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Category: health – Page 3

Examining Chronic Inflammation, Immune Metabolism, and T Cell Dysfunction in HIV Infection

Chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a significant challenge to global public health. Despite advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has transformed HIV infection from a fatal disease into a manageable chronic condition, a definitive cure remains elusive. One of the key features of HIV infection is chronic immune activation and inflammation, which are strongly associated with, and predictive of, HIV disease progression, even in patients successfully treated with suppressive ART. Chronic inflammation is characterized by persistent inflammation, immune cell metabolic dysregulation, and cellular exhaustion and dysfunction.

Gene deficiency that causes obesity also protects from heart disease, finds new study

Deficiency of the gene melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) is linked with obesity among adults. A recent study has found that the same deficiency also leads to surprising outcomes such as reduced risk of heart disease, lower cholesterol, and triglycerides. These results contradict the well-established correlation between obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

The researchers scanned the of 7,719 children from the Genetics of Obesity Study (GOOS) cohort. They identified 316 probands—first person in a family to draw medical attention to a —and 144 adult family members with obesity due to loss-of-function (LoF) MC4R mutations.

Even after adjusting for weight, these individuals showed better blood pressure profiles and when compared to 336,728 controls from the UK Biobank.

AI nutrition study finds ‘five everyday’ may keep the doctor away

In a new study using AI and machine learning, EPFL researchers have found that it’s not only what we eat, but how consistently we eat it that plays a crucial role in gut health.

The gut microbiota is the community of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes, that lives in our digestive systems—some of these microbes are helpful and others can be harmful.

Many previous studies have shown that what we eat has an impact on our gut microbiota. Healthy diets rich in fruit, vegetables, fiber and nuts are strongly associated with increased microbial diversity and better stomach health.

Advancing human leukocyte antigen-based cancer immunotherapy: from personalized to broad-spectrum strategies for genetically heterogeneous populations

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-based immunotherapeutics, such as tebentafusp-tebn and afamitresgene autoleucel, have expanded the treatment options for HLA-A*02-positive patients with rare solid tumors such as uveal melanoma, synovial sarcoma, and myxoid liposarcoma. Unfortunately, many patients of European, Latino/Hispanic, African, Asian, and Native American ancestry who carry non-HLA-A*02 alleles remain largely ineligible for most current HLA-based immunotherapies. This comprehensive review introduces HLA allotype-driven cancer health disparities (HACHD) as an emerging research focus, and examines how past and current HLA-targeted immunotherapeutic strategies may have inadvertently contributed to cancer health disparities. We discuss several preclinical and clinical strategies, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), to address HACHD.

Spiritual experiences in adolescence linked to adult loneliness and civic engagement

University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s School of Nursing, collaborating with Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, reports that adolescents who report transformative religious or spiritual experiences show both greater volunteering and voting in early adulthood alongside elevated loneliness and PTSD.

Large national surveys have linked religious or spiritual involvement with health, yet longitudinal evidence on life-changing experiences remains sparse.

Previous research has associated religious or spiritual involvement with positive health indicators and lower stress, while qualitative and clinical literature has described both self-destabilizing elements and intensified and social connectedness.

Brainwave study sheds light on cause of ‘hearing voices’

A new study led by psychologists from UNSW Sydney has provided the strongest evidence yet that auditory verbal hallucinations—or hearing voices—in schizophrenia may stem from a disruption in the brain’s ability to recognize its own inner voice.

In a paper published today in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin, the researchers say the finding could also be an important step toward finding biological indicators that point to the presence of . This is significant, as there are currently no blood tests, , or lab-based biomarkers—signs in the body that can tell us something about our health—that are uniquely characteristic of schizophrenia.

Professor Thomas Whitford, with the UNSW School of Psychology, has been examining the role of inner speech in the cognition of healthy people and people living with schizophrenia spectrum disorders for some time.

How happy do we need to be to have lower chronic disease mortality risk?

Heart disease, cancer, asthma, and diabetes: All are chronic or non-communicable diseases (NCD), which accounted for about 75% of non-pandemic related deaths in 2021. They may result from genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors, or a combination thereof. But can other factors also influence disease risk?

Now, a new Frontiers in Medicine study has investigated the relationship between and health to find out if happier always means healthier and to determine if happiness and co-occurring health benefits are linear or follow a specific pattern.

“We show that subjective well-being, or happiness, appears to function as a population health asset only once a minimum threshold of approximately 2.7 on the Life Ladder scale is surpassed,” said first author Prof Iulia Iuga, a researcher at 1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia. “Above this tipping point, increased happiness is associated with a decrease in NCD mortality.”

A hidden “backup heater” that helps burn fat and boost metabolism

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered a new way that brown fat, a type of fat that burns energy, can boost the body’s metabolism. This process allows cells to consume more fuel and generate heat, improving overall metabolic health. Conducted in mice, the research points to new possibilities for using brown fat to address metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance and obesity.

The findings were published Sept. 17 in Nature.

Brown fat is unique because it turns energy (calories) from food into heat. Unlike white fat, which stores energy, or muscle, which uses it immediately, brown fat helps keep the body warm in cold environments. Exposure to cold can increase the amount of brown fat, and scientists have long suggested that activating it could support weight loss by increasing calorie burning.

Bacteria Boost Chemotherapy Effectiveness

The microbiome encompasses all the microorganisms and viruses that reside in a particular environment in the body. Recent research on the relationship between the gut microbiome and a person’s health has led to an increased understanding of how specific microbiota can benefit or hinder the immune response in cancer patients and an individual’s response to cancer treatment.

A new publication in Cell Systems highlights the value of understanding the connections between microbiota and cancer therapy. The study demonstrates that a bacterium associated with colorectal cancer can elicit an anti-cancer effect on tumor cells.

The researchers employed a rigorous four-way screening approach to meticulously examine the molecular-level interactions between the host, microbe, drug, and nutrient. This comprehensive screening approach identified a metabolite, 2-methylisocitrate, that was upregulated in human tumor-associated microbiota, providing a solid foundation for the study’s findings.

Chemicals may be hitching a ride on nanoplastics to enter the skin

Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world, and it’s notorious for taking a long time to completely break down in the environment—if it ever does.

But even without breaking down completely, plastic can shed —called nanoplastics because of their extremely small size—that scientists are just now starting to consider in long-term health studies.

One of those scientists is Dr. Wei Xu, an associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology. Xu’s current work is focused on what happens when nanoplastics interact with seawater, where they can pick up some curious hitchhikers in the form of chemicals and organic components.

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