ScienceDaily: Top Health News

Do ‘behavioral psychedelics’ help patients make lasting, positive change?

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 02:33 PM PDT

Psychedelics may find new, legitimate roles in treatment for anxiety, depression, stress disorders, addiction, and other mental and behavioral health problems. But ensuring they do requires developing rigorous, standardized methods to study and apply the results, according to a new report.

Trial testing cocoa flavanol supplement shows promise for reducing cardiovascular risk

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 02:33 PM PDT

The first large-scale trial to test the long-term effects of a cocoa flavanol supplement to prevent cardiovascular disease offers promising signals that cocoa flavanols could have protective cardiovascular effects.

Even with statins, high triglycerides may increase risk of second stroke

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 02:33 PM PDT

Stroke can have many causes. An atherothrombotic stroke is caused by a clot that forms from plaques that build up within blood vessels in the brain. A new study suggests that people who have this type of stroke who also have higher levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in their blood may have a higher risk of having another stroke or other cardiovascular problems one year later, compared to people who had a stroke but have lower triglyceride levels. The study found an association even when people were taking statin drugs meant to lower triglycerides and protect against heart attack and stroke.

Exposure to phthalates — the 'everywhere chemical' — may increase children’s cancer risk

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:58 AM PDT

New research has linked phthalates, commonly called the 'everywhere chemical,' to higher incidence of specific childhood cancers.

New insights into how tumors metabolically adapt to their environment may lead to better cancer therapies

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:58 AM PDT

A research team has discovered novel metabolic mechanisms that contribute to how ovarian cancer escapes from immune attack, and how combination therapies can exploit these pathways to improve ovarian cancer treatment.

Toxin-producing yeast strains in gut fuel IBD

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:58 AM PDT

Individual Candida albicans yeast strains in the human gut are as different from each other as the humans that carry them, and some C. albicans strains may damage the gut of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new study. The findings suggest a possible way to tailor treatments to individual patients in the future.

Study finds association between cigarette tax and reduced infant deaths

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:58 AM PDT

Raising taxes on tobacco is associated with a reduction in neonatal and infant mortality, according to an analysis of 159 countries.

ACC issues clinical guidance on cardiovascular consequences of COVID-19

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT

The American College of Cardiology has issued an expert consensus decision pathway for the evaluation and management of adults with key cardiovascular consequences of COVID-19. The document discusses myocarditis and other types of myocardial involvement, patient-centered approaches for long COVID and guidance on resumption of exercise following COVID-19.

3D matrix ultrasound accurately identifies cardiovascular injury in healthy individuals

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT

A study shows that 3D ultrasound incorporating new matrix technology is reliable, accurate, and faster than previous methods for the assessment of plaque volume in the carotid and femoral arteries.

Largest ever psychedelics study maps changes of conscious awareness to neurotransmitter systems

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT

In the world's largest study on psychedelics and the brain, a team of researchers have shown how drug-induced changes in subjective awareness are anatomically rooted in specific neurotransmitter receptor systems.

A possible new COVID-19 vaccine could be accessible for more of the world

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT

A new protein subunit vaccine may offer an inexpensive, easy-to-store, and effective alternative to RNA vaccines for COVID-19.

What regulates the 'glue' needed for nerve repair?

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT

Researchers have identified a molecule essential for regulating the repair of injured nerves, which could help people recover from nerve damage.

A potential new target for cancer immunotherapies

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:57 AM PDT

Tumors can use an enzyme called ART1 to thwart antitumor immune cells, making the enzyme a promising new target for immunity-boosting cancer treatments, according to a new study.

Losartan is not effective in reducing COVID-19 lung injuries, researchers find

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 11:55 AM PDT

Research found that a common blood pressure medication -- losartan -- is not effective in reducing lung injury in patients with COVID-19.

Surprise findings suggest mosquito odor sensors are sensitive to molecular regulation to avoid insect repellents

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PDT

In what they call surprise findings, scientists report that -- unlike fruit flies -- mosquitoes' odor sensing nerve cells shut down when those cells are forced to produce odor-related proteins, or receptors, on the surface of the cell. This 'expression' process apparently makes the bugs able to ignore common insect repellents.

Researchers may have unlocked the blood-brain barrier

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:27 AM PDT

The brain is composed of billions of neurons -- vulnerable cells that require a protective environment to function properly. This delicate environment is protected by 400 miles of specialized vasculature designed to limit which substances come into contact with the brain. This blood-brain barrier is essential for protecting the organ from toxins and pathogens. But it also blocks the passage of therapeutic drugs.

Programming the immune system to supercharge cancer cell therapies

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:26 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a genetic screening platform to identify genes that can enhance immune cells to make them more persistent and increase their ability to eradicate tumor cells.

What's the prevailing opinion on social media? Look at the flocks, says researcher

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:26 AM PDT

A communication researcher has developed a framework for measuring the slippery concept of social media public opinion. Murmuration identifies meaningful groups of social media actors based on the 'who-follows-whom' relationship. The actors attract like-minded followers to form 'flocks,' which serve as the units of analysis. As opinions form and shift in response to external events, the flocks' unfolding opinions move like the fluid murmuration of airborne starlings.

Burst of rapid cell motion in 3D tumor model

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 10:26 AM PDT

Biological processes such as wound healing and cancer cell invasion rely on the collective and coordinated motion of living cells. A little understood aspect that influences these processes is the pressure differences within and between different parts of the body. Researchers designed model tumor systems using cervical cancer cells in collagen matrices to investigate whether pressure differences can push cancer cells into their surroundings. Upon embedding the model tumors into a soft matrix, an increased pressure led to a sudden burst of rapid and coordinated cellular motion that sprayed outwards from the tumor.

Molecular imaging uncovers effects of COVID-19 on the brain

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

A significant number of COVID-19 neurological complications -- such as fatigue, headache, and cognitive impairment--are ultimately reversible, according to new research. The comprehensive literature review of molecular imaging findings sheds light on how COVID-19 affects the brain and identifies important implications for other neurological conditions, like Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease.

New acoustic fabric converts audible sounds into electrical signals

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new acoustic fabric converts audible sounds into electrical signals. They designed a fabric that works like a microphone, converting sound first into mechanical vibrations, then into electrical signals, similarly to how our ears hear.

How the brain encodes social rank and 'winning mindset'

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

Researchers have made inroads into understanding how the mammalian brain encodes social rank and uses this information to shape behaviors. In mice engaged in a competition, the team discovered, patterns of brain activity differ depending on the social rank of the opposing animal. Moreover, the scientists could use brain readouts to accurately predict which animal would win a food reward -- the victor was not always the more socially dominant animal, but the one more engaged in a 'winning mindset.'

For accuracy, brain studies of complex behavior require thousands of people

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

Scientists rely on brain-wide association studies to measure brain structure and function -- using brain scans -- and link them to mental illness and other complex behaviors. But a new study shows that most published brain-wide association studies are performed with too few participants to yield reliable findings.

Discovery of an immune escape mechanism promoting Listeria infection of the central nervous system

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

Some 'hypervirulent' strains of Listeria monocytogenes have a greater capacity to infect the central nervous system. Scientists have discovered a mechanism that enables cells infected with Listeria monocytogenes to escape immune responses. This mechanism provides infected cells circulating in the blood with a higher probability of adhering to and infecting cells of cerebral vessels, thereby enabling bacteria to cross the blood-brain barrier and infect the brain.

Toward a quantum computer that calculates molecular energy

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

Researchers have developed an algorithm that uses the most quantum bits to date to calculate ground state energy, the lowest-energy state in a quantum mechanical system. The discovery could make it easier to design new materials.

How gut microbes work to tame intestinal inflammation

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 09:08 AM PDT

Bile acids, well known for their role in dissolving fats and vitamins, are also important players in gut immunity and inflammation because they regulate the activity of key immune cells linked to a range of inflammatory bowel conditions, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, according to new research.

Longer, more intense allergy seasons could result from climate change

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT

Allergy seasons are likely to become longer and grow more intense as a result of increasing temperatures caused by humanmade climate change, according to new research.

AI to predict antidepressant outcomes in youth

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT

Researchers have taken the first step in using artificial intelligence (AI) to predict early outcomes with antidepressants in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Those with facial scars rate their own appearance more critically than surgeons and strangers

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:49 AM PDT

Patients who undergo facial surgery think their surgical scars look worse than surgeons and independent observers do, according to a new study.

Scientists discover how to 3D print testicular cells

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:49 AM PDT

Scientists have 3D printed human testicular cells and identified promising early signs of sperm-producing capabilities. The researchers hope the technique will one day offer a solution for people living with presently untreatable forms of male infertility.

Stem cell-derived retinal patch is shown to survive two years post-implantation

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 08:49 AM PDT

A retinal stem cell patch continues to make progress in its bid to secure approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The latest milestone? Results finding that after two years, not only can the implant survive, but also it does not elicit clinically detectable inflammation or signs of immune rejection, even without long-term immunosuppression.

Type 1 diabetes can be predicted with epigenetic changes

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 07:04 AM PDT

Children who develop type 1 diabetes show epigenetic changes in the cells of their immune system before the antibodies of the disease are detected in their blood. The findings of two new studies offer new opportunities to identify the children with the genetic risk for developing diabetes very early on.

Alzheimer’s pathology, not cognitive decline, drives neuropsychiatric symptoms

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 07:04 AM PDT

Alzheimer's disease (AD) eventually leads to severe cognitive decline, but most affected individuals also develop distressing neuropsychiatric symptoms. These earlier effects may be more subtle and are not well understood; it remains unclear whether they arise directly from AD pathology or secondarily as psychological reactions due to the cognitive deficits. Now, a new study examines the connections between biomarkers of AD's hallmark neuropathology, cognition, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms.

World’s vulnerable are being polluted in their own homes as they cook

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 07:04 AM PDT

Three-quarters of kitchens in low-income homes across 12 major global cities are heavily polluted by cooking emissions, according to new research.

Excess sugar consumption costs Canada’s health-care system $5 billion each year, study finds

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT

Researchers peg the economic burden of excessive sugar consumption in Canada at $5 billion a year, thanks to the direct and indirect costs related to 16 chronic diseases. The researchers call on governments to use taxation, subsidies, education and other measures to encourage healthier eating habits, saying it is 'an area of urgent need for action' in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

Mechanism underlying Alzheimer-like damage in the brain of patients with Down Syndrome elucidated

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT

Precisely why Alzheimer-like changes -- marked by the build-up of harmful amyloid and tau proteins -- occur in the brain in Down syndrome has been unclear. But now, in new research, scientists show that reduced efficiency of a key protein transport system is partly to blame.

Novel 'Trojan horse' drug delivery system uses protein-based microdroplets

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a novel method of delivering drugs into human cells using large biological molecules, by first encasing them in a protein-based microdroplet. This discovery promises to be faster, safer, more effective, and better suited for gene therapy, cancer treatment, and vaccine delivery.

Genomic profiling of pediatric cancer may expand treatment options for patients experiencing a relapse

Posted: 16 Mar 2022 06:17 AM PDT

Genomic sequencing of tumors from pediatric cancer patients experiencing a relapse enabled 107 patients to receive an appropriate matched therapy that is not the standard of care, according to new data.

Skin biopsy can help identify patients with Parkinson's disease

Posted: 15 Mar 2022 11:19 AM PDT

Accumulation of the biomarker p-syn in the skin distinguishes patients with Parkinson's disease from patients with symptoms of parkinsonism due to other neurodegenerative disorders, scientists report.

Endometriosis and ovarian cancer genetically tied

Posted: 15 Mar 2022 09:14 AM PDT

Researchers have demonstrated a genetic link between endometriosis and ovarian cancer subtypes enabling them to identify potential drug targets for therapy and increasing the understanding of both diseases.

Many patients with severe COVID-19 recover consciousness, but recovery can take days or even weeks

Posted: 15 Mar 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Researchers report on a multicenter study to better understand the recovery timeline and the causes of delayed recovery of consciousness in patients with severe COVID-19.