How environmental pollutants and genetics work together in rheumatoid arthritis

It has been known for more than three decades that individuals with a particular version of a gene—human leukocyte antigen (HLA)—have an increased risk for rheumatoid arthritis. Meanwhile, in recent years, there has been a growing interest in the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and environmental factors, such as cigarette smoking. In smokers who develop rheumatoid arthritis, the disease hits harder. […]

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Understanding how leukemia and lymphoma cells resist treatment

In a study published in Nature Communications, a team led IRCM Hematopoiesis and Cancer Research Unit director Tarik Möröy reveals how the GFI1 protein sometimes helps leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells evade therapy. This discovery could eventually help orient patients towards more effective treatment by considering the particular characteristics of their disease. In this Q&A, Möröy and his team offer […]

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Study may show how chronic early-life stress raises PTSD vulnerability

A collaboration between investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital and Khyber Medical University in Pakistan may have discovered how chronic stress experienced early in life increases vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) later in life. In their report published in Translational Psychiatry the researchers describe finding that chronic stress induces a persistent increase in the hormone ghrelin, both in a rat […]

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Study finds how fat tissue shunts energy to tumors

Obesity is the second-leading preventable cause of cancer and represents one of the greatest threats to global human health. But it has not been clear exactly how whole-body metabolism affects tumor formation. In particular, the molecular mechanisms by which fat cells communicate with tumor tissue remain poorly understood. Sanford Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) researchers recently addressed this question, revealing […]

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Study examines how social support affects mental health after a natural disaster

A new Journal of Traumatic Stress study found that social support may have helped alleviate depressive symptoms for displaced and nondisplaced residents who survived Hurricane Katrina. Also, social support appeared to only moderate the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms for nondisplaced residents, indicating that displaced individuals may require more formal supports for reducing PTSD symptoms following a natural […]

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How to fight side effects of hormone therapy for prostate cancer

Men on hormone therapy for prostate cancer may benefit significantly from hitting the gym with fellow patients and choosing more veggies and fewer cheeseburgers, a new study suggests. Androgen deprivation therapy is a powerful tool against prostate cancer, and more and more men are opting for the treatment as a growing array of hormone-based therapies become available. But it comes […]

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