Category Health/Medical

The superior fascicle of the anterior talofibular ligament (1) is an intra-articular non-isometric structure, that is, it relaxes when the foot is on dorsal flexion and it stresses when in plantar flexion. The interior fascicle of the anterior talofibular ligament (2), together with the calcaneofibular ligament (3) and arciform fibbers that unify them, create the new lateral fibulotalocalcanean complex. This is an extra-articular and isometric structure, that is, it is always tense and stabilizes the ankle in any foot position. Credit: University of Barcelona

Researchers describe a new ligament in the lateral side of the ankle. The ligament complex would explain chronic pain after an ankle sprain...

Summary of the pathways impacted by chronic BP3 treatment in liver and WAT in obese mouse models. BP3 enhances FGF/FGFR signaling and downstream activation of Akt and IL6/Stat3 that lead to the inhibition of gluconeogenesis, through Ppargc1a/G6pc downregulation. The parallel activation of Akt and Stat3 results in an inhibition of Ppargc1b and/or Srebf1, key regulators of downstream lipogenic enzymes, thus leading to the inhibition of de novo lipogenesis and TG synthesis.

To the great surprise of cancer researchers, a protein they investigated for its possible role in cancer turned out to be a powerful regulator of metabolism...

The cerebellum, once thought to be limited to controlling movement, is involved in every aspect of higher brain function, according to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Cerebellum checks and corrects thoughts, movement. The cerebellum, once thought to be limited to controlling movement, is involved in every aspect of higher brain function, according to a new study. – not just movement, but attention, thinking, planning and decision-making. “The biggest surprise to me was the discovery that 80 percent of the cerebellum is devoted to the smart stuff,” said senior author Nico Dosenbach, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology, of occupational therapy and of pediatrics. “Everyone thought the cerebellum was about movement...

Biomedical engineering assistant professor Hyun Jung Kim with the gut-on-a-chip. Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Once the gut barrier has been damaged, probiotics can be harmful just like any other bacteria. The first study investigating the mechanism of how a disease develops using human organ-on-a-chip technology has been successfully completed by engineers at The University of Texas at Austin.

Researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering were able to shed light on a part of the human body – the digestive system – where many questions remain unanswered. Using their “gut inflammation-on-a-chip” microphysiological system, the research team confirmed that intestinal barrier disruption is the onset initiator of gut inflammation.

The study also include...