Statin treatment is cost effective and linked to better health outcomes in older people with or without previous cardiovascular disease, although the risk reductions were substantially smaller in the latter, reports a modelling on the lifetime benefits of these drugs among the over-70s, published online in the journal Heart. The findings back consideration of these drugs for most over-70s, say the researchers. Statins are used extensively to ward off heart attacks and strokes in middle-aged people, ...

Excess abdominal fat is associated with widespread chronic pain, particularly in women, finds the first study of its kind, published in the open access journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.   Reducing excess fat deposits in the abdomen may help reduce chronic musculoskeletal pain, especially if it’s experienced at multiple body sites, suggest the researchers. Previously published research has shown that obesity is associated with musculoskeletal pain, but it’s not known if excess fat tissue is linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain and at multiple body sites, ...

A new technology which uses harmless light waves to measure activity in babies’ brains has provided the most complete picture to date of brain functions like hearing, vision and cognitive processing outside a conventional, restrictive brain scanner, in a new study led by researchers at UCL and Birkbeck. The wearable brain imaging headgear, which was developed in collaboration with UCL spin-out Gowerlabs, found unexpected activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that processes emotions, in response to social stimuli, appearing to confirm ...

In the midst of America’s growing opioid crisis, a much healthier alternative to long-term pain management is emerging — one affectionately known as “the cuddle hormone,” or oxytocin. University of Florida researchers are currently investigating whether a synthetic version of this naturally-occurring human hormone can be used in conjunction with prescription drugs to help curb opioid addictions, especially in susceptible older adults. An interdisciplinary research team is conducting the two-year study, with $414,375 in funding from the National ...

A study led by Brazilian researchers has produced a detailed description of the morphology of the nerves in the liver and how they control production of glucose when the organism is under stress. This process is known as hepatic gluconeogenesis. It is a key metabolic function of the liver that helps maintain a normal blood sugar level, especially when fasting and at times of high energy needs.  An article on the study, which entailed experiments with mice, is published in the journal Metabolism. According to the authors, the sympathetic nerves that stimulate the release of noradrenaline in the liver helped ...

(San Diego, Calif.--September 9, 2024, 10:05 a.m.) -- The epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor aumolertinib demonstrated improved progression-free survival compared to placebo without any significant new adverse reactions, according to data from the POLESTAR study presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer. Consolidation therapy with durvalumab is established as the standard of care for patients who do not experience disease progression following concurrent chemoradiotherapy. However, it is unknown what the specific benefit ...

Individuals who received a once-a-day oral weight loss drug lost up to 13% of their body weight over three months, the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September) will hear. Amycretin, which is being developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S, mimics the action of two peptide hormones in one single molecule. Amycretin is both an amylin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. Both of these play a key role in appetite regulation ...

Restricting the eating window to 8 hours a day significantly improves blood glucose control in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes irrespective of whether it is earlier or later in the day, according to a randomised crossover trial to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Madrid (9-13 Sept). “Our study found that restricting eating to a window of 8 hours per day significantly improved the daily time spent in the normal blood glucose range and reduced fluctuations in blood glucose levels. However, altering the 8-hour restricted eating period ...

Gum disease is more common in individuals with microvascular complications of diabetes, new research being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September) and published in The Journal of Dental Research has found. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gums and the bones supporting the teeth. It is caused by the accumulation of bacterial plaque, and if left untreated, it can lead to the destruction of the tissues that hold the teeth in place, ultimately resulting in tooth loss. “This tooth loss can affect essential functions like chewing and speaking, while ...

The obesity medication liraglutide is safe and effective in children aged 6 to <12 years, new research being presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September), and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), has found. Childen aged six to <12 years who took liraglutide for just over a year experienced a reduction in BMI of 7.4% compared to placebo and experienced improvements in blood pressure and blood sugar control. The results of ...

Results from a clinical trial by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN) show a striking improvement for patients who received chemotherapy before surgery to remove advanced squamous cell-type cancer of the nose or sinus. The European Society of Medical Oncology is highlighting the trial at its ESMO Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. Surgery is required for these patients but at a high physical cost. Patients enrolled in this trial had signs that surgery would result in loss of the eye, the base of the skull bone, or both. However, in the randomized prospective trial EA3163, patients receiving chemotherapy ...

As Rohit Velankar, now a senior at Fox Chapel Area High School, poured juice into a glass, he could feel that the rhythmic glug, glug, glug was flexing the walls of the carton. Rohit pondered the sound, and wondered if a container’s elasticity influenced the way its fluid drained. He initially sought the answer to his question for his science fair project, but it spiraled into something more when he teamed up with his father, Sachin Velankar, a professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.  They set up an experiment ...

The University of Texas at Arlington is expanding its research and innovation capabilities by building a $2.3 million, state-of-the-art outdoor netted drone facility. The Maverick Autonomous Vehicle Research Center (MAVRC) will be located at the UT Arlington Research Institute (UTARI) in Fort Worth, with a planned completion date of January 2025. “MAVRC will significantly and positively impact UTA’s presence in the region by supporting the university-industry-government-community ecosystem focused ...

MADISON–Land was once set aside as Native American reservations because it was undesirable and low in resources, but now interested Native Americans may have economic leverage in the growing industry of clean energy. A team of researchers led by UW–Madison professors Dominic Parker and Sarah Johnston quantified the economic potential of wind and solar energy projects on these lands and discussed the regulatory barriers for tribes wishing to tap into it. “This is the first comprehensive ...

Steven Wilhelm joins a distinguished roster this year with his election as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) Academy of Science. This recognition is the RSC’s highest honor in areas of arts, social sciences, humanities, and science. “The RSC inducts fellows to help them build a better future in Canada and the world. As a native Canadian, this honor is the pinnacle of what I could have hoped for in my career,” said Wilhelm, the Kenneth and Blaire Mossman Professor in UT’s Department of Microbiology. “It also provides an opportunity for me to work with my collaborators ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. [September 10, 2024] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) held an oncology policy summit today in Washington, D.C., focused on Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Cancer Workforce. The event featured a keynote address from Tiffany Wallace, PhD, Branch Director, Disparities Research Branch, National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Health Equity. Panel discussions focused on how to establish and prioritize a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and maintain the commitment through a changing policy landscape. A series of ...

By Ann Kellett, Texas A&M University School of Public Health The aging process can lead to diminished cognitive functioning for older adults. In addition, about 10 percent of people previously diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia every year. Although a few studies have found that activities such as putting together jigsaw puzzles can protect against cognitive aging, the benefits of these activities in preventing or postponing cognitive ...

Researchers at Université de Montréal’s affiliated hospital research centre, the CRCHUM, say the discovery could help lessen and even eliminate viral loads in people undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Metformin, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, could help deplete the viral reservoir and eliminate it entirely in people living with HIV who receive antiretroviral therapy, Canadian researchers say in a new study. In 2021, a team led by immunologist Petronela Ancuta of Université de Montréal’s affiliated hospital research centre, ...

Dr. Berna Hascakir, professor in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University, was selected as part of a $17 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. The investment will support university-led projects that advance decarbonization and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.    In partnership with Texas A&M, Texas Tech University, Howard University, and the University at Buffalo, this initiative unites three minority-serving ...

Using a novel stem cell platform, a team of Medical University of South Carolina researchers has identified a pathway that could be targeted by drugs to reduce fat accumulation in patients with a common form of fatty liver disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD. The MUSC team was led by Stephen Duncan, Ph.D., SmartState Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine at MUSC, and Caren Doueiry, an M.D., Ph.D. candidate in Duncan’s laboratory. The team reports its findings in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Almost a quarter of Americans have MASLD, formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It ...

As fascinating as it is to work in a modern biology lab, in many cases a lot of repetitive, detailed work is necessary before the research can start. For example, cancer researchers are now capable of using hundreds or even thousands of small, lab-grown tumor samples – known as organoids – to test multiple cancer therapies, including immunotherapies, at once. To produce organoids, researchers often need to mince a fresh tumor into small pieces by hand, using scissors to snip, snip, snip the specimen down to submillimeter size. This dissection work is tedious and yet often done by skilled – and usually overqualified ...

(San Diego, Calif.--September 10, 2024, 10:35 a.m. PCT) – The ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) taletrectinib demonstrated high overall and intracranial responses, and a favorable safety profile with low incidence of neurologic adverse events in TKI-naive and TKI-pretreated patients with ROS1+ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).   These results were presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer by Dr. Geoffrey Liu, from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, ...

LUMINOSITY Trial Demonstrates Telisotuzumab Vedotin Shows Durable Response in Asian Patients with c-Met Protein-Overexpressing EGFR WT Nonsquamous NSCLC (San Diego, Calif.--September 10, 2024 10:35 a.m.) -- The c-Met-directed antibody-drug conjugate telisotuzumab vedotin demonstrated durable responses and an acceptable safety profile in patients of Asian race with c-Met protein-overexpressing, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wildtype (WT), locally advanced/metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell ...

(San Diego, Calif.--September 10, 2024, 10:35 a.m. PCT) – Recent air pollution exposure in the form of particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) exposure may significantly impact lung cancer in women who have never smoked, with notable differences in stage IV diagnoses among EGFR+ patients, according to research presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorized outdoor air pollution and its key component, particulate matter PM2.5, as Group 1 carcinogens in 2013, indicating that they cause lung cancer. Associations between ...

(San Diego, Calif.--September 10, 2024, 10:35 a.m. PCT) A phase 3 study comparing tusamitamab ravtansine with docetaxel in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy (in combination or sequential), whose tumors highly expressed CEACAM5, is presented today at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer in San Diego, Calf., by Dr. Benjamin Besse of Gustave Roussy, in Paris, France. As previously announced by Sanofi in December 2023, ...