Research News

Surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids in children with snoring and mild breathing problems during sleep appears to improve their sleep, quality of life, and blood pressure a year after surgery, a clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health has found. The study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of NIH, is believed to be the first large, randomized trial to address the effects of adenotonsillectomy on children with mild sleep-disordered breathing (SDB).

To speed up their growth, leukemia cells typically activate the recycling of cellular structures – enabling them to dispose of defective components and better supply themselves with building materials. Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have now shown that leukemia cells with a very common mutation activate specific genes that are important for this recycling process. Their findings, published in the journal Cell Reports, open up new therapeutic options for the future.

Self-folding polymers containing gadolinium forming nanosized complexes could be the key to enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and next-generation drug delivery, as demonstrated by scientists at Tokyo Tech. Thanks to their small size, low toxicity, and good tumor accumulation and penetration, these complexes represent a leap forward in contrast agents for cancer diagnosis, as well as neutron capture radiotherapy.

A new study from Mass Eye and Ear investigators shows that individuals who report tinnitus, which present as a ringing in the ears in more than one out of ten adults worldwide, are experiencing auditory nerve loss that is not picked up by conventional hearing tests.

A simple-to-apply, needle-free vaccine patch is being developed to protect people from the potentially deadly mosquito-borne Zika virus.

A prototype using The University of Queensland-developed and Vaxxas-commercialised high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) has delivered a University of Adelaide-developed vaccine and elicited an effective immune response to Zika virus in mice.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of being prepared with drug interventions to contain viral outbreaks that can otherwise have devastating consequences. In preparing for the next pandemic—or Disease X, there is an urgent need for versatile platform technologies that could be repurposed upon short notice, to combat infectious outbreaks.

The ARIES-HM3 Randomized Clinical Trial assessed the safety and efficacy of excluding aspirin from the antithrombotic regimen in patients with advanced heart failure who have undergone implantation of a fully magnetically levitated left ventricular assist device (LVAD).

Despite TB’s wide reach and some lost progress during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers believe it is possible to eradicate TB through advances in vaccine development and public health. To cross the finish line, scientists must find ways to test new vaccines rapidly to prevent TB infections more effectively. 

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer because of its ability to quickly grow and spread throughout the body. More than half of those with advanced melanoma will see the disease spread to the brain, where it rapidly progresses, often leading to death in only three to four months. Researchers in Moffitt Cancer Center’s Donald A. Adam Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center of Excellence have been working to better understand what drives melanoma brain metastasis.