Health & Medicine
More than intention: Towards better collaboration within mental healthcare
The Netherlands prides itself on its commitment to caring for citizens with mental health issues, as well as having a first-rate healthcare system. However, that system has come under considerable strain lately. Anneloes van den Broek PhD, MHA, and Margot Metz PhD, both senior mental healthcare practitioners and researchers at GGz Breburg and Tilburg University, together with full professor Inge […]
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, […]
From mice to men: Will we soon be able to restore hearing loss?
Globally, hearing impairment is a common disability – especially among elderly adults. Hearing loss caused by damaged sensory receptor cells (hair cells) inside the ear cannot be reversed – and regeneration of this type of cell does not occur in humans. Associate Professor Brandon Cox and colleagues at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA, have been studying the regeneration […]
The success of simple metaphors in communicating brain science
The Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, supported by the Calgary-based Palix Foundation, has succeeded in achieving individual, organisational, and systems level change regarding brain development, epigenetics, mental health, and addiction. The Brain Story, which uses simple metaphors to communicate complex brain science, has proven an effective tool to achieve this change and move towards building more resilient individuals and communities. Until […]
Loneliness and social isolation: How can we protect our mental health and cognitive functions?
It is well known that social isolation can cause poor mental and physical health. Our recent global experience of compulsory social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic has created a need to find new ways to prevent its devastating consequences, such as anxiety-induced cognitive decline, from manifesting. Dr Jing Liang and her team at the University of Southern California’s Mann School […]
Regulating RNA interference by modifying RNA backbone with amides
Professor Eriks Rozners and colleagues at Binghamton University in New York, USA, are using innovative nucleic acid chemistry to modify RNA-based technologies such as RNA interference (RNAi) and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) to enhance their utility in molecular biology. These technologies suffer from off-target effects that limit their clinical utility. By replacing phosphates in the backbone with […]
Cleft lip simulation: A step closer to achieving surgical excellence
Surgical training is a long and laborious process, traditionally performed by learning to operate on actual patients under a senior surgeon’s supervision. However, with surgical techniques getting ever more sophisticated and standards of care increasing, it is not always easy for surgical trainees to access the required number of surgical cases. Surgical simulation has recently become the solution to this […]
Valuable insights into caring for women with heavy menstrual bleeding
Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is a common problem for women, but that doesn’t make it necessarily bearable. Its symptoms can be debilitating. Significant research by Professor Joe Kai and a multi-disciplinary team at the University of Nottingham and the University of Birmingham, UK, has provided invaluable insight into treatments for HMB and the critical role of the primary care physician. […]
Autoimmune encephalitis and psychiatric disorders
Despite the latest advances in medical research, the causes of psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia (a long-term illness that affects the person’s perception of reality) remain a puzzle for researchers and doctors around the world. Unlocking the mechanisms behind these diseases is paramount for effectively treating or even preventing them. Through her study of an uncommon case of autoimmune encephalitis, […]
Simple blood tests could predict immunotherapy effectiveness
Despite the extensive use of immunotherapy in patients suffering from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, this therapy has significant limitations. Not everyone responds to treatment and current therapies can have serious adverse side effects. When working at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA, Dr George Laliotis and his team discovered that biochemical factors, measured […]