The microbiome controls immune system fitness

Working alongside colleagues in Mainz, Bern, Hannover and Bonn, researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin (DRFZ) were able to show how the microbiome helps to render the immune system capable of responding to pathogens. If absent, relevant mediators are not released, resulting…

One-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for treating hypertension in pregnancy

Treatment guidelines for hypertension in pregnancy suggest that more women should be on medication to control their blood pressure. However, new research led by the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS) suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to women’s treatment decisions during pregnancy. The findings, published recently in the…

ACR releases gout management guideline

ATLANTA – Today, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) released the 2020 Guideline for the Management of Gout. The updated guideline reflects new clinical evidence that became available since the ACR last released a treatment guideline for the condition in 2012, Among the 42 recommendations offered, addressing standard treat-to-target urate lowering therapy (ULT) was a…

University of Kentucky launches clinical trial to evaluate new COVID-19 treatments

Clinical leaders from the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center, College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy have launched a clinical trial for experimental therapies to treat patients infected with COVID-19. The trial will investigate the effectiveness of azithromycin, ivermectin and camostat mesylate–drugs that could inhibit replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease.…

Use of a homozygous G608G progeria mouse model for degenerative joint diseases research

BOSTON – Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) is a fatal condition that is especially prevalent in the skin, cardiovascular and the musculoskeletal systems. There exists a wide gap between existing knowledge of the disease and a potential treatment or cure. In a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, researchers…

Neural logic

Everything we do comes down to a series of neural signals that translate into physical behaviors. We receive information through our senses, sensory neurons convert this information into electrical and chemical signals that are processed by other neurons in our brains and ultimately, motor neurons fire muscles that move our limbs. But how these signals…

Effects of antioxidant rich Indo-Mediterranean foods on pre-heart failure

The role of diets in the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction is controversial. However, it is well known that Western diet causes oxidative stress and has pro-inflammatory effects, whereas Mediterranean style diets are anti-inflammatory. Recently, cohort studies and case control studies, have demonstrated that western style diets rich in sugar and physical inactivity with obesity are…