Gene editing technology may improve accuracy of predicting individuals’ heart disease risk

Scientists may now be able to predict whether carrying a specific genetic variant increases a person’s risk for disease using gene editing and stem cell technologies, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. For the first time, the study demonstrates the unique potential of combining stem cell-based disease modeling (Induced pluripotent stem cells) and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome […]

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To share or not to share? Physiological and social determinants of children’s sharing behavior

When are primary school children willing to share valuable resources with others and when are they not? A team of researchers from the University of Vienna led by cognitive biologist Lisa Horn investigated this question in a controlled behavioural experiment. The motivation to share seems to be influenced by group dynamical and physiological factors, whereas friendship between the children seems […]

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Early, intensive treatment of RA offers long-term benefits, may normalise mortality rates

The results of a 23-year, follow-up study presented today at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2018) suggest early, intensive treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has long-term benefits including the normalisation of mortality to levels consistent with the general population. “We know that the adverse effects of rheumatoid arthritis on the body only become truly apparent after more than a […]

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Obesity in childhood and adulthood shown to increase risk of knee and hip osteoarthritis

The results of a study to be presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2018) suggest childhood and adult obesity increase the risk of developing hip osteoarthritis (OA) and knee OA but not hand OA. Obesity and OA are two interconnected health care problems affecting a large proportion of the adult population worldwide, however studying causality in this […]

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Risk of burnout can be estimated by analysing saliva samples

According to calculations from the World Health Organisation, depression occupies first place in the global “disease burden” and, by 2030, experts estimate that there will be three mental illnesses in the Top 5: depression, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and alcohol addiction. Even Austria is seeing an increase in mental problems such as burnout and, since 2010, these have […]

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Both quantity and quality of sleep affect cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents

A study from a research team led by a MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) physician finds that both the quantity and quality of sleep—the amount of time spent sleeping and the percentage of sleep that is undisturbed—in young adolescents have significant effects on aspects of cardiovascular health such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels and abdominal fat deposition. Their report has […]

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Tdap vaccine given during pregnancy reduces occurrence of infant pertussis

A study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows the effectiveness of the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) vaccine for infants whose mothers receive the vaccine during pregnancy. The “Effectiveness of Prenatal Tetanus, Diphtheria, Acellular Pertussis Vaccination in the Prevention of Infant Pertussis in the U.S.” study led by Sylvia Becker-Dreps, MD, MPH, associate professor in the […]

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