Health & Medicine
Why do women experience more chronic pain than men?
Chronic pain is poorly managed by current healthcare systems, with limited treatments. However, little is known about chronic pain, especially in autoimmune diseases. Dr Gurmit Singh and colleagues at McMaster University, Canada, have investigated whether chronic pain should be considered an autoimmune disease and why chronic pain is more common in women. They have identified various explanations as to why women […]
Self-assembled nanomaterials fight viral outbreaks
Developing efficient ways to treat viral infections and control their spread in humans and animals has become a worldwide priority, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional approaches to creating vaccines suffer from very long development and testing times which make them unsuitable for treating new viral infections. Dr Alaa F Nahhas at King Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, shows […]
Spiking of urinary biomarker with exercise: A marker of muscle inflammation?
Seeking a sensitive biomarker of inflammation, Emeritus Professor Isao Okayasu of Kiryu University and Kitasato University, Japan and his colleagues have spent over two decades investigating chronic organ inflammation and its links to cancer. They have developed methods to measure prostaglandin E-major urinary metabolite (PGE-MUM) as a surrogate marker, which has opened the door for its investigation in different physiological […]
Identification of a novel key player in lupus disease opens the door to treatment
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease, the precise cause of which is still unclear. Through dedicated work, Professor Shunichi Shiozawa from Kobe University, Japan, uncovers the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of systemic autoimmunity and identifies a novel key player. Shiozawa demonstrates that overstimulation of the host’s immune system by an immunogenic pathogen kickstarts the generation of […]
Ending the debate: Routine or selective cholangiography during gallstone surgery?
Symptomatic gallstones are common in the Western world and treatment of choice is surgical removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy). During surgery, an x-ray procedure called intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) gives the surgeon information on the anatomy and whether gallstones have migrated from the gallbladder to the deep bile ducts. The procedure helps avoid certain surgical complications and prevent problems from retained […]
Screening frailty: A predictor of healthcare requirements in older people
People are living longer, and this is associated with increased pressure on healthcare services. Assessing how much support people need allows resources to be used effectively and patients to receive the best care. Frailty is associated with poorer health and more complications – but the condition can be hard to characterise. Maider Mateo-Abad and Dr Itziar Vergara at the Biodonostia […]
From friend to foe: Food strains share their toxic genes in E. coli
Food-borne bacteria can cause life-threatening disease, yet it is still unclear why some strains are tolerated by the host. To find an answer, a project led by Professor Rosa del Carmen Rocha-Gracia (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico) and Professor Manel Camps (University of California Santa Cruz, USA) analysed the genetic diversity of Escherichia coli populations, comparing isolates from food […]
Metabolic dysfunction: The liver and beyond
The liver is the centre of our metabolism, with metabolic dysfunction playing a pivotal role in liver diseases and type 2 diabetes. Despite extensive study, the mechanisms underlying these pathologies remain largely unexplained. Professor Philipp Kaldis of Lund University, Sweden, has collaborated with fellow researchers to investigate the role of metabolites during metabolic dysfunction in these diseases. Motivated by the goal […]
Lead ammunition used by hunters has us all in its sights
For millions of people, game meat is their primary source of protein, but if the animal is shot using lead (Pb) ammunition, its meat can be toxic. The lead in the ammunition also finds its way into wildlife, ecosystems, and the global food chain, taking the poison far beyond the gun barrel. There are non-lead alternatives, but hunters are slow […]
The human vomeronasal organ: To preserve or not?
There is an ongoing debate among scientists regarding the significance of the vomeronasal organ (VNO), a small defined area of uncertain function inside the nose in humans. During nasal surgery, this organ can be permanently damaged, thereby ceasing any associated function. Dr Tjasse D Bruintjes, ear, nose, and throat surgeon at Leiden University Medical Center, and Dr Ronald LAW Bleys, […]