Medicine

According to a 44-year longitudinal population study, published online in the journal Neurology, women with high cardiovascular fitness in midlife were 88% less likely to develop dementia decades later, compared to women who were moderately fit; when the highly fit women did develop dementia, they developed the disease an average …

According to a study in mice published in the Journal of Neuroscience, reduced ability to maintain body temperature in colder environments may contribute to the development of obesity in adulthood. Obese and thin mice. Image credit: Shannon Reilly, University of Michigan. Energy from food fuels maintenance of a constant body …

High Vitamin D levels may be linked to a lower risk of developing cancer, according to a study of Japanese adults published in the journal BMJ. In this study, higher Vitamin D concentration was associated with lower risk of total cancer; the findings support the hypothesis that Vitamin D has …

Enterococcus gallinarum, a species of bacterium found in the small intestines of humans and mice, can travel to other organs and trigger an autoimmune response, according to a new study published in the journal Science. The findings suggest new approaches for treating chronic autoimmune conditions, including systemic lupus and autoimmune …

According to an observational study published in the journal JAMA, varicose veins may be a warning sign of a type of blood clot known as a deep venous thrombosis. Chang et al found a significant association between varicose veins and DVT. The illustration shows how a varicose vein forms in …

Vitamin D can’t be metabolized without sufficient magnesium levels, meaning Vitamin D remains stored and inactive for as many as 50% of Americans, according to a review of previous studies, published in the March 2018 issue of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant …

Dr. Christine Beeton from Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues have found that iberiotoxin — one of the components in the venom of a scorpion species called the Eastern Indian red scorpion (Buthus tamulus) — can reduce disease severity in a rat model of rheumatoid arthritis. The Eastern Indian red …

A team of scientists at Lund University in Sweden has found that certain amino acids in our blood can be connected to both obesity and the composition of the gut microbiota. Ottosson et al discovered associations between four gut microbiota genera and BMI predictive plasma metabolites, including glutamate and BCAAs; …

An international team of scientists led by Harvard Medical School’s Joslin Diabetes Center has identified four viruses that can produce insulin-like hormones. Reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the discovery brings new possibilities for revealing biological mechanisms that may cause disease. Transmission electron micrograph of ranaviruses …

Jeff Bezos and a cabal of billionaires surprised everyone last month with the announcement that they’re conspiring to disrupt the healthcare industry. They are planning to offer a “not-for-profit” system that would initially be made available to employees of their respective companies, but with the potential to be rolled out to …