Research News

For the first time, scientists have shown that gut bacteria differences are associated with later development of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a debilitating rheumatic childhood disease, and that these differences are present years before the disease is diagnosed.

Older people who have fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides may have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias compared to people who have steady levels, according to new research published in the July 5, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While the study found a link, it does not prove that fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides cause dementia.

Nearly 700,000 people in the United States die from heart disease every year, and one-third of those deaths result from complications in the first weeks or months following a traumatic heart-related event.

Clinicians have a new standard for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, according to results from a phase III study published June 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The new standard is more effective at preventing GVHD and came with less side effects, compared with the current gold standard.

A team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine is gaining ground in their search for solutions to the global problem of bacterial antibiotic resistance, which was responsible for nearly 1.3 million deaths in 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Belize as malaria-free, following the country’s over 70 years of continued efforts to stamp out the disease.

“WHO congratulates the people and government of Belize and their network of global and local partners for this achievement”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Belize is another example of how, with the right tools and the right approach, we can dream of a malaria-free future.”

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has announced that the Omicron-specific mRNA-based Booster vaccine developed using the indigenous platform technology by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. and supported under the Mission COVID Suraksha, implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), has got a nod from the office of the Drug Control General of India (DCGI) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

A decade after UC San Francisco scientists identified an over-the-counter antihistamine as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, researchers have developed an approach to measure the drug’s effectiveness in repairing the brain, making it possible to also assess future therapies for the devastating disorder.

Folate-based radiopharmaceuticals can be used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to detect folate receptors in brain tumours. The discovery of folate receptors and their exploitation potential with respect to brain tumours is a new and significant finding in the field.