying mechanism has always been unclear,” stated Prof. Hiroki Ishikawa, who leads the Immune Signal Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). “Now, our recent research has shed light on […]

Babies Receive Essential Microbes Whether They’re Born Naturally or by C-Section Study Shows

Essential microbes transferred from mother to infant are only slightly lower for babies born via cesarean section and that gap can be bridged with breastfeeding. That’s according to new research published on March 8 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. To understand how the microbiome develops during the first month of life, the team […]

Alzheimer’s Target: Modifying Messenger RNA

Reducing the methylation of a key messenger RNA can promote migration of macrophages into the brain and ameliorate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in a mouse model, according to a new study. The results illuminate one pathway for entry of peripheral immune cells into the brain, and may provide a new target for treatment of Alzheimer’s […]

A Gene Mutation Associated With Parkinson’s

A gene mutation associated with Parkinson’s disease interrupts brain cells’ normal process for disposing of degraded proteins, according to a recent study. The result is a buildup of debris in synapses that may cause Parkinson’s symptoms. In a study of Drosophila, fruit flies, researchers demonstrated that the release of calcium in neurons triggers autophagy — […]

Ulcerative Colitis: AI Program Shows Promise in Predicting Flare-Ups

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool shows promise in predicting active disease and flare-ups in people with ulcerative colitis, according to a new study published in Gastroenterology. Researchers from the Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Birmingham in England and the University College Cork in Ireland developed a computer-aided diagnostic tool to predict […]