Category Health/Medical

Platelets Exacerbate Immune Response

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Platelets (green) contribute to the activation of inflammasomes in human macrophages (red; nuclei: blue) and thus to an increased IL-1 production. © artistic representation (based on microscopic images): B. Franklin / L. Ribeiro/UKB

Platelets not only play a key role in blood clotting, but can also significantly intensify inflammatory processes. This is shown by a new study carried out by scientists from the University of Bonn together with colleagues from Sao Paulo (Brazil). In the medium term, the results could open up new ways to treat autoimmune diseases. They have now been published in the journal Cell Reports.

For a long time, the role of platelets appeared to be clear: in the event of an injury, they adhere to the wound and stick to each other to rapidly stop the bleeding...

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Imaging reveals Bowel Abnormalities in Patients with COVID-19

Coronal CT of the abdomen and pelvis with IV contrast in a 47-year-old man with abdominal tenderness demonstrates typical findings of mesenteric ischemia and infarction, including pneumatosis intestinalis (arrow) and non-enhancing bowel (*). Frank discontinuity of a thickened loop of small bowel in the pelvis (thin arrow) is in keeping with perforation.

Patients with COVID-19 can have bowel abnormalities, including ischemia, according to a new study published recently in the journal Radiology.

Several studies have evaluated the chest imaging findings in COVID-19, which helped improve understanding of how the disease affects the lungs. More recently, reports have documented that gastrointestinal symptoms, liver injury, and vascular findings are common in these patients...

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Bat ‘Super Immunity’ may explain how Bats Carry Coronaviruses, study finds

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USask student Arinjay Banerjee (right) and professor Vikram Misra (left) posing with a bat finger puppet. (Photo: David Stobbe)

Bat-virus adaptation may explain species spillover, researchers say. A University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team has uncovered how bats can carry the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus without getting sick — research that could shed light on how coronaviruses make the jump to humans and other animals.

Coronaviruses such as MERS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and more recently the COVID19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus, are thought to have originated in bats. While these viruses can cause serious and often fatal disease in people, for reasons not previously well understood, bats seem unharmed.

“The bats don’t get rid of the v...

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More Berries, Apples and Tea may have protective benefits against Alzheimer’s

Photo of strawberries, rasberries, blackberries, and blueberries

Study shows low intake of flavonoid-rich foods linked with higher Alzheimer’s risk over 20 years. Older adults who consumed small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods, such as berries, apples and tea, were two to four times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias over 20 years compared with people whose intake was higher, according to a new study led by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University.

The epidemiological study of 2,800 people aged 50 and older examined the long-term relationship between eating foods containing flavonoids and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD)...

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