Category Biology/Biotechnology

Fibromyalgia likely the result of Autoimmune Problems

Passive transfer of fibromyalgia symptoms from patients to miceJournal of Clinical Investigation, 2021; 131 (13) DOI: 10.1172/JCI144201

New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in collaboration with the University of Liverpool and the Karolinska Institute, has shown that many of the symptoms in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are caused by antibodies that increase the activity of pain-sensing nerves throughout the body.

The results show that fibromyalgia is a disease of the immune system, rather than the currently held view that it originates in the brain.

The study, published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that the increased pain sensitivity, muscle weakness, reduced movement, and reduc...

Read More

Newly Discovered Proteins Protect against Progression of Diabetic Kidney Disease

The cumulative incidence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) according to index of protection of three proteins, Index=0/3 indicates no protection whereas Index=3/3 indicates full protection
The cumulative incidence of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) according to index of protection of three proteins, Index=0/3 indicates no protection whereas Index=3/3 indicates full protection

Elevated levels of three specific circulating proteins are associated with protection against kidney failure in diabetes, according to research from the Joslin Diabetes Center that will be published 30th June in Science Translational Medicine.

“As well as acting as biomarkers for advancing kidney disease risk in diabetes, the proteins may also serve as the basis for future therapies against progression to the most serious types of kidney disease,” said Andrzej S. Krolewski MD, Ph.D...

Read More

Sweat-proof ‘Smart Skin’ takes reliable Vitals, even during Workouts and Spicy Meals

Sweat-proof 'smart skin' takes reliable vitals, even during workouts and spicy meals
Engineers have developed a sweat-proof “electronic skin” — a conformable, sensor-embedded sticky patch that reliably monitors a person’s health, even when a wearer is perspiring. Credit: Jeehwan Kim, Hanwool Yeon, et al

MIT engineers and researchers in South Korea have developed a sweat-proof “electronic skin”—a conformable, sensor-embedded sticky patch that monitors a person’s health without malfunctioning or peeling away, even when a wearer is perspiring.

The patch is patterned with artificial sweat ducts, similar to pores in human skin, that the researchers etched through the material’s ultrathin layers. The pores perforate the patch in a kirigami-like pattern, similar to that of the Japanese paper-cutting art...

Read More

A Promising New Pathway to treating Type2 Diabetes

According to the Centers for Disease Control, diabetes affects 34.2 million Americans. An additional 88 million people over the age of 18 are prediabetic, or at risk of developing diabetes.

Researchers believe the liver may hold the key to new, preventative Type 2 diabetes treatments. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a scientific breakthrough that transformed Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, from a terminal disease into a manageable condition.

Today, Type 2 diabetes is 24 times more prevalent than Type 1...

Read More