Health & Medicine
Viral encephalitis and virus-mediated memory disorders
Viral encephalitis is a debilitating consequence of viral infections: invasion of the brain by viruses causes an inflammation that, even months or years after recovery from the viral infection, can impair cognitive functions such as learning and memory. Prof Robyn S. Klein from Washington University School of Medicine has developed novel animal models and approaches to study virus-mediated memory disorders, […]
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Metadichol® a novel nano lipid formulation
Many drugs target individual actions of a specific virus or bacteria. However, development and application of a broad-spectrum compound which targets the whole immune response would allow one therapy to have a global application for human disease. Dr P. R. Raghavan, CEO of Nanorx Inc, has invented one such dietary supplement, Metadichol®, which is thought to act via vitamin D […]
Predicting treatment resistance in schizophrenia patients
Schizophrenia is a severe and often debilitating mental disorder. While antipsychotic medications aim to alleviate the symptoms, about a third of patients with schizophrenia are treatment-resistant. Dr Olesya Ajnakina, a Research Fellow at King’s College London, combines state-of-the-art methods in statistical analyses, such as machine learning, to develop prediction models aiming to identify patients at risk of developing treatment-resistant schizophrenia, […]
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Geovisualization for insights into infectious disease risk
Environmental, social, and economic factors influence infectious disease transmission and resulting risk. Using exploratory data analysis techniques can help uncover previously unknown relationships between these factors, contributing to improved public health efforts. Drs Abhishek Kala, Samuel Atkinson, and Chetan Tiwari from the University of North Texas, USA, use geovisualization to identify the spatial context and factors that are strongly associated […]
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Machine learning paves the way to advances in genome sequencing
Genome sequencing platforms are transforming the field of genetic disease research as they offer a closer look at human genes and DNA for clinical diagnostics. Based on machine learning methods, DeepSimulator provides simulated datasets to train and test sequencing analytical tools while WaveNano has innovated the process of translating a raw signal sequence into a DNA read. Dr Xin Gao […]
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Improving the management of heart failure with telemedicine
Guaranteeing timely and good quality healthcare for all can be challenging. In countries like Denmark or Brazil, where health administration is fragmented, with federal authorities managing hospitals while municipalities manage primary care, the management of patients is very complicated. After developing a cross-sector collaboration model in Denmark, Dr Helena Dominguez, cardiologist in Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital and Associate Professor at the University […]
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Vitamin A: Seeing into the past, the present and the future
Why is Vitamin A critical to animal and human health, and what functions does it have in the body other than in vision? In this thought-provoking and informative interview, neuroscientist and Professor at Harvard University John Dowling takes us through the history of research into the topic, from the first mention of night blindness in 3500 BC to current and […]
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Diagnosing Sjögren’s syndrome with salivary gland ultrasound
Dr Juan Carlos Nieto-González from the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón has provided support for the utilisation of salivary gland ultrasound (SGUS) in diagnosing and assessing Sjögren’s syndrome in several published research papers. When compared with other diagnostic tools, SGUS is non-invasive, widely available in hospitals, and does not use any ionising radiation. It can also be used to diagnose […]
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Quality benchmarks identified for laboratory medicine mobile apps
Dr Snežana Jovičić and her colleagues from the EFLM “Patient Focused Laboratory Medicine” Working Group (PFLM-WG) have identified several benchmarks for quality evaluation of patient-oriented laboratory medicines apps. These include referencing information to ensure trustworthiness, appropriate graphics for knowledge supplementation, and simple explanations of laboratory test results. This ensures the empowerment of patients in understanding their own medical condition. These […]
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Dihydromyricetin shows promise as anxiety disorder treatment
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental illnesses, and social isolation can be a major source of contributing stress. Medications to treat these disorders, such as benzodiazepines, are available; however, they come with a range of downsides. In a recent study in mice, Prof Jing Liang’s team at the USC School of Pharmacy in the US discovered that […]
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