Preclinical research from McGill University suggests that nerve injuries may lead to long-lasting changes in the immune system, and these effects appear to differ between males and females.

Nerve damage is relatively common and can result from stretching, pressure, or cuts. These injuries often cause lasting problems, including chronic pain. While the immune system usually plays a role in healing damaged tissue, new findings indicate that nerve injuries can interfere with immune activity throughout the entire body.

Blood samples taken from mice showed signs of widespread inflammation following nerve injury. Researchers were surprised to find that male and female mice responded in very different ways.

Obesity is a global epidemic and a major cause of morbidity and mortality because it increases the risk for comorbidities, including heart disease and fatty liver disease (MASLD). Rates of these disorders have risen as the world increasingly adopts energy-dense diets and sedentary lifestyles.

Nitric oxide is a gas molecule with pleiotropic actions in the body. These effects of nitric oxide are carried out through its binding to proteins. Too much or too little nitric oxide binding (to key proteins) causes disease.

In a study published in Science Signaling, a research team from University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University discovered a novel enzyme (SCoR2) that removes nitric oxide from proteins controlling fat build up. Removal of nitric oxide turned on fat synthesis, establishing that SCoR2 is needed to make fat.

Current cardiac screening tools used to prevent myocardial infarction (MI) failed to identify nearly half of people who are at risk for MI, according to a new study. Those patients had low or borderline risk as per both standard and newer risk calculators for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Most developed symptoms within 48 hours before the event, and many would not have been recommended statins or further testing if evaluated 2 days earlier.

Nearly half of adults with a first myocardial infarction show low or borderline risk on current risk estimators. Most develop symptoms only within 48 hours and would not qualify for statins earlier.

Two modeling studies suggest that making more people eligible for lung cancer screening would prevent tens of thousands of deaths in the US each year — but at what cost?

Two new modeling studies suggest that expanding lung cancer screening — to include more smokers or even lifelong nonsmokers — would save thousands more lives in the US every year. But not everyone is convinced the projected benefits would outweigh the harms.

In one study, published in JAMA, researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) found that only about 19% of currently eligible Americans underwent lung cancer screening in 2024.

That, the study projected, could translate to roughly 15,000 lung cancer deaths averted over 5 years. But 100% screening uptake would save three times as many lives.