Medicine

An artificial sugar called trehalose enhances the virulence of epidemic lineages of Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive spore forming bacterium that causes life-threatening inflammation of the colon, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. This digitally-colorized scanning electron microscopic image depicts a large grouping of rod-shaped Clostridium difficile. …

A process using pluripotent stem cells from mice can generate skin tissue complete with hair follicles, according to a team of researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine. The research is published in the journal Cell Reports. Dr. Koehler and co-authors describe a de?ned in vitro 3D culture system …

A ‘triple receptor’ drug originally created to treat type 2 diabetes could be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease after researchers from China and the United Kingdom found it ‘significantly reversed memory loss’ in mice. The research appears in the journal Brain Research. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterized …

Vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone, is released from the brain, and known to work in the kidney, suppressing a process called diuresis. According to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, vasopressin does more than conserve body water — it also stimulates red blood cell production. Vasopressin is …

For people with mild cognitive impairment, don’t be surprised if your health care provider prescribes exercise rather than medication. According to a new guideline released by the American Academy of Neurology, medical practitioners should recommend twice-weekly exercise to patients with mild cognitive impairment to improve memory and thinking. The recommendation …

According to a systematic review of recent cohort studies and randomized controlled trials, published in the journal Obesity Facts, consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks is associated with overweight and obesity in both children and adults. The new systematic review of previous studies showed an overall positive association between the consumption of …

Researchers at the University of Tasmania, Australia, have conducted trials to determine the efficacy of anthocyanins — bioactive compounds found in high concentrates in sweet cherries (Prunus avium) — as a treatment and preventative therapy in high-fat diets. Sweet cherries (Prunus avium). Image credit: U. Leone. “There is emerging evidence …

According to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a new test that measures mRNAs or proteins in human nasal epithelial cells could prove to be a quicker way to diagnose respiratory viral infections than current methods. This transmission electron microscopic image depicts the ultrastructural details of an …

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe severe changes in the brain that cause memory loss. The condition affects 30-50% of the American population over age 85. In the search for new ways to fight cognitive decline, a team of researchers from the Republic of Korea report in the …

According to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, children who eat fish at least once a week sleep better and have IQ scores that are four points higher than those who consume fish less frequently or not at all. According to Liu et al, frequent fish consumption may …