Jason Lee

In honor of Pride Month, join us on 6/21 at 7pm ET for a special livestream event, "LGBTQ+MED: Full Spectrum Care," led by Dr. Søren Estvold source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5DsJWNAGsU

A cleft lip or palate arises from the combined effects of genes and inflammatory risk factors experienced during pregnancy, such as smoking or infections, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-reveals-cleft-lip-combination-genes.html

The corporate takeover of health care and why it matters. source https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/health-care-corporate-takeover?src=RSS_PUBLIC

The top US health official on Tuesday issued a stark warning to parents, tech companies and regulators, saying the evidence is growing that social media use may seriously harm children. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-health-alarm-child-social-media.html

Planned Parenthood is shifting funding to its state affiliates and cutting national office staff to reflect a changed landscape in both how abortion is provided and how battles over access are playing out. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-abortion-shifts-parenthood-boost-regional.html

A new study showed that despite there being no significant racial disparities in access or use of care during the perinatal period among veterans using Veterans Administration care, Black veterans were more likely than white veterans to experience postpartum re-hospitalization and to have a low-birth-weight infant. The study is published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-racial-disparities-outcomes-pregnant-postpartum.html

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, working with French colleagues, have successfully developed a method able to kill the aggressive brain tumor glioblastoma. By blocking certain functions in the cell with a docked molecule, the researchers cause the cancer to die of stress. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-major-brain-tumors-blocking-functions.html

One woman shares her experience caring for a loved one with geographic atrophy. source https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/macular-degeneration/features/caregiver-loved-one-geographic-atrophy?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) researchers have flipped the script on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genetics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-siblings-autism-dad-genome-mom.html

A new study by Prof. Eran Elinav's lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science got an unexpected boost from the peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. In the wake of this accord, Elinav was invited to a scientific conference in Dubai. On his way to the sessions, he shared a taxi with a German immunologist, Prof. Eicke Latz, and learned that unbeknownst to one another, they had been working on the same topic. "Professor Latz told me about an amazing protein complex he was studying, and I told him that my lab was studying the exact same complex," Elinav recalls. "We began to exchange ideas in a way that helped both sides fill in the missing pieces." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-protein-complex-intestinal-autoinflammation.html

Geographic atrophy can be challenging to deal with at times, but it’s not impossible. A low-vision ophthalmologist shares how she helps people with the condition live their best lives. source https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/macular-degeneration/features/well-being-geographic-atrophy?src=RSS_PUBLIC

As a retina specialist and ophthalmologist, one expert gives their perspective on geographic atrophy and how to manage it. Get the facts about this advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration. source https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/macular-degeneration/features/expert-perspective-geographic-atrophy?src=RSS_PUBLIC

In a recent study, current smoking and vaping were associated with a higher burden of symptoms among adult cancer survivors, but these symptoms were not related to survivors' desire to quit smoking. The findings are published by Wiley online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-relationship-cancer-survivors-tobacco-symptom.html

An outbreak of cholera has killed at least 10 people near South Africa's capital of Pretoria, health authorities said Sunday, urging the public to be "extra vigilant". source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-cholera-outbreak-safrica.html

A retrospective analysis of patient data from the COPDGene study suggests that targeting mucus plugs could help prevent deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—the fourth leading cause of death in the United States source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-linking-mucus-copd-mortality.html

You might not know it, but we all have a clock ticking away inside us. This circadian clock operates on roughly a 24-hour cycle. It influences when we sleep, wake and eat, among other things. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-women-resilient-body-clock-disruptions.html

As with other pharmaceutical care models, pharmacist involvement in addressing medication refill requests can enhance patient care as well as positively impact physician workloads, according to a recent study published online in Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-pharmacist-involvement-medication-refills-patient.html

Sacubitril/valsartan leads to greater reduction in plasma NT-proBNP levels compared to valsartan alone after stabilization for worsening heart failure in patients with an ejection fraction (EF) above 40%, according to late breaking science presented today at Heart Failure 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-sacubitrilvalsartan-benefit-heart-failure-ejection.html

A new device invented with the help of an electrophysiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center makes a heart procedure safer for patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common irregular heart rhythm. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-device-gently-esophagus-heart-ablations.html

Today, the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), and Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) released a new clinical practice guideline on cardiac physiologic pacing (CPP) strategies to restore ventricular synchrony and improve cardiac performance. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-clinical-guideline-cardiac-physiological-pacing.html

The World Health Organization on Saturday launched a global network to help swiftly detect the threat from infectious diseases, like COVID-19, and share the information to prevent their spread. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-global-network-infectious-disease-threat.html

Transthyretin-related cardiac amyloidosis is a progressive disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid protein fibrils in the heart. Amyloid fibril deposition thickens and stiffens the heart walls, and the disease is also known as stiff-heart syndrome. The accumulation of amyloid fibrils causes heart failure, and patients suffer from fluid retention, fatigue, and arrhythmias. The disease can be caused by genetic mutations or related to aging. Prognosis is poor, and untreated patients survive for an average of just 3 years. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-phase-trial-pharmacological-treatment-cardiac.html

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative illness with genetic and environmental origins. Females experience faster cognitive decline and cerebral atrophy than males, while males have greater mortality rates. Using a new machine-learning method they developed called "Evolutionary Action Machine Learning (EAML)," researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital have discovered sex-specific genes and molecular pathways that contribute to the development and progression of this condition. The study was published in Nature Communications. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-machine-learning-reveals-genes-responsible-sex-specific.html

The use of methadone among Medicare beneficiaries to treat opioid use disorder increased sharply after the program began covering the drug, with evidence suggesting the change created new treatment rather than displacing use of other medications, according to a new RAND Corporation study. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-treatment-opioid-disorder-medicare-oks.html

In the WebMD webinar, attendees asked Joe Nadglowski, President and CEO of the OAC, questions about how weight bias can affect a person’s life. source https://www.webmd.com/obesity/features/cm/impact-weight-bias-as-told-to-webinar?src=RSS_PUBLIC

In the U.S., the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection and pneumonia. While infections with the bacterium can be easily treated in some, Klebsiella has a dangerous flip side: It also is frequently resistant to antibiotics, making it extraordinarily difficult to treat in others. About half of people infected with a hypervirulent, drug-resistant strain of the bacterium die. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-mice-clues-vaccinating-deadly-bacteria.html

A team of researchers have discovered that a mutation in a ribosomal protein found specifically in heart and skeletal muscle leads to impaired cardiac contractility in mice. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-mutation-ribosomal-protein-heart-skeletal.html

Recent mortality rates decreased for major cancers in most of 47 studied countries, apart from lung cancer in women and liver cancer in men, according to a study published online May 9 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-variation-cancer-specific-mortality-countries.html

About one in five older adults reported cost-related medication nonadherence in 2022, according to a study published online May 18 in JAMA Network Open. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-seniors-cost-related-medication-nonadherence.html

The prevalence of persons with disabilities varies across occupation groups, with the highest prevalence rates among workers in food preparation and serving-related and personal care and service groups, according to research published in the May 19 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-prevalence-persons-disabilities-varies-occupations.html

A new report by Sapien Labs published this week used global data from 27,969 “Gen Z” young adults (ages 18-24) to focus on the possible relationship between childhood smartphone use and current mental health. source https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20230518/early-life-smartphone-use-tied-to-poorer-mental-health?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) has received lots of media attention over the past few years. This is especially true as the Canadian government considers expanding eligibility for people whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. This has led to increased concerns about the ethics of MAID. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-maid-evolving-ethical-tensions-dying.html

Researchers have identified various genes whose expression in the brain before birth may affect the risk of developing a range of mental illnesses during childhood. The team, which was led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), published their findings recently in Nature Neuroscience. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-genes-brain-birth-affect-childhood.html

The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by excessive electrical activity in the brain, remain unknown. Now, using a novel radiotracer ([11C]K-2, the first technology to visualize and quantify α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptor (AMPAR) in the living human brain), researchers from Japan have been able to offer insight into the role of AMPAR trafficking in epileptogenesis. Their findings could lead to the development of novel therapeutics for patients with epilepsy. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-key-role-synaptic-plasticity-modulating.html

Find out what one rheumatologist has learned from her patients about psoriatic arthritis. source https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/psoriatic-arthritis/features/learn-from-patients-psa?src=RSS_PUBLIC

As we age, our muscles start to waste. Called sarcopenia, it happens to us all, yet no one has ever understood why and how it happens. Now new research from the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) at Monash University has used a surprising animal model—the African killifish—to reveal that towards the end of life, our muscles actually reverse to an "early-life" state, slowing mortality. This finding may provide a clue to slowing, halting or even reversing age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-african-killifish-secrets-reversing-muscle.html

A machine learning-based model that enables medical institutions to predict the mortality risk for individual cardiac surgery patients has been developed by a Mount Sinai research team, providing a significant performance advantage over current population-derived models. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-machine-mortality-cardiac-surgery-patients.html

Decision-making capabilities of college students—including some graduating this spring—were likely negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, new research suggests. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-evidence-pandemic-brain-college-students.html

A research group led by Associate Professor Naoko Inoue (she/her), doctoral student Safiullah Hazim (he/him), Associate Professor Yoshihisa Uenoyama (he/him), and Professor Hiroko Tsukamura (she/her) of the Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Japan, have discovered how ATP, the energy "currency" within cells, acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain and causes mammalian ovulation. Their results are expected to lead to the treatment of infertility in humans and ovulation disorders in livestock. The findings were published in The Journal of Neuroscience. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-uncovering-role-atp-ovulation-treatment.html

Lesbian and bisexual women were less likely to have ideal cardiovascular health scores compared to heterosexual women, which should make them a priority group for cardiovascular disease prevention, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-reveals-cardiovascular-health-disparities-based.html

Brepocitinib is an oral drug that inhibits certain enzymes involved in inflammation—called tyrosine kinase 2 and Janus kinase 1—and is being tested for the treatment of several immunological diseases. A phase IIb randomized clinical trial published in Arthritis & Rheumatology recently generated promising efficacy and safety data for the use of brepocitinib in adults with moderately-to-severely active psoriatic arthritis. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-brepocitinib-benefit-patients-psoriatic-arthritis.html

After an initial decline in diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease-related deaths, researchers from Emory and other institutions have noted a reversal of the trend, with mortality rates increasing from 2014 to 2019, according to a new study published May 12 in the The American Journal of Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-emory-cardiology-fellow-co-leads-deaths.html

New research suggests that centenarians—people who live to be at least 100—have a diverse collection of viruses in their gut that could help protect them from infectious diseases. The findings, published May 15 in Nature Microbiology, shed light on some of the biological pathways that may help centenarians live long, healthy lives. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-viruses-guts-centenarians-resist-pathogens.html

More and more data backs up hypnotherapy as a treatment for pain, anxiety, and more. But would it work for you? Here’s what to know. source https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20230516/hypnosis-can-be-powerful-therapy-but-will-it-work-for-you?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Cancer is caused by DNA changes that cause a cell to gradually change from benign to malignant. This can lead to metastases in other parts of the body. By analyzing the DNA data of more than 7,000 patients, the researchers show that there are major differences between primary and metastatic cancer and that there are also tumor types in which the primary tumor and the metastasis hardly differ from one another. By studying the types of DNA changes and the consequences of the changes, important insights into the underlying biological processes were obtained. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-unique-insights-differences-primary-metastatic.html

A series of suspected drug overdoses left at least eight people dead over the weekend in Portland, Oregon, according to the city's police bureau. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-fentanyl-fuels-deadly-weekend-overdoses.html

Two years of heavy exposure to TCE, a liquid chemical that lingers in the air, water and soil, may increase the risk of Parkinson's disease by 70%. Previous research has linked TCE, or trichloroethylene, to certain cancers, but a new study publishing in JAMA Neurology on May 15, 2023, is believed to be the first large-scale study to demonstrate its association with Parkinson's. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-chemical-exposure-parkinson.html

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers studying clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), a blood condition that may increase the risk of blood cancer, discovered that obesity was strongly associated with the condition. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-link-obesity-blood-cancer.html

More than 100 genes linked to the risk of schizophrenia seem to cause illness because of their role in the placenta rather than in the developing brain, according to a new study led by the Lieber Institute for Brain Development. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-placenta-brain-plays-central-role.html

A new study by RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, based in Dublin, Ireland, and Sequence Bio, a genomics and precision medicine company based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada, has produced the most detailed genetic analysis of people living in the Canadian province to date, demonstrating a unique founder population structure that could be used for the identification and study of health-related genetic variants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-unique-genetic-landscape-newfoundland-labrador.html

Mice with a defective human gene responsible for a rare genetic disease called congenital adrenal hyperplasia, have been developed for the first time. The achievement, presented at the 25th European Congress of Endocrinology, may help to develop new therapies for people with the most common type of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-scientists-humanized-mouse-rare-genetic.html

Research on the effects of prenatal exposure to the Zika virus has yielded an unexpected dividend: a potentially promising way to trigger natural killer (NK) cells to fight cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-unexpected-journey-reveals-potent-tumors.html

Scientists at Université de Montréal, McGill University and its affiliated Montreal Children's Hospital have made a promising breakthrough in understanding the origins of mirror movement disorder, a rare inherited neurological disorder. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-scientists-mutated-gene-mirror-movement.html

A recent study published in Nature Neuroscience indicates that, contrary to common belief, the immune cells of the brain, known as microglia, are not all the same. Researchers found that a unique microglial subset with unique features and function is important for establishing proper cognitive functions in mice. Evidence for such microglial subsets exists also for the human brain, opening exciting new possibilities for novel therapies. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-immune-cells-brain-therapeutic-pathways.html

Cribs, strollers and other infant and child equipment can be expensive and most families in a new national poll agree that it's wasteful to buy these items new when they're needed for such a short time. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-national-poll-parents-confident-children.html

Hot flashes, night sweats and sleep disturbances are common symptoms of menopause that can affect health, quality of life and work productivity. A new review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ ) recommends menopausal hormone therapy, historically known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), as first-line treatment in people without risk factors. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-menopause-hormone-therapy.html

At least 13 people have died in Iraq since the start of the year from a viral tick-borne disease transmitted to humans from livestock, the health ministry said on Saturday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-dead-congo-haemorrhagic-fever-iraq.html

For two decades, scientists have been comparing every person's full set of DNA they study to a template that relies mostly on genetic material from one man affectionately known as "the guy from Buffalo." source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-dna-human-diversity.html

New research to be presented at this coming week's European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, Ireland (May 17–20) and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that both the metabolically healthy and unhealthy 'forms' of obesity are associated with an increased risk of various obesity-related cancers, with the relationship stronger in metabolically unhealthy obesity. The study is by Dr. Ming Sun, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden and colleagues. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-metabolically-healthy-unhealthy-obesity-obesity-related.html

Habits are like shortcuts for our brains. Once we form a habit—say, putting on a seat belt whenever we get into a car—the behavior becomes almost automatic in the right context. But habit formation isn't always a boon. The same neural circuitry that helps us to buckle up underlies binge eating disorders, according to a new study by Stanford Medicine researchers and collaborators. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-binge-linked-habit-circuitry-brain.html

A team of neuroscientists at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has identified changes in the activity of brain cells known as pyramidal neurons, which contribute to drug seeking in a preclinical model of opioid use disorder. After access to heroin was stopped, these neurons became more excitable. The activity of these neurons was restored to normal by blocking the enzyme protein kinase A (PKA). Inhibiting this enzyme also reduced opioid-seeking behavior. Jacqueline McGinty, Ph.D., professor of neuroscience, and Saurabh Kokane, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar in McGinty's laboratory, recently published their team's findings in the Journal of Neuroscience. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-brain-region-opioids.html

Anabolic steroids not only can cause serious side effects during use, such as heart failure and depression, but can continue being harmful years after stopping, according to two studies presented at the 25th European Congress of Endocrinology in Istanbul. These studies were carried out by researchers from the Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet who investigated the impact of anabolic steroids in former users. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-steroids-linked-long-lasting-heart-disease.html

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to process natural language, a research group evaluated the characteristics of speech among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). AI analysis of their data determined that these patients spoke using more verbs and fewer nouns and fillers. The study was led by Professor Masahisa Katsuno and Dr. Katsunori Yokoi, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, in collaboration with Aichi Prefectural University and Toyohashi University of Technology. They published their results in the journal Parkinsonism & Related Disorders. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-ai-speech-patterns-parkinson-disease.html

Phenotypic sex differences are common in many aspects of health and disease. Despite the success of genome-wide association studies in improving the understanding of how genetic variation contributes to the manifestation of complex traits or diseases, there has been little use of this data to investigate sex differences in the underlying mechanisms. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-sex-based-differences-complex-traits-disease.html

Although bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are diagnosed as distinct psychiatric conditions, both are considerably heritable with molecular roots that are poorly understood. Some people diagnosed with one disorder have symptoms and clinical features in common with the other, supporting the notion that the conditions lie on a spectrum. And human genetics studies have suggested that the junctions between brain cells, known as synapses, play a key role in both conditions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-survey-brain-cell-junctions-similarities.html

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced trial results on Friday that showed its preventative treatment for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) reduced the rate of babies being hospitalized by more than 80 percent. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-positive-trial-results-rsv-infant.html

Physicists and bioengineers can manipulate magnetically driven guidewires by using remote magnetic steering with scope for minimally invasive medical procedures. Magnetic steering strategies are presently limited by low magnetic fields, thereby preventing their integration in medical systems operating at ultrahigh fields, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. In a new study now published in Science Advances, Mehmet Tiryaki and a research team at the departments of physical intelligence, biomedical engineering, and medicine in Germany, Switzerland and Turkey, developed a magnetic guidewire design alongside steering strategies at ultrahigh fields. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-magnetic-guidewire-ultrahigh-fields-medical.html

Researchers from Uppsala University have developed a method that helps immune cells exit from blood vessels into a tumor to kill cancer cells. The goal is to improve treatment of aggressive brain tumors. The study has been published in the journal Cancer Cell. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-therapy-immune-eradicate-brain-tumors.html

Situationships. "Sneaky links." The "talking stage," the flirtatious getting-to-know-you phase—typically done via text—that can lead to a hookup. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-sex-sexual-intercourse-teens-evolving.html

Cutting-edge cancer treatments like immunotherapy are offering new hope for patients, often in combination with more common approaches such as chemotherapy. But determining the best treatment combination isn't always straightforward. Many patients spend valuable time on expensive therapies with serious side effects that aren't effective against their cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-biomarker-treatment-response-chemoimmunotherapy.html

In addition to communicating with neurotransmitters, the brain also uses small proteins called neuropeptides. Neuropeptides send signals between neurons, working similarly to neurotransmitters but with key differences like a greater size and an ability to travel far away from the neuron that produces them. Though their importance is widely recognized, the way neuropeptides move around the brain and influence neurons has remained poorly understood—until now. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-aggression-promoting-brain-peptide-fruit-flies.html

Ischemic stroke, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain, is a common cause of death and disability. Treatments are urgently needed to improve patient outcomes, because recovery currently depends largely on the timely injection of a blood clot-dissolving drug. Priorities for therapy include limiting inflammation at the ischemic site and rebuilding neuronal connections damaged by the stroke. However, a molecule that can achieve these therapeutic effects has remained elusive. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-potential-pathway-recovery.html

Life has changed forever because of COVID-19, and the virus is still spreading, and still causing serious illness or significant disruption of 'normal' life. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-covid-isnt-emergency-anymore.html

A new study showed that hysterectomy alone, hysterectomy with oophorectomy, and tubal ligation were all associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The findings and their implications are published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Women's Health. Click here to read the article now. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-gynecologic-surgery-cardiovascular-disease.html

A new study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) suggests that allowing bedside nurses to independently order testing for C. difficile significantly decreased the amount of time to receive test results as compared to requiring physician approval. The findings suggest that the testing policy change could potentially decrease the risk of additional patient infections and the corresponding hospital economic burden. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-hospital-policy-nurses-difficile-infection.html

Researchers have released a new high-quality collection of reference human genome sequences that captures substantially more diversity from different human populations than what was previously available. The work was led by the international Human Pangenome Reference Consortium, a group funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-scientists-human-pangenome.html

Up to 40% of rare diseases show facial alterations that enable researchers to identify some pathologies, and they can even help establish an early diagnosis. Historically, the visual evaluation and use of some classic anthropometric measurements—diameter of the head, etc.—have enabled early diagnosis in rare diseases. With the most sophisticated and automated techniques, based on artificial intelligence (AI), it is now possible to apply more objective methods. However, most of the AI-generated algorithms have databases with populations of European origins and they ignore the genetic and morphological diversity of human populations of around the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-ai-algorithms-rare-diseases-current.html

An international study led by MELIS-UPF researchers from the Infection Biology and Molecular Virology laboratories has identified and characterized Schlafen 12 (SLFN 12) as a novel HIV restriction factor. SLFN 12 shuts down viral protein production and helps virus-infected cells to escape from anti-HIV therapy and immune responses. These findings pave the way for improving therapeutic strategies that aim to cure HIV infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-closer-latency-real-combating-hiv.html

A small randomized trial in patients with post-COVID syndrome has found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes restoration of the heart's ability to contract properly. The research is presented at EACVI 2023, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-oxygen-therapy-heart-function-patients.html

Immigrant adults with liver cancer in the United States have higher survival rates than people with the disease who were born in the U.S., according to new research from the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-immigrant-adults-liver-cancer-higher.html

Although some people might expect very dangerous jobs to be associated with the highest incidence of workplace accidents, a new study finds that accidents are actually most likely to occur within moderately dangerous work environments. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-workplace-accidents-moderately-dangerous.html

A new paper in the European Journal of Endocrinology, indicates that overweight boys tend to have lower testicular volume, putting them at risk for infertility in adulthood. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-overweight-boys-infertile-men.html

A research team led by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) has made a key advance in understanding how predictive processing is enabled/implemented in the human brain and shows that it may be modulated through non-invasive electrical stimulation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-emotional-modulated-non-invasive-brain.html

Black anglophones in Quebec experience more discrimination and report more barriers to mental health care—and overall lower mental health—than their French-speaking counterparts, according to a new study from McGill University researchers in the Department of Psychology published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-racial-linguistic-minorities-english-speaking-black.html

Researchers at the Neural Computation Institute of Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have constructed a computer model that learns spatial information in a pattern similar to that of rodents. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-ai-reveals-brain.html

“Inherited COPD” happens when you lack a protein called AAT. Learn more about what AAT deficiency is and how it can affect you. source https://www.webmd.com/lung/copd/features/inherit-copd?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Millions of parents are living with long COVID, leaving them to try their best to balance childrearing with chronic illness. source https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230508/for-long-covid-parents-everyday-life-is-still-a-struggle?src=RSS_PUBLIC

A new population-based study of 22 million people shows that autoimmune disorders now affect about 1 in 10 individuals. The work, published in The Lancet, also highlights important socioeconomic, seasonal, and regional differences for several autoimmune disorders and provides new clues on possible causes behind these diseases. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-autoimmune-disorders-affect-people.html

For newborns with congenital hypothyroidism, early diagnosis spells the difference between a normal, healthy life and lifelong disability. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-rice-university-students-congenital-hypothyroidism.html

Asian Americans have significant differences in genetics, socioeconomic factors, culture, diet, lifestyle, health interventions and acculturation levels based on the Asian region of their ancestry that likely have unique effects on their risk for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Association's flagship, peer-reviewed journal Circulation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-culture-diet-economic-factors-affect.html

A recent clinical trial showed that the drug combination of cemiplimab plus platinum chemotherapy can prolong survival in patients with advanced lung cancer when compared with placebo plus platinum chemotherapy. Now an analysis published by Wiley online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, indicates that cemiplimab plus platinum chemotherapy also affects quality of life compared to chemotherapy alone. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-immunotherapy-chemotherapy-advanced-lung-cancer.html

Should healthy people be screened to help reduce their risk of fragility fractures? A new interactive online Fragility Fracture Decision Aid for shared decision-making can help clinicians and patients visualize their individual risk of fracture and the potential benefits and harms of preventive treatment. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-decision-aid-screening-fragility-fractures.html

Women who have suffered domestic abuse may have a higher risk of developing atopic diseases including asthma, new research has found. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-domestic-abuse-exposure-linked-asthma.html

For 60 years, doctors and scientists searched for a vaccine against a common virus that, while sometimes deadly, is little known to the public. The hunt is over. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-rsv-vaccine-caps-year-stem.html

Twelve people with persistent neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection were intensely studied at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and were found to have differences in their immune cell profiles and autonomic dysfunction. These data inform future studies to help explain persistent neurological symptoms in Long COVID. The findings, published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, may lead to better diagnoses and new treatments. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-features-covid-neurological-symptoms.html

There are currently 8 million patients with Parkinson's disease in the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-potential-parkinson-disease.html

Not much is expected to change in a realistic sense, and the declaration doesn’t mean COVID is no longer with us. But it reflects declining case numbers, fewer hospitalizations and greater immunity. source https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230505/who-calls-end-to-global-covid-emergency?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Pulmonary macrophages are a heterogeneous population of immune cells that patrol the lungs, ingesting particulates and microbes, and activating inflammation when necessary. During homeostasis, two main subsets of macrophages coexist: resident alveolar macrophages (AMs) and bone marrow (BM)-derived macrophages. Identifying and characterizing these subsets during lung inflammation is challenging due to altered expression of cell surface markers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-tracking-lung-macrophages-lipophilic-fluorescent.html

Breast cancer diagnosis is an area that is constantly evolving, with new innovations emerging to improve patient outcomes. The SOLUS project is one such innovative initiative working to revolutionize breast cancer diagnosis by offering a non-invasive biopsy-free solution. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-solus-diagnostic-approach-breast-cancer.html

Novo Nordisk’s problems keeping up US supply of Wegovy for weight-loss is back after a brief hiatus, as the company says starter doses will again be in short supply through September. source https://www.webmd.com/obesity/news/20230505/wegovy-us-supply-shortage-strikes-again?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells maintain a high level of autophagy or degradation, allowing them to thrive in severely limiting microenvironments. However, the process via which autophagy promotes pancreatic cancer cell growth and survival have yet to be understood. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-inhibiting-biological-crosstalk-autophagy-mitochondrial.html

Scientists from Singapore have demonstrated the critical role played by a special transporter protein in regulating the brain cells that ensure nerves are protected by coverings called myelin sheaths. The findings, reported by researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School and the National University of Singapore in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could help to reduce the damaging impacts of ageing on the brain. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-special-omega-fatty-acid-lipid.html

A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago found that parents with children who were not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 were most likely to vaccinate their child after reading the following hypothetical scenario: source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-messages-vaccinating-children-covid-resonate.html

Are you feeling blue—or seeing red? Maybe turning green with envy? You're not alone in color-coding your emotions, University of Toronto researchers say in a new paper confirming associations between feelings and certain shades and shapes. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-explore-people-depict-emotions-line.html

Australian researchers have identified the role that two key genes associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) play in the disease. The team, led by CERA's principal investigator of cellular reprogramming, Associate Professor Raymond Wong, have for the first time found that the genes TMEM97 and POLDIP2 play a role in regulating oxidative stress—a part of aging in the macula. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-unearthing-genetic-code-age-related-macular.html

A unique target for molecular imaging combined with the power of near-infrared fluorescent light to identify blood clots could provide a potential new approach for early and accurate diagnosis of blood clots. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-imaging-blood-clots.html

Getting many adolescents and young adults to stop using e-cigarettes may be as simple as doing away with flavored versions of the product, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. This study suggests that a large majority of current users may discontinue their use if the product became available in the tobacco version only. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-restricting-flavored-e-cigarettes-teens-young.html

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified four important signs and symptoms that signal an elevated risk of early-onset colorectal cancer. These red flags may be key to earlier detection and diagnosis of early-onset colorectal cancer among younger adults. The number of young adults with colorectal cancer has nearly doubled in recent years. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-red-flags-early-onset-colorectal-cancer.html

Antibiotics administered before and during surgery should be discontinued immediately after a patient's incision is closed, according to updated recommendations for preventing surgical site infections. Experts found no evidence that continuing antibiotics after a patient's incision has been closed, even if it has drains, prevents surgical site infections. Continuing antibiotics does increase the patient's risk of C. difficile infection, which causes severe diarrhea, and antimicrobial resistance. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-guidance-antibiotics-halted-closure-incisions.html

A new review has shown how medical professionals in cardiology can help reduce health care's carbon footprint, by making small, low-cost changes in how they work. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-heart-health-greener.html

A study has found that a mitochondrial disease in newborns shows cancer-like changes in proliferating cells, causing tissues to age prematurely. The finding is a significant step forward in understanding the syndrome and developing treatments for mitochondrial diseases. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-mechanism-resembling-aging-cancer-finnish.html

The French government may ban disposable electronic cigarettes popular in particular among teenagers by the end of this year, Health Minister Francois Braun said Wednesday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-france-disposable-e-cigarettes-minister.html

A new study shows that sleep spindles, brief bursts of brain activity occurring during one phase of sleep and captured by EEG, may regulate anxiety in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-phase-anxiety-people-ptsd.html

Scientists of the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology and Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands have revealed new scientific insights into the features of fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC), a rare type of childhood liver cancer. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-insights-liver-cancer-organoids.html

Glucocorticoid therapy is widely used during pregnancies at risk of premature delivery to promote fetal lung maturation. While it is an effective treatment, it can also trigger heart and blood vessel problems. New research published in The FASEB Journal uncovers the mechanisms behind the cardiovascular-related effects of the most commonly used glucocorticoids, Dexamethasone (Dex) and Betamethasone (Beta). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-glucocorticoid-therapy-affect-cardiovascular-pregnancy.html

An expert reviewed allergens that are found in popular supplements and that have been implicated in allergic reactions, including contact dermatitis. source https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20230502/beware-the-hidden-allergens-in-nutritional-supplements?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Applying machine learning models, a type of artificial intelligence (AI), to data collected passively from wearable devices can identify a patient's degree of resilience and well-being, according to investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-wearable-devices-capture-well-being-effortless.html

Every cell in our body is able to turn genes (DNA) on or off, producing RNA, but when genes are "turned on" to the wrong level it can result in a variety of health conditions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-05-cellular-cruise-safeguards-rna-rett.html