Author: healthadmin

Wearable health sensors are becoming increasingly common, but current versions are difficult to wear. For example, devices attached to the face can draw unwanted attention, increase self-consciousness, and affect the very signals the user is trying to measure. However, recent research may have found a solution to these problems by introducing ultra-thin sensors that are invisible to the observer and invisible to the wearer. In a recently published article scientific progressResearchers at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Industrial Science and a joint research institute have reported the development of thin, stretchable on-skin electrodes that are virtually invisible when worn…

Many people with Parkinson’s disease no longer move their bodies as they used to. Your hands may tremble when you are at rest. Muscles may become stiff. You may walk more slowly and your balance may become unstable. The most effective treatment remains L-dopa, also called levodopa, a drug that can dramatically improve movement and quality of life. However, relieving symptoms often comes with caveats, as over time the drugs become less reliable and can lead to irregular, involuntary movements known as dyskinesias. Now, researchers led by Sinopia Biosciences, a startup out of the University of California, San Diego, have…

Loneliness has been shown to harm health, but treating loneliness as a health problem shifts responsibility from society to health care, warns a new study from the University of Michigan, even though health care alone cannot rebuild social bonds. This study social issueschronicles how chronic loneliness and social isolation gained prominence as a public health concern after research linked them to an increased risk of illness, death, and rising health care costs. Previous research discussed in the current study estimated that a lack of social connection is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Another study found that social isolation,…

Researchers at Trinity College Dublin have discovered that microglia, the brain’s main immune cells, play a key role in maintaining the stability of neural networks in Alzheimer’s disease. Importantly, this suggests that treatments that suppress these cells indiscriminately may be counterproductive. Microglia are generally thought to promote Alzheimer’s disease by causing inflammation in the brain. However, this study was published in a major neurological journal brainfound that reducing the number and activity of these cells unexpectedly exacerbated abnormal electrical activity in the brain and increased seizure-like phenomena. Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 55 million people worldwide and is the leading…

NBC Los Angeles has learned that there are about a dozen rare cancer cases in children in Ladera Ranch and other Orange County cities. In the master-planned community of Ladera Ranch, parents like Jessica Keach believe something is giving their children cancer. “I think people need to listen and wake up and realize that something is happening to our children,” Keach said. “This is not random.” She said her 18-year-old daughter, Haven, was diagnosed with a rare cancer called synovial sarcoma and had her right leg amputated. Health experts say this cancer affects about 1,000 people a year in the…

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a method using computer tools to predict which patients with a primary liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) will benefit most from combination therapy using immunotherapy and targeted therapies that block growth signals on which tumors depend. The study was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and was published online July 14. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Many cancers progress very quickly, and doctors may not necessarily have time to try surgery or other treatments, so…

Modern cancer drugs, which combine tumor-fighting drugs with proteins that specifically target cancer cells, are a relatively new class of drugs that are often given to patients who have not responded to standard chemotherapy. Although the drug is precise, it can only attack one type of target within cancer cells at a time. This limits their effectiveness against tumors that contain multiple types of targets, and becomes more likely as the cancer progresses or if the tumor becomes resistant to conventional treatments. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown in mice that it is possible…

Brain cells continually extract substances such as nutrients, signaling molecules, and fragments of their own outer surfaces from the surrounding body fluids. This process, called endocytosis, supports learning, memory, and the daily maintenance of neurons. Researchers at Penn State University have identified a previously unrecognized structure that may control much of this activity. This structure is a lattice located just below the surface of neurons and is known as the membrane-associated periodic skeleton (MPS). Hidden gatekeepers within neurons According to the survey results published in scientific progressthe research team showed that MPS acts as a physical gatekeeper for nearly all…

This is the web version of STAT’s AAIC in 30 newsletter. Hello from the last day of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. This is the final version of this pop-up newsletter, but if you’re not tired of me, you can join me and my colleagues Damian Garde and Catherine MacPhail tomorrow to summarize AAIC and discuss how the research presented here fits into the broader direction of the field. You can register for the virtual event here. 10am Eastern time, 3pm here in the UK Next year’s AAIC will be held in Chicago, and as the country goes into full…

Exposure to high levels of sodium fluoride can alter how brain cells grow and communicate, impairing cognitive abilities. A new small-scale study in mice and tissue grown in the lab shows that excess amounts of the chemical destroy structural proteins needed for healthy nerve connections. The results of this study were recently published in the journal Brain Research. Fluoride is an active non-metallic element that is widely found in nature. Although in small amounts, it has benefits for human health. Dental professionals often recommend lower concentrations to harden enamel and prevent cavities. However, excessive exposure over long periods poses systemic…