How a light touch can spur severe itching

For some people, particularly those who are elderly, even a light touch of the skin or contact with clothing can lead to unbearable itching. What’s worse, anti-itch treatments, including hydrocortisone, don’t provide much relief for this type of itching. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have discovered, in mice, why a touch can cause such […]

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How a small molecule halts the spread of a toxic protein associated with Alzheimer’s progression

Alzheimer’s disease destroys brain cells in part by promoting the formation of insoluble clumps that contain a protein called tau. Not only are these “tau aggregates” toxic for the cells that harbor them, but they also invade and destroy neighboring brain cells, or neurons, which speeds the cognitive decline associated with the Alzheimer’s. For those reasons, Alzheimer’s researchers have been […]

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Mixed progress on drug resistance in A. baumannii infections in children

In the first national study of the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections in children across the US, researchers from Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, & Policy (CDDEP) in Washington, DC and Rush University in Chicago, IL examined national and regional trends of antibiotic resistance in clinical specimens over a 13-year period. While there was an overall increase between 1999 […]

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Study shows a new approach to treating patients with stage IV Wilms tumor

A new study showing significantly improved survival rates for patients with stage IV Wilms tumors with lung metastases was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The outcomes of the study, “Treatment of Stage IV Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor With Lung Metastases: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group AREN0533 Study”, will be a game-changer in treating Wilms tumor […]

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A wearable device intervention to increase exercise in peripheral artery disease

A home-based exercise program, consisting of wearable devices and telephone coaching, did not improve walking ability for patients with peripheral artery disease, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), was led by Mary McDermott, MD, ’92 GME, the Jeremiah Stamler Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School […]

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A study links soil metals with cancer mortality

Spanish epidemiologists and geologists have found associations between esophageal cancer and soils where lead is abundant. Lung cancer has been associated with high copper content in soil; brain tumors are linked with areas rich in arsenic, and bladder cancer is associated with high cadmium levels. These statistical links do not indicate that there is a cause-effect relationship between soil type […]

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Liquid nicotine used in e-cigarettes still a danger to children despite recent decline in exposures

A new study published online today by Pediatrics and conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that there were more than 8,200 calls to US poison centers regarding exposures to liquid nicotine and e-cigarettes among children younger than 6 years of age from January 2012 through April […]

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