Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible brain disorder that affects more than 5 million Americans. It slowly worsens and destroys memory and thinking skills. Previous research has linked memory and thinking problems with visible changes that take place in the brain. People with Alzheimer’s have abnormal deposits of proteins called amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Plaques
Impeding VCAM1, a protein that tethers circulating immune cells to blood vessel walls, enabled old mice to perform as well on memory and learning tests as young mice, a Stanford study found. Mice aren’t people, but like us they become forgetful in old age. In a study published online May 13 in Nature Medicine, old mice suffered far
GRAIL, Inc., a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured, today announced that its multi-cancer test has been granted Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The investigational blood test is in development for the early detection of multiple cancer types in individuals aged
For the first time, scientists have used genetically modified viruses to treat a patient fighting an antibiotic-resistant infection. Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway, 17, began the experimental treatment after doctors lost all hope. She was struggling with a life-threateninginfection after a lung transplant. With the new treatment, she has not been completely cured. But the Faversham, England, teenager has
Patients with type 2 diabetes who receive intensive treatment to keep their blood pressure levels at 130/80 mm Hg or below experience fewer heart attacks, strokes, and other diabetes complications, according to a study published online April 29 in Hypertension. Faisal Rahman, M.D., of the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease at the Johns
Many of Europe’s major research universities are ignoring rules that require them to make public the results of clinical trials. A report published on 30 April found that the results of only 162 of 940 clinical trials (17%) that were due to be published by 1 April had been posted on the European Union’s trials register. The 30
A newly described dementia strikes people in their last decades of life. The disease, aptly named LATE, comes with symptoms that resemble Alzheimer’s disease, but is thought to be caused by something completely different. An international team of scientists and clinicians describe the disease and officially christen it LATE, which stands for the more technical description,
A productive collaboration between the School of Dental Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science led to the microbe-killing robots for biofilm elimination. A visit to the dentist typically involves time-consuming and sometimes unpleasant scraping with mechanical tools to remove plaque from teeth. What if, instead, a dentist could deploy a small army of
A recent editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) addresses the growing problem of medical misinformation, such as anti-vaccine views, fake treatments, unproven alternative products and services, and others. The authors, Armstrong and Naylor, make some good recommendations, but unfortunately are about 20 years behind the times when it comes to confronting scientific misinformation.
Low-income people with chronic diseases who get free meals delivered that are tailored to their medical needs are less likely to be admitted to hospitals or nursing homes, a study in Massachusetts suggests. Researchers followed 499 patients who had at least one year of weekly deliveries of 10 ready-to-eat meals customized to their specific health
