Twenty minutes of mindful breathing, which focuses a person’s attention on their breath, can rapidly reduce the intensity and unpleasantness of cancer pain and relieve the associated anxiety, suggest the findings of a small comparative study, published online in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. Mindful breathing complements...

20 minutes of mindful breathing can rapidly reduce intensity of cancer pain

In an elegant fusion of science and medicine, neoantigen cancer vaccines are emerging as a formidable strategy in the battle against cancer. These vaccines, a testament to the power of personalized medicine, target cancer's unique protein signatures, rallying the immune system for a precise and potent attack. The saga of...

Targeting cancer with precision: neoantigen vaccines show promise

People with Down syndrome are likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a young age, with autopsy studies showing that by age 40 years, the brains of individuals with Down syndrome have amyloid plaques. Yet people with Down syndrome have been excluded from or underrepresented in clinical trials of new therapies for treating AD. Lecanemab, which has been shown to target and remove beta-amyloid plaques, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat AD early in the disease’s progression. A new study led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system) and University of California, Irvine tested lecanemab to see if it could bind to amyloid plaques in tissue samples from people with Down syndrome, finding that it effectively targeted amyloid in all 15 samples. However, the drug also bound to brain blood vessels, which raises safety concerns. Results are published in JAMA Neurology.

Research study examines Alzheimer’s disease drug on tissue samples from people with Down syndrome

Whether dialysis is the best option for kidney failure and, if so, when to start, may deserve more careful consideration, according to a new study. For older adults who were not healthy enough for a kidney transplant, starting dialysis when their kidney function fell below a certain threshold — rather than waiting — afforded them roughly one more week of life, Stanford Medicine researchers and their colleagues found.

For some older adults with kidney failure, dialysis may not be the best option

An international team of scientists has uncovered a mechanism by which acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells sustain their growth. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine in Austria and Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute in Spain discovered that AML cells prevent the synthesis of proteins that suppress their growth by forcibly isolating the mRNAs that encode such proteins within structures known as P-bodies. These findings, published in Nature Cell Biology, offer a novel perspective into the survival mechanisms of AML and possibilities for new anti-cancer therapies.

P-bodies sustain acute myeloid leukemia

In new research published in the scientific journal Discover Food, Dr. Asaf Tzachor, Founder and Academic Director of the Aviram Sustainability and Climate Program at Reichman University, along with a team of researchers from Iceland, Denmark and Austria, report the use of state-of-the-art biotechnology to cultivate photosynthetically-controlled Spirulina, and produce carbon–neutral and nutritious biomass containing unopposed, biologically active vitamin B12, in levels comparable to beef meat. This is the first time biologically active vitamin B12 has been reported in Spirulina.

Breakthrough study unveils sustainable solution to vitamin B12 deficiency

Following a Mediterranean diet may be associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 infection, per systematic review, although it's unclear if the diet is also associated with reduced symptoms and severity of illness. ####. Article Title: Relevance of Mediterranean diet as a nutritional strategy in diminishing COVID-19 risk: A systematic review.

Following a Mediterranean diet may be associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 infection, per systematic review

Novel findings attend to attitudes of the stigmatized, rather than stigmatizers. Past research identified perception of promiscuity and assumptions that PrEP users are HIV-positive as key drivers of perceived stigma. Perception of stigma is highest among those who believe their sexual behavior puts them at risk for HIV. Knowing others...

Current HIV prevention medication users often stigmatize other PrEP users as ‘promiscuous’

About The Study: In this cross-sectional study, approximately 50% of cancer survivors experienced cancer-related financial hardship, with a disproportionate number of survivors who were younger, were Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries, were socioeconomically disadvantaged, and had advanced disease. Social vulnerability was independently associated with increasing levels of financial hardship, emphasizing the central role one’s community may play in cancer survivorship and the compounding financial detriments of residing in a socially vulnerable community.

Individual- and community-level risk factors of cancer-related financial hardship among cancer survivors

About The Study: In this large-scale study, symptoms that characterized pediatric postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or long COVID, differed by age group, and several distinct phenotypic PASC presentations were described. The research indices developed here will help researchers identify children and adolescents with high likelihood of PASC. Although these indices will require further research and validation, this work provides an important step toward a clinically useful tool for diagnosis with the ultimate goal of supporting optimal care for youth with PASC.

Characterizing long COVID in children and adolescents

NIH-funded study finds long COVID affects adolescents differently than younger children Adolescents were most likely to experience low energy/tiredness while children were most likely to report headache. Scientists investigating long COVID in youth found similar but distinguishable patterns between school-age children (ages 6-11 years) and adolescents (ages 12-17 years) and...

NIH-funded study finds long COVID affects adolescents differently than younger children

Los Angeles, CA

We know that quality sleep is as essential to survival as food and water. Yet, despite spending a third of our lives in slumber, it largely remains a scientific mystery. Not that experts haven’t tried. Sleep analysis, also known as polysomnography, is used to diagnose sleep disorders by recording...

Heart data unlocks sleep secrets

Morgantown, WV

Although surgery is a common treatment for patients diagnosed with biliary dyskinesia, or functional gallbladder disorder, a West Virginia University medical researcher is questioning why the practice has become so widespread when little clinical research is available. Biliary dyskinesia is a gallbladder disorder in which patients don’t have gallstones yet...

WVU researcher says more validation needed for increase in gallbladder surgeries

Hawaii State

Honolulu, HI

In a study published today in Royal Society Open Science, researchers at the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) at UH Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF) consider a new designation of the humpback whales they study: tool wielders. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble-nets” to hunt, but they have learned that the animals don’t just create the bubble-nets; they manipulate this unique tool in a variety of ways to maximize their food intake in Alaskan feeding grounds. This novel research demystifies a behavior key to the whales’ survival and offers a compelling case for including humpbacks among the rare animals that manufacture and wield their own tools.

Humpbacks are among animals who manufacture and wield tools

Histiocytic disorders in children are marked by the abnormal proliferation of cells from the mononuclear phagocyte system, which includes dendritic cells, monocytes, and macrophages. These cells, derived from common myeloid progenitors, exhibit diverse terminal immunophenotypes. The classification of these disorders has evolved significantly, with the early Working Group of Histiocytoses distinguishing them into Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), non-Langerhans histiocytosis, and malignant histiocytosis based on antigen expression and clinical features. Over the past decades, the understanding of these disorders has deepened, leading to more precise diagnostic criteria and better therapeutic strategies.

Pediatric histiocytic disorders: morphology, immunophenotype and genetics

Researchers have developed a new genomic technique that can track the spread of multiple superbugs in a hospital simultaneously, which could help prevent and manage common hospital infections quicker and more effectively than ever before. The proof-of-concept study, from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico...

Hospital bacteria tracked better than ever before with new technique

A recent analysis of all relevant published studies reveals clear benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for improving mental health and quality of life in cancer survivors. The findings, which are published in Cancer Medicine, extend CBT’s effects beyond what has long been known in the general population. For...

Does cognitive behavioral therapy benefit cancer survivors?

Salt Lake City, UT

Scientists are finding clues for how to treat diabetes and hormone disorders in an unexpected place: a toxin from one of the most venomous animals on the planet. A multinational research team led by University of Utah scientists has identified a component within the venom of a deadly marine cone snail, the geography cone, that mimics a human hormone called somatostatin, which regulates the levels of blood sugar and various hormones in the body. The hormone-like toxin’s specific, long-lasting effects, which help the snail hunt its prey, could also help scientists design better drugs for people with diabetes or hormone disorders, conditions that can be serious and sometimes fatal.

Deadly sea snail toxin could be key to making better medicines

“Herein we discuss how gut microbiota and microbial metabolites regulate basal inflammation levels in the gut and the healing process of the bowel after surgery.”. BUFFALO, NY- August 19, 2024 – A new review was published in Oncotarget's Volume 15 on August 14, 2024, entitled, “The gut barrier as a gatekeeper in colorectal cancer treatment.”

Role of the gut barrier in colorectal cancer treatment

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Herbie J Pilato

It's been four decades since Emmy-nominated actor Lloyd Haynes died of lung cancer at only 52 years old. Best known for his compassionate performance as history teacher Pete Dixon on television's groundbreaking, academic-geared dramedy, Room 222 (ABC, 1969-1974), Haynes was beloved by his fans, family, friends and colleagues alike. This is his story.

In Memory of 'Room 222' TV Actor Lloyd Haynes: 4 Decades After His Tragic Death From Lung Cancer

NewsBreak

Brigham researchers use AI tools to uncover connections between radiotherapy for lung cancer and heart complications

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, have used artificial intelligence tools to accelerate the understanding of...

Brigham researchers use AI tools to uncover connections between radiotherapy for lung cancer and heart complications

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