Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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U.S. maternal death rate grew 38% in 2021, CDC data shows
Source: UPI
The percentage of mothers who died while pregnant or within 42 days of the end of their pregnancy grew at an alarming rate in 2021, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

The new CDC report published Thursday used data from the National Vital Statistics System, and could show how the rise in mortality rates may have been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the report, the CDC calculated mortality rates as the number of deaths per 100,000 births. The data shows that mortality rates have been rising since well before the pandemic but began to spike after the emergence of COVID-19.

In 2018, the CDC recorded 3,791,712 live births and the death of 658 expectant or new mothers for a mortality rate of 17.4 per 100,000 live births.

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2023/03 ... 679024799/
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Ken_J
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some older stuff but worth knowing

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 073845.htm
what if you could find out how our genes respond to the foods we eat, and what this does to the cellular processes that make us healthy -- or not? That's precisely what biologists in Norway have done... A healthy diet shouldn't be made up of more than one-third carbohydrates (up to 40 per cent of calories) in each meal, otherwise we stimulate our genes to initiate the activity that creates inflammation in the body... "It took just six days to change the gene expression of each of the volunteers,"... "Salad is made up of carbohydrates," says Johansen. "But you have to eat a lot of greens to get a lot of calories. Steamed broccoli is a great alternative to boiled potatoes. Fruit is good, but you have to be careful not to eat large quantities of the high-glycemic fruits at one time. Variety is important."... we must also make sure to eat carbohydrates, proteins and fats in five to six smaller meals, not just for the main meal, at dinner. Eating several small and medium-sized meals throughout the day is important. Don't skip breakfast and don't skip dinner. One-third of every meal should be carbohydrates, one-third protein and one-third fat. That's the recipe for keeping inflammatory and other disease-enhancing genes in check
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 131522.htm
They found that study participants all gained similar amounts of weight regardless of diet composition; however, there was a vast difference in how the body stored the excess calories. Those who consumed normal- and high- protein diets stored 45% of the excess calories as lean tissue, or muscle mass, while those on the low-protein diet stored 95% of the excess calories as fat.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 164137.htm
A type of dietary fiber called inulin, commonly used in health supplements and known to have certain anti-inflammatory properties, can also promote an allergy-related type of inflammation in the lung and gut, and other parts of the body, according to a preclinical study.
there's also one that links the same fiber to increases in liver cancer among certain populations.
weatheriscool
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How a polymeric nanoparticle gene delivery system can promote bone formation

by Tokyo Medical and Dental University
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-polymeric ... -bone.html
Does a "magic bullet" exist in regenerative medicine? Researchers have long wished to design a cutting-edge gene therapy that regenerates tissues damaged by disease or trauma. That wish may come true now that a research team has developed a polymeric gene delivery therapy that promotes new bone formation after traumatic inflammation.

In a study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have revealed that a gene delivery therapy can effectively suppress inflammation to enhance tissue healing after tooth extraction.

Tooth extraction is a common surgical procedure in dental medicine. When a tooth is removed, sores are formed on the socket, which triggers a physiological healing process involving the reconstruction of damaged soft and hard tissues. One phase of wound healing, known as hemostasis, begins by stopping the bleeding from blood clots, which stimulates an inflammatory phase.
weatheriscool
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Study uncovers mechanisms of protein misfolding linked to neurodegenerative diseases
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-uncovers- ... inked.html
by UT Southwestern Medical Center
A team at UT Southwestern has developed a computational approach to uncover mechanisms of protein misfolding linked to neurodegenerative diseases. The study, published in Nature Communications, offers key insights that could help identify new treatments for patients.

The study analyzed structures of amyloid fibrils, which are made up of proteins that are normally soluble but have assembled in a way that makes them insoluble and often dangerous. Many types of amyloids are associated with different neurodegenerative diseases.

"Understanding the mechanisms of amyloid folding will help identify novel methods to treat protein misfolding diseases," said Lukasz Joachimiak, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and in the Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UTSW's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute. Dr. Joachimiak is an Effie Marie Cain Scholar in Medical Research and the lead author of the study.

According to Dr. Joachimiak, tau proteins play key roles in healthy brain cells. However, when a tau protein misfolds in a way that exposes certain motifs that allow it to self-replicate and build on itself, it wreaks havoc in the brain. This assembly of proteins creates distinct shapes of aggregated tau proteins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases known as "tauopathies." The study looked at conformations from diseases classified as tauopathies, including Alzheimer's and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
weatheriscool
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A puff of air could deliver your next vaccine
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-puff-air-vaccine.html
by American Chemical Society
Nobody likes needles, but they're necessary for delivering many vaccines and biologics into the body. But what if those could be puffed through the skin instead, with just a little pressure, like being hit in the arm with a foam toy? Today, scientists report steps toward making that a reality. Using powdered vaccines that don't require refrigeration and a system driven by compressed gas, their "MOF-Jet" could easily deliver therapeutics against cancer and other diseases in a relatively painless way.

The researchers will present their results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2023 is a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in-person March 26–30.

The idea for the project was formed out of pandemic-induced boredom. The project's principal investigator, Jeremiah Gassensmith, Ph.D., had ordered inexpensive pieces of a compressed gas-powered jet injection system to mess around with while stuck at home. Later, after everyone was back on campus, he handed the pieces over to Yalini Wijesundara, a graduate student in the lab, with the instructions, "See what you can do with this."
weatheriscool
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Monthly injections of fitusiran found to reduce bleeds in patients with hemophilia A and B
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03- ... hilia.html
by Lancet

Monthly prophylactic injections of fitusiran are effective in reducing bleeds in patients with hemophilia A or B, according to randomized controlled trials publishing simultaneously in The Lancet and The Lancet Haematology journals.

Hemophilia is a lifelong, inherited bleeding disorder, which mostly affects men and results in patients with hemophilia A or B missing partially or completely different clotting factors—natural proteins that help form blood clots to stop bleeding (VIII and IX, respectively). People with hemophilia A and B bleed spontaneously into joints or muscles and may take much longer to stop bleeding after injury. Prophylactic treatment is aimed at reducing spontaneous bleeding by regularly administering drugs that enhance haemostasis.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapies are a new type of treatment that work by interfering with the production of specific proteins. Fitusiran is the first siRNA developed for hemophilia and targets antithrombin (a protein that reduces blood clotting) to increase clotting ability. Its novel way of stopping bleeds means that it is the first prophylactic treatment that works for both hemophilia A and B patients with or without inhibitors. However, it is not yet approved for use outside of clinical trials.

Patients with hemophilia who are given the replacement clotting factor they are missing, can develop an immune reaction against this treatment. This immune reaction triggers the development of inhibitors which render the replacement therapy ineffective and creates the need for alternative treatments that can avoid this immune reaction.

The authors note that the comparator groups in both studies received on-demand rather than prophylactic treatment. At the time the trial began, there was no effective prophylactic treatment for patients with inhibitors. For patients without inhibitors as well, comparison with on-demand treatment was the norm for an investigational agent. However, this does mean that it is difficult to compare the efficacy data in this trial with other prophylactic treatments for hemophilia A or B that are currently now in use.
weatheriscool
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Therapy shows promise to help clear tuberculosis
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04- ... losis.html
by Texas Biomedical Research Institute
Texas Biomedical Research Institute scientists have identified a promising way to help fight tuberculosis (TB), a disease that still kills nearly 2 million people annually. The research focuses on a potential host-directed therapy targeting the immune system to bolster the body's ability to control the infection, a method shown to improve cancer treatments.

Specifically, the team found that inhibiting a particular enzyme, known as IDO—short for Indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase—helped nonhuman primates completely eliminate active TB infection. Blocking IDO for four weeks in conjunction with antibiotics led to improved health metrics compared with antibiotics alone. The findings were reported in JCI Insight.

"This is exciting," says Texas Biomed Professor Smriti Mehra, Ph.D., who led the study. "We have promising results suggesting an IDO inhibitor could be a host-directed therapy that reduces the length of time and amount of antibiotics that TB patients have to take, especially those with multi-drug resistance."
weatheriscool
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Less toxic conditioning regimen for bone marrow transplants using an existing drug
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04- ... arrow.html
by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress
A team of researchers led by Tatsuo Kawai of Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, has found a less-intensive way to promote bone marrow transfusion success. In their paper, "Selective Bcl-2 inhibition promotes hematopoietic chimerism and allograft tolerance without myelosuppression in nonhuman primates," published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers detail how a currently FDA-approved drug for the treatment of chronic lymphocyte leukemia (CLL) can be used to make hematopoietic stem cell transplantation conditioning regimens less toxic.

Hematopoietic stem cells can turn into any kind of blood cell. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the introduction of these cells to the bone marrow (where blood is produced) of patients who have blood manufacturing pathologies such as leukemias, lymphomas and immune deficiency disorders.
weatheriscool
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New Findings Suggest a Potential Treatment for Fibrosis
https://scitechdaily.com/new-findings-s ... -fibrosis/
Image
By Nagoya University April 9, 2023

According to a study published in Cell Death & Disease, scientists at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered two enzymes that play a role in macrophage polarization, a key factor affecting fibrosis. The findings of the study suggest a promising treatment possibility for human patients.

Kidney fibrosis is a deadly inflammatory disease that results in the stiffening and loss of normal function of the kidneys. The disease is associated with a mechanism known as macrophage polarization. Macrophages, which are white blood cells that assist the body in fighting infections and repairing tissues, undergo polarization in response to changes in their microenvironment. This polarization results in two different types of macrophages: M1, which causes inflammation, and M2, which possesses anti-inflammatory and tissue repair capabilities.
weatheriscool
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Results in 8 Minutes: New Handheld Sensor Tests Sweat for Disease-Related Hormone

https://scitechdaily.com/results-in-8-m ... d-hormone/
By Oregon State University April 11, 2023
Cortisol
Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland in response to stress. It is commonly referred to as the “stress hormone” because it helps the body respond to and manage stress. Cortisol plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism, immune response, blood pressure, and other important bodily functions.

A team of researchers at the College of Engineering at Oregon State University has created a handheld sensor that can measure cortisol levels in sweat and provide results within eight minutes. This is a significant development in monitoring the hormone, whose levels serve as a marker for numerous illnesses, including various forms of cancer.

The findings were published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The researchers state that the material and sensing mechanism in the new device can be easily modified to detect other specific hormones, such as progesterone, which is a crucial marker for women’s reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes.

“We took inspiration from the natural enzymes used in blood glucose meters s
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