Immediate dialysis no better than wait-until-necessary approach, researchers find

In the largest international study of its kind, researchers at the University of Alberta and Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital found that an accelerated renal-replacement therapy strategy did not reduce mortality after three months, compared to a standard strategy for critically ill patients with acute kidney injury. The Standard vs. Accelerated Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy…

Aging-associated inflammation may worsen COVID-19 outcomes in older individuals

The increased severity and mortality of SARS-CoV-2 infections in older individuals may be related to inflammageing – an age-associated phenomenon of increased general inflammation. In this Perspective, Arne Akbar and Derek Gilroy discuss this possibility as well as strategies to mitigate related effects. Inflammageing is thought to be caused, at least partially, by deterioration of…

Cancer cells in inhospitable brain fluids hijack iron to survive

In order to survive within the remote and harsh anatomical microenvironments of the central nervous system, the disseminated cancer cells that cause rare yet deadly leptomeningeal metastases (LM) hijack crucial iron micronutrients from native macrophages, researchers report. The work highlights the remarkable plasticity of tumor cells and reveals potential new avenues for treating these particularly…