The effect of oral hormone therapy on the metabolome of postmenopausal women is profound. Different hormone therapy regimens result in discordant metabolomic effects that impact the risk for coronary heart disease, reports a study led by Raji Balasubramanian, associate professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University…

Research led by the Karolinska Institute in Sweden shows that people with Down’s syndrome have an earlier and more substantial build-up of amyloid plaques and tau protein in the brain than people without the genetic condition, which makes them vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, the scientists found that the brains…

In the 1990s, Elissa Levin proposed a master’s thesis on using the Internet to extend the reach of genetic counselors. Quickly, her committee shut down that idea. In those “old days”—just a few decades ago—many genetic counselors believed that only face-to-face assessments could be useful. In the midst of the…

Central nervous system degeneration from brain injury, stroke, or other damage may lead to irreversible neuronal loss. A current promising approach is the conversion of glial cells into neurons. However, during this process many cells die and the process is somewhat inefficient because only a few glial cells convert into…

Safety boards overseeing the Phase III clinical trials of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidates have allowed the resumption of the studies and patient recruitment after finding no evidence that the vaccines caused patient illnesses that paused their clinical trials . AstraZeneca confirmed Friday that the FDA had…

Researchers from UC Davis School of Medicine and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) will study the role of incidental white matter lesions (WMLs) in dementia among diverse people with cognitive complaints, through a six-year, $53.6 million NIH grant awarded this week. Charles DeCarli, MD, professor…

A University of Virginia study discovered 162 genes in fat tissue that differ in the way they are expressed between men and women, which could impact disease risk. Although it has been known for a while that there are differences in fat-associated genes between the sexes, the exact details regarding…

A study carried out by scientists in the U.K. and Australia from the Cambridge Baker Systems Genomics Initiative shows that variants in some genes may predispose people to developing autoimmune diseases or allergies from an early age. Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases…

SARS-CoV-2 infection induces functional changes in platelets that make them more likely to aggregate and cause clots, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Utah. Those changes may explain some the disease’s most dangerous complications, such as heart attacks and strokes. Until now, little was known…

The cholesterol-lowering medications called statins are taken by millions of people around the globe and represent one of the most widely prescribed drug classes. While these compounds were designed to effectively reduce heart attack and stroke, a recent finding has shown that there is a clear link between improved gut…

Researchers report the emergence of a new, rare inflammatory condition in 58 children from the UK, which they believe is linked with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The syndrome is similar to Kawasaki disease—a rare condition that causes inflammation of the blood vessels in children under 5 years. However, an analysis by clinicians…

US researchers have analyzed the available literature on COVID-19 infections to assess factors linked with severe cases and to inform medical professionals about drugs that could be repurposed to treat the disease. Since the end of 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind COVID-19 has spread across the globe in a way…

A new study led by scientists at University of Chicago Medicine shows that people with a rare genetic disease that causes bleeding in the brain have gut microbiomes distinct from those without the disease. Moreover, it is the molecules produced by this bacterial imbalance that cause lesions to form in…

The use of some medications, such as stomach acid neutralizers—proton pump inhibitors—are associated with disruption of the microbial communities of the gut. Now, researchers find that statins could potentially modulate the disrupted gut microbiota and linked inflammation in obesity. The findings are published in Nature in a paper titled, “Statin therapy is…

A new study from investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School sheds new light on the risk of developing long-term diseases and overall human lifespan. The researchers found that the combined effects of rare, damaging mutations present at birth have a negative impact on healthspan and longevity.…