Research News

While immune cells called neutrophils are known to act as infantry in the body’s war on germs, a National Institutes of Health-funded study suggests they can act as medics as well. By studying rodents, researchers showed that instead of attacking germs, some neutrophils may help heal the brain after an intracerebral hemorrhage, a form of stroke caused by ruptured blood vessels. The study suggests that two neutrophil-related proteins may play critical roles in protecting the brain from stroke-induced damage and could be used as treatments for intracerebral hemorrhage.

Researchers at the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Bergen (UiB) have discovered that medical treatment against diabetes reduces the risk of getting Parkinson´s disease by 35 per cent.

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a discovery that could speed efforts to develop a successful HIV vaccine.

The scientists found that on the HIV envelope protein, at a site important for viral function, a small group of sugar molecules, known as glycans, serves as a key “anchor” for antibodies that can broadly neutralize the virus. Future candidate vaccines are therefore likely to include this glycan cluster among their specific viral targets in order to maximize the chances of stimulating an effective antibody response.

Scientists at the University of Southampton have made a significant discovery in efforts to develop a vaccine against Zika, dengue and Hepatitis C viruses that affect millions of people around the world.

Artemisinin-ALA co-treatment could kill cancer cells and suppress tumour growth with fewer side effects

Artemisinin, a potent anti-malarial drug, has been widely hailed as a promising alternative cancer treatment. Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) recently showed that its anti-cancer properties could be enhanced by 10 folds when used in combination with Aminolaevulinic acid (ALA), a photosensitiser or a drug which, upon exposure to light, leads to generation of free radicals that can kill cells.

Congenital hyperinsulinism is a serious yet poorly understood condition. Research funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation has discovered how it is caused by a genetic mutation.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) may infect and kill a specific type of brain cancer cells while leaving normal adult brain tissue minimally affected, according to a new study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health. In the paper, published online on September 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers describe the impact of ZIKV on glioblastoma cells in both human tissue samples and mice.

The parasite Cystoisospora suis causes diarrhea in pigs, especially in newborn piglets, and is capable of quickly spreading across farms. For this reason, pig farmers in Europe preventively use toltrazuril to control parasite development. In contrast to congeneric parasites in chicken, no resistance to this pharmaceutical compound was described in pig parasites until recently. In an article in Parasites & Vectors, researchers of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, have now for the first time confirmed that toltrazuril is ineffective against a Dutch isolate of the parasite. Even though antiparasitic resistance in pig parasites is developing slowly, monitoring of resistance should be intensified due to the lack of alternative treatment options, and increased hygiene measures should be taken to prevent pathogen spread.When newborn piglets suffer from diarrhea, this is frequently caused by the intestinal parasite Cystoisospora suis.

Researchers at the Swedish Medical Nanoscience Center at Karolinska Institutet have developed an innovative way of hacking conducting plastics so as to prevent bacterial growth using silver nanoparticles and a small electrical current. The method, which could prove to be useful in preventing bacterial infections in hospitals, is presented in the scientific journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

Carrying extra weight could raise your risk of heart attack by more than a quarter, even if you are otherwise healthy. Researchers have found that being overweight or obese increases a person’s risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by up to 28 per cent compared to those with a healthy bodyweight, even if they have healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.