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Category: health – Page 117

Significant global variation in COVID-19 guidelines: Most countries recommend at least one treatment that doesn’t work

National clinical guidelines for the treatment of COVID-19 vary significantly around the world, with under-resourced countries the most likely to diverge from gold standard (World Health Organization; WHO) treatment recommendations, finds a comparative analysis published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.

And nearly every recommends at least one treatment proven not to work, the analysis shows.

Significant variations in national COVID-19 have been suspected since the advent of the pandemic, but these haven’t been formally quantified or studied in depth, note the researchers.

Revolutionizing Brain Health: Rice University Unveils Tiny, Implantable Brain Stimulator

Rice University engineers have developed the smallest implantable brain stimulator demonstrated in a human patient. Thanks to pioneering magnetoelectric power transfer technology, the pea-sized device developed in the Rice lab of Jacob Robinson in collaboration with Motif Neurotech and clinicians Dr. Sameer Sheth and Dr. Sunil Sheth can be powered wirelessly via an external transmitter and used to stimulate the brain through the dura ⎯ the protective membrane attached to the bottom of the skull.

The device, known as the Digitally programmable Over-brain Therapeutic (DOT), could revolutionize treatment for drug-resistant depression and other psychiatric or neurological disorders by providing a therapeutic alternative that offers greater patient autonomy and accessibility than current neurostimulation-based therapies and is less invasive than other brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

Breakthrough in Bioinformatics: AI Predicts Cell Type Transformations

Advances in gene sequencing technology and computing power have significantly increased the availability of bioinformatic data and processing capabilities. This convergence provides an ideal opportunity for artificial intelligence (AI) to develop methods to control cellular behavior.

In a new study, Northwestern University researchers have reaped fruit from this nexus by developing an AI-powered transfer learning approach that repurposes publicly available data to predict combinations of gene perturbations that can transform cell type or restore diseased cells to health.

The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Intermittent Fasting Linked to Vastly Increased Chance of Heart Attack and Stroke

This regimented approach to dieting has helped many people achieve the discipline they need to lose weight, and some research has shown that it can provide a myriad of health benefits, including improved blood pressure.

But a new yet-to-be-published study, presented this week at a meeting of the American Heart Association, suggests that intermittent fasting could have serious consequences for your cardiovascular health.

In an analysis of over 20,000 US adults, the study found that those who eat in just an eight hour window or less per day — thereby fasting for at least 16 hours — had a 91 percent higher chance of dying from heart disease.

Risk of bird flu spreading to humans is ‘enormous concern’, says WHO

“This remains I think an enormous concern,” the UN health agency’s chief scientist, Jeremy Farrar, told reporters in Geneva.

Cows and goats joined the list of species affected last month – a surprising development for experts because they were not thought susceptible to this type of influenza. US authorities reported this month that a person in Texas was recovering from bird flu after being exposed to dairy cattle, with 16 herds across six states infected apparently after exposure to wild birds.

The A(H5N1) variant has become “a global zoonotic animal pandemic”, Farrar said.

A third of China’s urban population at risk of city sinking, new satellite data shows

Land subsidence is overlooked as a hazard in cities, according to scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Virginia Tech. Writing in the journal Science, Prof Robert Nicholls of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research at UEA and Prof Manoochehr Shirzaei of Virginia Tech and United Nations University for Water, Environment and Health, Ontario, highlight the importance of a new research paper analyzing satellite data that accurately and consistently maps land movement across China.

Novel Schizophrenia Insights from Brain Organoids and Genes

Although schizophrenia can be a very complex illness some new studies show that some major genetic factors could be the cause and then cured much easier through gene therapy.

Summary: Researchers leveraged cutting-edge technology to gain insights into schizophrenia’s neurodevelopmental origins. The researchers grew brain organoids from patients’ skin cells, finding persistent axonal disruptions in those with schizophrenia.

In another study, researchers zeroed in on a schizophrenia risk gene, CYFIP1, revealing its potential role in brain immune cells called microglia and their influence on synaptic pruning – a crucial process for brain health.

Global study reveals health impacts of airborne trace elements

As anyone with seasonal allergies knows, unseen airborne particles can really wreck a person’s day. Like the tree pollen that might be plaguing you this spring, small concentrations of trace elements in the air can have significant negative impacts on human health. However, unlike pollen counts and other allergy indices, which are carefully tracked and widely available, limited knowledge exists about the ambient concentrations of cancer-causing trace elements like lead and arsenic in urban areas of developing countries.

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