Thrombospondin-1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for thoracic aortic aneurysms

Researchers at the University of Tsukuba and Kansai Medical University in Japan reveal matricellular protein Thrombospondin-1 (Thbs1) contributes to the development of aortic aneurysm in mice and humans. The thoracic aorta is constantly exposed to mechanical forces generated by heart contraction and blood flow. Thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) are life-threatening diseases defined as a permanent abnormal dilatation of the thoracic […]

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Risk factors for faulty rhythms

Arrhythmias—disruptions in the rhythm of the heartbeat—after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery in children are common and contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. Prince Kannankeril, MD, MSCI, and colleagues explored clinical and genetic factors associated with atrial tachycardia (AT) after CHD surgery in infants younger than 1 year old. They examined variants in the genes PITX2 and IL6, which are […]

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Socioeconomic status may explain racial and ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival

A new study provides insights into the degree to which socioeconomic status explains racial and ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings may inform where to allocate resources to best reduce racial and ethnic survival disparities for each of the major types of childhood cancer. For […]

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Automated detection of focal epileptic seizures in a sentinel area of the human brain

Patients with focal epilepsy that does not respond to medications badly need alternative treatments. In a first-in-humans pilot study, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified a sentinel area of the brain that may give an early warning before clinical seizure manifestations appear. They have also validated an algorithm that can automatically detect that early warning. These […]

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Co-infection with vaginitis and sexually transmitted infection may be more common than previously acknowledged

New data suggest that women testing positive for vaginitis or bacterial vaginosis may be at higher risk than normal for a sexually transmitted infection. A study published in the most recent issue of Clinical Infectious Disease by Barbara Van Der Pol, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases, found that women who test […]

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More protein after weight loss may reduce fatty liver disease

Increasing the amount of protein in the diet may reduce the liver’s fat content and lower the risk of diabetes in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The study is published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Endocrinology and Metabolism. NAFLD—sometimes referred to as a “fatty liver”—occurs when more than 5 percent of the liver’s total weight […]

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Reliable point-of-care blood test can help prevent toxoplasmosis

A recent study, performed in Chicago and Rabat, Morocco, found that a novel finger-prick test for infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy—and many other potential applications—is 100 percent sensitive and 100 percent specific for detecting the presence of this life-damaging microorganism. A positive result from the Toxoplasma ICT IgG-IgM point-of-care test, performed with a drop of a pregnant […]

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New AI system will help us discover the most effective behaviour change strategies

Changing people’s behaviour is key to tackling the world’s health, social and environmental problems, such as obesity, sustainable living and cybersecurity. To change behaviour, though, we need to know what works, for whom, where and how. But research is generated far faster than humans can access and use it. A search on Google Scholar for “behaviour change” produced over 60,000 […]

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Cholera kills scores in DR Congo, Niger

A cholera epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 127 people since February, while a further 22 have died in Niger, officials said on Wednesday. “A total of 2,100 patients are currently being treated and since February we have registered 125 deaths,” said Hippolyte Mutombo Mbwebwe, health minister in the eastern Kasai region. Ten more cases, including two […]

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