Category Health/Medical

New research led by University of Limerick in Ireland has revealed a direct link between fatty tissue and Crohn’s disease. The study, carried out by researchers at UL along with a team from University Hospital Limerick, is suggesting for the first time that Crohn’s disease, which is an inflammatory bowel condition, may in fact be a fatty intestine condition.

The research, published in leading journal Scientific Reports, has been described as “an exciting starting point” for the further exploration of Crohn’s disease, which affects thousands of people every year in Ireland and internationally.

The study involved body composition analysis of patients with Crohn’s disease using equipment hosted on the UL campus, with the UL team collaborating with gastroenterology and surgical spec...

Patients with psoriasis have reported that glycerin, an inexpensive, harmless, slightly sweet liquid high on the list of ingredients in many skin lotions, is effective at combatting their psoriasis and now scientists have objective evidence to support their reports.

They found that whether applied topically or ingested in drinking water, glycerin, or glycerol, helps calm the classic scaly, red, raised and itchy patches in their psoriasis model, Dr. Wendy Bollag, cell physiologist and skin researcher at the Medical College of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and her colleagues report in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

The studies also provide more evidence of the different ways glycerin enables the healthy maturation of skin cells through four stages...

Two thirds of patients found relief; benefits lasted one year. Rethinking what causes pain and how great of a threat it is can provide chronic pain patients with lasting relief and alter brain networks associated with pain processing, according to new University of Colorado Boulder-led research.

The study, published Sept. 29 in JAMA Psychiatry, found that two-thirds of chronic back pain patients who underwent a four-week psychological treatment called Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) were pain-free or nearly pain-free post-treatment. And most maintained relief for one year.

The findings provide some of the strongest evidence yet that a psychological treatment can provide potent and durable relief for chronic pain, which afflicts one in five Americans.

“For a long time we have ...

Classic antidepressants could help improve modern cancer treatments. They slowed the growth of pancreatic and colon cancers in mice, and when combined with immunotherapy, they even stopped the cancer growth long-term. In some cases the tumors disappeared completely, researchers at UZH and USZ have found. Their findings will now be tested in human clinical trials.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is also known as the happiness hormone because of its beneficial effects on mood. In depressed people, the concentration of serotonin in the brain is reduced. The hormone also influences many other functions throughout the body...