News by Subject Medicine & Health

A novel mathematical approach has uncovered that some animal cells have robust 12-hour cycles of genetic activity, in addition to circadian or 24-hour cycles.

Scientists from the UNC School of Medicine discovered that the anti-inflammatory protein NLRP12 normally helps protect mice against obesity and insulin resistance when they are fed a high-fat diet. The researchers also reported that the NLRP12 gene is underactive in people who are obese, making it a potential therapeutic target for treating obesity and diabetes, both of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and other serious conditions.

Type 2 diabetes has been linked with an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction and dementia, but the underlying mechanisms are uncertain. In a new Diabetic Medicine study, imaging tests revealed that changes in white matter regions of the brain that are indicative of small vessel disease are associated with decreased processing speed (the the time it takes a person to do a mental task) in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Vitamin D is already well known for its benefits in building healthy bones. A new study supports the idea that it also may reduce cancer risk as well as breast cancer mortality, especially in women with a lower body mass index. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

New research from University of Sydney has found home-based video-game exercises can reduce chronic low back pain in older people by 27 percent, which is comparable to benefits gained under programs supervised by a physiotherapist.

Scientists continue to unravel links between body weight and the gut microbiome. Now, researchers from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) report an unexpected finding: mice fed a fatty diet and mannose, a sugar, were protected from weight gain -- and this effect tracked with changes in the gut microbiome. The study published today in Cell Reports.

The new system did not minimize pre-transplant dialysis exposure for patients who were not waitlisted preemptively.