ALS risk tied to ATXN2 protein disrupting neuron growth in fruit fly study

Voluntary assisted dying is being debated in the Northern Territory (NT) parliament this week.

A research team at the Seville Biomedical Institute (IBis) has identified a new molecular mechanism that explains the high sensitivity of Ewing sarcoma (an aggressive bone cancer that mainly affects children and adolescents) to certain chemotherapy drugs, such as irinotecan. The results, published in the journal Oncogene, open the door to more personalized and effective strategies for treating this type of cancer.

A clinical trial from Wake Forest University School of Medicine shows that two widely available medications, the diabetes drug empagliflozin (Jardiance) and intranasal insulin, safely improve brain health in people with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease.

In recent years, Americans have gotten used to logging on to a patient portal through their smartphone or computer to have telehealth appointments with their doctors and health care teams, see their prescriptions and lab test results, send messages to their providers, and much more.

A research team has resolved a 50-year-old controversy in neuroscience. By employing a self-developed, time-resolved cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) technique, the team, led by Prof. Bi Guo-Qiang from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with several domestic and international institutions, has delineated the intricate choreography of synaptic vesicle (SV) release and rapid recycling, the cornerstone of neural communication.

Sleep-like slow-wave patterns persist for years in surgically disconnected neural tissue of awake epilepsy patients, according to a study published in PLOS Biology by Marcello Massimini from Universita degli Studi di Milano, Italy, and colleagues.

As more states restrict clinician-managed abortion in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, more patients are pursuing self-managed medication abortion (SMMA). Definitions of SMMA can vary, but SMMA typically refers to the use of mifepristone and/or misoprostol to induce abortion outside of a clinical context. Despite the 97% completion rate and excellent safety record of a medication abortion, patients who pursue SMMA sometimes experience symptoms that prompt them to visit an emergency department or primary care clinic for evaluation.

Preschool children with more backyard space and those who live closer to parks and water do more active play than children from other neighborhoods, according to a new study by The Kids Research Institute Australia.

A Northwestern Medicine study has revealed a key mechanism underlying the development of motor neuron diseases, offering new insights into potential treatment options, according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The ultimate cause of death from cancer may not be metastatic disease, as researchers have long surmised, but an infiltration of tumors into major blood vessels that cause blood clots and multiorgan failure, a one-of-a-kind clinical study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center suggests. These findings, published in Nature Medicine, could spur interventions that extend the lives of patients with advanced cancers.

After a short interlude of pushing "body inclusivity" and plus-sized models to the fore, the fashion industry has returned to promoting thinness as a beauty ideal.

Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that explains how bacteria can drive treatment resistance in patients with oral and colorectal cancer. The study was published today in Cancer Cell.

Thousands of UK claimants have filed legal action against US pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson alleging people diagnosed with cancers were exposed to asbestos in its talcum powder, lawyers said Thursday.

Kidney damage that seemingly heals appears to mutate the DNA in the mitochondria of kidney cells, making the organ less resilient to future stressors and reducing its function over time, a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers shows. Their findings, published in Science, could lead to new treatments for acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and may explain some facets of aging in other organs and tissues throughout the body.

Drugs targeting the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) offer several positive effects for individuals with type 2 diabetes, including the lowering of blood glucose and the reduction of body weight and of cardiovascular risk. In a study in mice, researchers at KI SÖS and Södersjukhuset have shown that the specific weight-loss properties of these treatments are key to also improving neurological recovery after suffering from stroke.

Public attitudes toward mental health and people with mental health problems are getting worse, according to new research.

A research team from the Medical University of Vienna and the Medical University of Graz has discovered a previously unknown genetic cause of hereditary optic atrophy, a degenerative disease of the optic nerve associated with gradual loss of vision.

Instead of wasting hours squatting weights in the gym or pounding miles of pavement in your running shoes, you could instead get all the benefits of a workout just by moving a little bit more like other animals.