Category Biology/Biotechnology

Forgetting the name of a loved one may be one of the first signs people notice of dementia, but it’s rarely the first warning sign your brain gives. Changes in the brain that lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia start showing up decades before symptoms arrive, and the chemicals at work inside the body can often tip us off to these changes well ahead of time.

A recent study found that a blood protein called GDF15, which is released when cells are under stress, could serve as one of the earliest warning signs of dementia. After tracking more than half a million people for 15–25 years, researchers discovered that those with higher GDF15 levels before age 55 were significantly more likely to develop dementia later in life...

Almost everyone will deal with back pain at some point in their lives. Most recover quickly—but for about 20% of people, acute pain becomes a chronic condition that interferes with daily life and keeps them out of the workforce.

Low back pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, and more money is spent managing it in the United States than any other health condition. Despite that, the most effective way to prevent a short-term episode from becoming a long-term problem has not been clear—especially for people who are most at risk.

“Chronic low back pain prevention is a public health issue,” said Michael Schneider, D.C., Ph.D...

Eating your greens could be the secret to breathing easier, with a new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU) revealing that people who eat more vitamin K1-rich foods such as leafy green vegetables may lower their risk of chronic lung disease. The paper is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers from ECU’s Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute looked at the two main forms of vitamin K in our diet: K1, found in foods like spinach, kale and broccoli, and K2, found in meat, eggs and dairy.

They discovered that those who ate the most vitamin K1 were less likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Almost half a million Australians have COPD, a life-threatening, worsening lung condition that makes it hard to breathe.

University of Louisville researchers have discovered how a naturally occurring microbial compound may help protect the gut and support future treatment strategies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

IBD, which includes conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affects millions of people worldwide. The disease is characterized by chronic inflammation and damage to the intestinal lining. A healthy gut barrier helps keep harmful bacteria from leaking out of the intestines while allowing nutrients to enter the body. In people with IBD, that barrier becomes weakened, leading to inflammation, pain and long-term complications.

A research team led by Venkatakrishna Rao Jala, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and UofL’s Brown Cancer C...