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Category: biotech/medical – Page 515

Many Black Americans who are thought to have a high risk of developing kidney disease possess a protective genetic variant that nullifies the extra risk, a new study from Columbia researchers has found. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

The study found that high-risk people who carry this variant have a risk of developing kidney disease much closer to that of the general population.

The findings will have an immediate impact on , says study leader Simone Sanna-Cherchi, MD, associate professor of medicine at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed a novel artificial intelligence (AI) model that analyzes the spatial arrangement of cells in tissue samples. This innovative approach, detailed in Nature Communications, has accurately predicted outcomes for cancer patients, marking a significant advancement in utilizing AI for cancer prognosis and personalized treatment strategies.

“Cell spatial organization is like a complex jigsaw puzzle where each cell serves as a unique piece, fitting together meticulously to form a cohesive tissue or organ structure. This research showcases the remarkable ability of AI to grasp these intricate spatial relationships among cells within tissues, extracting subtle information previously beyond human comprehension while predicting patient outcomes,” said study leader Guanghua Xiao, Ph.D., Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, Biomedical Engineering, and the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics at UT Southwestern. Dr. Xiao is a member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UTSW.

Tissue samples are routinely collected from patients and placed on slides for interpretation by pathologists, who analyze them to make diagnoses. However, Dr. Xiao explained, this process is time-consuming, and interpretations can vary among pathologists. In addition, the can miss subtle features present in pathology images that might provide important clues to a patient’s condition.

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LJI scientists harness bioinformatics to predict how T cells may adapt to fighting the highly mutated Pirola variant.

In August, researchers detected a new SARS-CoV-2 “variant of concern” in patients in Israel and Denmark. Since then, this variant, dubbed BA.2.86 or “Pirola,” has made its way around the globe. The Pirola variant has raised alarms because it is highly mutated. In fact, Pirola is as mutated as the Omicron variant was, compared with the early SARS-CoV-2 variant included in the original vaccinations.

As Pirola spreads, researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) are investigating whether COVID-19 vaccines (or previous SARS-CoV-2 exposure) can still protect people from severe disease.

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PET scans of people with mild cognitive impairment detected lower levels of serotonin, the brain chemical associated with positive mood, compared to those without it.

Comparing PET scans of more than 90 adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say relatively lower levels of the so-called “happiness” chemical, serotonin, in parts of the brain of those with MCI may play a role in memory problems including Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings, recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, lend support to growing evidence that measurable changes in the brain happen in people with mild memory problems long before an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and may offer novel targets for treatments to slow or stop disease progression.

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Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, UCL, and MSD have identified a potential treatment target for a genetic type of epilepsy.

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies are rare types of epilepsy that start in early childhood. One of the most common types of genetic epilepsy, CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), causes seizures and impaired development. Children are currently treated with generic antiepileptic drugs, as there aren’t yet any disease-targeting medications for this disorder.

CDD involves losing the function of a gene producing the CDKL5 enzyme, which phosphorylates proteins, meaning it adds an extra phosphate molecule to alter their function. Until now, researchers have not been sure how genetic mutations in CDKL5 cause CDD.

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Summary: Researchers created a revolutionary system that can non-invasively convert silent thoughts into text, offering new communication possibilities for people with speech impairments due to illnesses or injuries.

The technology uses a wearable EEG cap to record brain activity and an AI model named DeWave to decode these signals into language. This portable system surpasses previous methods that required invasive surgery or cumbersome MRI scanning, achieving state-of-the-art EEG translation performance.

It shows promise in enhancing human-machine interactions and in aiding those who cannot speak, with potential applications in controlling devices like bionic arms or robots.

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Lymphatic fluid from surgical drains, which is usually tossed in the trash, is a treasure in the hands of University of Pittsburgh and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis researchers who found that this liquid could inform more precise treatments for patients with head and neck cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

The new study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, shows for the first time that HPV DNA in lymphatic fluid collected after surgery is a powerful biomarker that could predict risk of cancer recurrence and help clinicians decide whether to ramp up adjuvant therapies or safely de-escalate treatment for patients with HPV-positive head and .

“Over the last decade, there has been emerging interest in liquid biopsy to pick up cancer recurrences after treatment,” said senior author José P. Zevallos, M.D., M.P.H., professor and Eugene N. Myers, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology at the Pitt School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. “Our goal was to bring liquid biopsy into the curative pathway for head and neck cancer so that we can use it not just to find recurrences but also to help make treatment decisions.”

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MIT researchers have used 3D printing to produce self-heating microfluidic devices, demonstrating a technique which could someday be used to rapidly create cheap, yet accurate, tools to detect a host of diseases.

Microfluidics, miniaturized machines that manipulate fluids and facilitate , can be used to detect disease in tiny samples of blood or fluids. At-home test kits for COVID-19, for example, incorporate a simple type of microfluidic.

But many microfluidic applications require chemical reactions that must be performed at specific temperatures. These more complex , which are typically manufactured in a , are outfitted with heating elements made from gold or platinum using a complicated and expensive fabrication process that is difficult to scale up.

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