Older adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) often have coexisting cognitive impairment and frailty, conditions that can significantly affect treatment decisions, recovery, independence and quality of life and should be considered as part of an aging-informed approach to care, according to a new American College of Cardiology Scientific Statement published in JACC, the flagship journal of the ACC.

Researchers from Insilico Medicine, the University of Copenhagen, and international academic partners have identified NDRG1 as a previously unrecognized regulator of DNA damage repair and a potential therapeutic vulnerability in genetically defined cancers. Published in Science Signaling, the study combined AI-assisted transcriptomic analysis, high-content genetic screening, molecular biology, patient survival data, and profiling across more than 130 cancer cell lines. The researchers found that the antimalarial drug quinacrine disrupts the interaction between NDRG1 and VCP, impairing the recruitment of proteins required for effective DNA repair. Colorectal cancer cells carrying mutations in the DNA repair–associated genes MLH1 or PARP3 were particularly sensitive to quinacrine treatment or NDRG1 knockdown, indicating a potential synthetic lethal relationship. Although quinacrine was used as an experimental tool compound, the findings provide a foundation for developing more selective therapies targeting the NDRG1 pathway in cancers with specific DNA repair deficiencies.

George Mason researchers led the largest study to date examining the relationship between the two conditions, with findings suggesting that endometriosis may have health implications beyond the reproductive system.

Chao Zhang, PhD, assistant professor of medicine/computational biomedicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, has received a five-year, $2.2M R35 grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences for his project, “A Deep Learning Framework for Discovering Temporal Changes in Host-Microbiome Interactions.”

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system,” and remains a major global health challenge due to persistent viral reservoirs, despite effective treatments. Key factors include around 40 million people living with HIV, a million new infections each year and permanent viral DNA integration into host cells. Some HIV proviruses hide quietly in cells and escape both medicines and the immune system, creating a permanent viral reservoir that stops patients from being cured.

 

People living with HIV are at higher risk of developing inflammatory diseases of many tissues, including the brain, heart, intestine and immune tissues, even when receiving antiviral treatments that control HIV expression and spread. A new study from researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine suggests that persistent hidden HIV contributes to this inflammation.

Many people living with chronic illness say advice about physical activity can feel overwhelming or create feelings of guilt. According to the researchers, the way healthcare professionals communicate about physical activity may influence whether patients feel more confident about being active and experience it as meaningful.

This is the main message from Alessio Bricca and Søren T. Skou from the University of Southern Denmark and Central and West Zealand Hospital, together with Julie Midtgaard from the University of Copenhagen and the Mental Health Centre Glostrup, in a new JAMA Insight published in JAMA.