Category Health/Medical

This image, captured with a high-powered confocal laser microscope, shows pain-sensing neurons in the skin of a larval fruit fly. Credit: Stephanie E. Mauthner

Indiana Uni researchers have that found a suite of genes in both fruit flies and humans – including one dubbed “smoke alarm” – plays a role in nerve sensitivity. The study could help lead to new drug targets in pain management. “Our study is the first to thoroughly assess the function of a large set of genes expressed at high levels in nociceptive neurons, the nerves responsible for the sensation of pain in humans,” Tracey said. “It represents a significant step forward in the field of nociception and pain research.”

A total of 36 genes were identified as having a role in either hypersensitivity or lack of sensation to stimuli, 20 o...

Proposed mechanism of skeletal muscle mitochondria involvement in sarcopenia

Muscle wastage and loss of strength, ie sarcopenia causes loss of quality of life. At about 55 years old, people begin to lose muscle mass, this loss continues into old age, at which point it becomes critical. The underlying causes of sarcopenia are unknown and thus no treatment is available for this condition. A study has discovered that Mitofusin 2 is required to preserve healthy muscles in mice. This protein could serve as a therapeutic target to ameliorate sarcopenia in the elderly.

They demonstrate that low activity of this protein in 24-month old mice (equivalent of a person aged 80) is directly associated with muscle wastage and sarcopenia observed...

Highlights •Dietary fiber with vitamin A increases the potency of tolerogenic CD103+ DCs •High-fiber diet protects mice against peanut allergy via gut microbiota and SCFA •High-fiber effects rely on epithelial GPR43 and immune cell GPR109a •Dietary fiber promotes TFH and IgA responses

The development of food allergies in mice can be linked to what their gut bacteria are being fed. Rodents that received a diet with average calories, sugar, and fiber content from birth were shown to have more severe peanut allergies than those that received a high-fiber diet. The researchers show that gut bacteria release a specific fatty acid in response to fiber intake, which eventually impacts allergic responses via changes to the immune system.

“We felt that the increased incidence of food allerg...

Defective neuronal insulin sensitivity in PLB4 mice. (a) Simplified schematic showing insulin signalling. (b) Representative immunoblots of insulin-related markers in brain lysates from 8-month-old PLB4 and WT mice and (c) quantification of their relative expression. White bars, WT mice; black bars, PLB4 mice. Data are means + SEM normalised to WT values. *p < 0.05

Drugs used to treat diabetes could also be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, and vice versa, according to new research from the University of Aberdeen. This is also the first study of its kind to show that Alzheimer’s disease can lead to diabetes, as opposed to diabetes occurring first as was previously thought...