Category Health/Medical

A novel substance inhibits the pain effectively and is well tolerated. (Picture: Center of Dental Medicine; UZH)

Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by sharp, lancinating pain in the teeth or facial area. The standard treatment for this chronic nerve pain can cause burdening side effects. A novel substance inhibits the pain effectively and is well tolerated, as documented by the initial results of an international study involving the Center of Dental Medicine at the University of Zurich.

Trigeminal neuralgia pain bouts are triggered by touch, such as shaving, putting on make-up, showering, talking and tooth brushing, or even a gust of wind...

The fungus Pichia, a type of yeast, is linked to kids’ likelihood of developing asthma, new research shows.

University of British Columbia microbiologists have found a yeast in the gut of new babies in Ecuador that appears to be a strong predictor that they will develop asthma in childhood. The new research furthers our understanding of the role microscopic organisms play in our overall health. “Children with this type of yeast called Pichia were much more at risk of asthma,” said Brett Finlay, a microbiologist at UBC. “This is the first time anyone has shown any kind of association between yeast and asthma.”

In previous research, Finlay and his colleagues identified 4 gut bacteria in Canadian children that, if present in the first 100 days of life, seem to prevent asthma...

dATF4 regulation of mitochondrial folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism is neuroprotective. Cell Death and Differentiation, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/cdd.2016.158

A genetic ‘switch’ has been discovered by MRC researchers at the University of Leicester which could help to prevent or delay the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The team discovered that a gene called ATF4 plays a key role in Parkinson’s disease, acting as a ‘switch’ for genes that control mitochondrial metabolism for neuron health. Dr Miguel Martins from the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester explained: “When the expression of ATF4 is reduced in flies, expression of these mitochondrial genes drops. This drop results in dramatic locomotor defects, decreased lifespan, and dysfunctional mitochondria in the brain.”

“Intere...

Raw image data collected from dGEMRIC MRI protocol at an inversion time of 1600 milliseconds (left). The T1 map computed from seven different inversion times using the automated, real-time, quantitative magnetic resonance imaging pipeline (right). Credit: Image courtesy of University of Texas at Austin, Texas Advanced Computing Center

A new, automated platform that returns in-depth analyses of MRI scans in minutes, rather than hours or days has been developed by Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) and Philips Healthcare. The system has the potential to minimize patient callbacks, save millions annually, and advance precision medicine.

The team presented a proof-of-concept demonstration of the platform at the International Conference on ...