In an effort to stem the death toll from opioid overdose, United States public health officials have promoted the prescription and use of medications like buprenorphine that blunt the effects of illicit opioids such as fentanyl. However, what happens when patients on these medications require surgery and anesthesia?

A multinational collaboration at Eitri medical innovation center in Bergen, Norway, has used machine learning models to identify patient groups at risk of being mistreated at the ER. 

An international research team, led by Shinghua Ding at the University of Missouri, has identified a previously unknown genetic disease that affects movement and muscle control.

The disease — called Mutation in NAMPT Axonopathy (MINA) syndrome — causes damage to motor neurons, the nerve cells that send signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscles. It’s the result of a rare genetic mutation in a critical protein known as NAMPT, which helps the body’s cells make and use energy. When this protein doesn’t work as it should, cells can’t produce enough energy to stay healthy.