Inflammatory processes drive progression of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases

Inflammation drives the progression of neurodegenerative brain diseases and plays a major role in the accumulation of tau proteins within neurons. An international research team led by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn comes to this conclusion in the journal Nature. The findings are based on the analyses of human brain tissue and further […]

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Opioid-related cardiac arrest patients differ from other cardiac arrests

One recent study found that opioid overdose victims who suffer cardiac arrest are distinctly different from other cardiac arrest patients, yet they may be more likely than others to survive long enough to be admitted to a hospital, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Science Symposium 2019—November 16-17 in Philadelphia. “Cardiac arrests due […]

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Persistent headache or back pain ‘twice as likely’ in the presence of the other

People with persistent back pain or persistent headaches are twice as likely to suffer from both disorders, a new study from the University of Warwick has revealed. The results, published in the Journal of Headache and Pain, suggest an association between the two types of pain that could point to a shared treatment for both. The researchers from Warwick Medical […]

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Using math to help treat Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other diseases

Protein aggregation—in which misfolded proteins clump together to form large fibrils—has been implicated in many diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and type II diabetes. While the exact role these fibrils play in diseases isn’t fully understood, many of the current treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s target the aggregation process. However, finding the right treatment protocols for these drugs, which […]

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Virtual reality can help make people more compassionate compared to other media

A Stanford-developed virtual reality experience, called “Becoming Homeless,” is helping expand research on how this new immersive technology affects people’s level of empathy. According to new Stanford research, people who saw in virtual reality, also known as VR, what it would be like to lose their jobs and homes developed longer-lasting compassion toward the homeless compared to those who explored […]

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How astrophysics could transform the treatment of cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases

It’s a cruel disease which dramatically shortens life expectancy. One in 25 Europeans carry the cystic fibrosis gene and, in the UK, about 10,400 people currently have the condition. But people are living longer and longer thanks to improvements in screening at birth, early treatment and medication. One of the most important things is for patients to be put on […]

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Erectile dysfunction means increased risk for heart disease, regardless of other risk factors

Erectile dysfunction (ED) indicates greater cardiovascular risk, regardless of other risk factors, such as cholesterol, smoking and high blood pressure, according new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. In the study, which followed more than 1,900 men, ages 60 to 78, over 4 years, those who reported ED were twice as likely to experience heart attacks, cardiac […]

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Your brain considers other people’s personal space as your own

Peripersonal space (PPS) is a mental space defined by the brain immediately around body parts used when interacting with people and objects. Recently, researchers have shown that some neurons in the primate brain respond to an infringement of another person’s PPS as if their own space was being encroached upon. To determine how this “PPS remapping” phenomenon affects human behavior, […]

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Many Americans say infectious and emerging diseases in other countries will threaten the US

An overwhelming majority of Americans (95%) think infectious and emerging diseases facing other countries will pose a ‘major’ or ‘minor’ threat to the U.S. in the next few years, but more than half (61%) say they are confident the federal government can prevent a major infectious disease outbreak in the U.S., according to a new national public opinion survey commissioned […]

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