Category Health/Medical

A team of scientists identified a molecule that may reduce stroke-induced brain damage. Credit: Image courtesy of the NINDS

Multi-step screening process leads to molecule that may protect brain cells. In the fight against brain damage caused by stroke, researchers have turned to an unlikely source of inspiration: hibernating ground squirrels. While the animals’ brains experience dramatically reduced blood flow during hibernation, just like human patients after a certain type of stroke, the squirrels emerge from their extended naps suffering no ill effects. Now a potential drug could grant the same resilience to the brains of ischemic stroke patients by mimicking the cellular changes that protect the brains of those animals.

“For decades scientists have been searching for an effective brain...

Clinical Evidence Supports a Protective Role for CXCL5 in Coronary Artery Disease. The American Journal of Pathology, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2017.08.006

Research showed much lower levels of the protein CXCL5 in older people with clogged arteries. The buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries is an unfortunate part of aging. But by studying the genetic makeup of people who maintain clear arteries into old age, researchers led by UNC’s Jonathan Schisler, PhD, have identified a possible genetic basis for coronary artery disease (CAD), as well as potential new opportunities to prevent it.

According to research published in the American Journal of Pathology, the protein CXCL5 is found in much higher levels in older adults with much clearer heart arteries...

The artificial cartilage is very flexible yet resistant to tearing. Credit: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering

The unparalleled liquid strength of cartilage, which is about 80% water, withstands some of the toughest forces on our bodies. Synthetic materials couldn’t match it – until “Kevlartilage” was developed by researchers at the University of Michigan and Jiangnan University. “We know that we consist mostly of water – all life does – and yet our bodies have a lot of structural stability,” said Nicholas Kotov, the Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Engineering at U-M, who led the study. “Understanding cartilage is understanding how life forms can combine properties that are sometimes unthinkable together.”

Many people with joint injuries would benefit from a good replacement for ...

Pistachios are among the nuts the improve brain function. Credit: Loma Linda University Health

A new study has found that eating nuts on a regular basis strengthens brainwave frequencies associated with cognition, healing, learning, memory and other key brain functions. In the study titled “Nuts and brain: Effects of eating nuts on changing electroencephalograph brainwaves,” researchers found that some nuts stimulated some brain frequencies more than others.  Some nuts stimulated some brain frequencies more than others. Pistachios, for instance, produced the greatest gamma wave response, which is critical for enhancing cognitive processing, information retention, learning, perception and REM sleep...