Author: healthadmin

A diet high in wheat fiber protects mice from intestinal inflammation, according to a study published by researchers at Georgia State University’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS). This finding helps explain why the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is increasing and suggests that eating whole wheat foods may reduce the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease. The study is reported in two research papers published in the journal. Scientific advances and mucosal immunology – They investigated the impact of wheat fiber, which is present in whole wheat and wholemeal bread but is largely absent from “white bread” and other…

A large-scale clinical trial led by USF researchers aimed at slowing the onset of dementia continues to receive significant support from the federal government to address the public health crisis. The Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease through Cognitive Training (PACT) study received an additional $2.8 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue researching whether computer-based brain training exercises can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment and dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. PACT research currently has more than $50 million in federal funding. PACT, which began at the University of South Florida in 2020, has expanded to 10 locations in the…

Chronic inflammation can increase cancer risk, and new research reveals important details about how it happens in the gut and points to better ways to identify and reduce risk. Scientists at the Broad Institute and Harvard University have shown in mice that after colitis or chronic enteritis, seemingly healed intestinal tissue retains memories of early inflammation through molecular “scars” that may make it easier for cancer to later take hold. These memories are encoded as changes in the epigenome that are passed from cell to cell through generations of cell division and can have long-term effects on gene activity and…

Anyone who has survived a bad stomach illness knows that feeling. Loss of appetite begins and lingers even after the initial illness. The same is true for millions of people around the world who are chronically infected with parasites. But scientists have long been puzzled as to exactly why. Now, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have traced the molecular pathways that connect the gut immune system to the brain during parasitic infections to explain how the immune system triggers anorexia. The question we wanted to answer was not only how the immune system fights parasites, but…

Consider two seemingly unrelated medical puzzles. First: Every day, our bodies generate hundreds of billions of new cells, many of which mutate. If cancer arises from cell mutations, why don’t we all get the disease all the time?Second, severe autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis often develop without warning. No one knows what triggers them. A new study from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) shows that naturesuggesting that the two puzzles may be directly connected. This research has revealed that our immune systems are pre-equipped with antibodies that fight tumors and attack the brain. ”Patients with autoimmune diseases…

Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Blue Sky. You can contact Helen on Signal at hbranswell.01.Staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met on Wednesday, with many expecting an announcement by the Trump administration of the selection of a new leader for the beleaguered agency. But instead, acting director Jay Bhattacharyya said a permanent director is likely to be named by Thursday. A transcript of the hour-plus all-hands meeting obtained by STAT revealed that staff members asked Bhattacharyya tough questions. Mr. Bhattacharya scored…

A new report shows that Iowa has higher rates of more than a dozen types of cancer associated with pesticides and pollutants than other regions, and researchers say pesticide exposure alone can rival the risks of smoking. Iowa has the second highest cancer rate in the nation. Only 1 of 3 states with cancer on the riseaccording to the National Institutes of Health. For many types of cancer, the state’s numbers are well below the national average. For example, the prostate cancer incidence rate in Iowa is 129 per 100,000 people, while the U.S. average is 116 per 100,000. The…

Over the past two decades, psychological distress has increased among teenagers, especially adolescent girls, around the world. Recent research published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Paradoxically, countries with higher levels of gender equality are found to have wider disparities in mental health between boys and girls. Researchers link this widening gap to the double burden of increased academic pressure and expectations placed on young women. Adolescence is a sensitive period of brain development and social growth. Mental health problems that begin during these formative years often continue into adulthood. Around the world, mental health indicators among teenagers have…

The heart needs oxygen. A heart attack is the most dramatic example of this starvation, when the coronary arteries become clogged and starve the muscles of oxygen they need to keep beating. Less sudden heart failure means that the heart is unable to pump enough blood around the body due to a lag in oxygen consumption levels. Determining how much oxygen the heart is using or not using can help detect heart failure. This is important in planning treatment in the early stages of heart failure, which affects one in four Americans during their lifetime. Other ways to reach a…

Many patients with an aggressive blood cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma are cured with the current gold standard treatment: a combination of antibodies designed to wipe out cancerous B cells and four chemotherapy drugs. However, this treatment fails in about three out of 10 patients, and the powerful chemotherapy can cause heart damage, a significant risk for older patients, who make up the majority of those diagnosed. Despite these risks, clinicians are often reluctant to try new treatment regimens that may be less toxic because there is no reliable way to predict whether a patient’s cancer will respond. A…