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Muscle function typically improves during adolescence and deteriorates with age. Sarcopenia is one such type of muscle weakening, caused primarily by the natural aging process. As compared to other ethnicities, Asians with a relatively low body mass index (BMI) are more likely to develop sarcopenia as they grow older. The condition significantly impacts their quality of life, and thus, it is crucial to have strategies that prevent its onset.

Researchers from Russia and the U.S. have found language impairment in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to be associated with a lower volume of gray matter and greater gyrification in the temporal and frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex. These regions play a critical role in language functioning. Understanding the structural characteristics that underlie behavioral deficits can aid in designing special education programs for children with autism. A paper with the study’s findings has been published in Scientific Reports.

A new study characterizes a bioengineered adeno-associated virus (AAV)3B capsid variant that demonstrates improved transduction to human liver cells. Another advantage of the AAV3B-V04 capsid was its significantly reduced seroreactivity to human serum samples, as reported in the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy.

A dentist inserting a tooth implant must know the exact location of the nerve canal in the patient’s lower jaw to plan the size and position of the implant, along with the overall procedure. This requires X-ray images in which the dentist or radiologist manually specifies the location of the canal point by point. Studying and analyzing these images can be arduous and time-consuming.

A new study has found substantial regional differences in access to transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and patient outcomes between Ontario and New York State. New York residents had improved access to TAVR and improved outcomes compared to Ontario. Statistical modeling also indicated that the same New York residents would have had worse outcomes had they been treated in Ontario. Results are published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

In a new study, an assistant professor in The University of Texas at Arlington’s School of Social Work reports that behavioral health practitioners should more carefully consider sleep health when treating clients struggling with substance misuse.

A team of international scientists led by the Heidelberg University, Medical Faculty Mannheim, and the Newcastle University (Great Britain) has succeeded in decoding a new mechanism of immune cell trafficking by examining vascular diseases. Surprisingly, the fine-tuning of this fundamental immune defense process is carried out by an RNA editing system (ADAR2) in the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels. This knowledge could open up new therapeutic approaches for a large number of inflammatory diseases.

When the heart gets out of rhythm, characteristic processes occur in the heart muscle cells. Among other things, the currents of electrically charged particles (ions) change. In chronic atrial fibrillation, one of these currents is reduced. Dr. Cristina Molina from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) has discovered which protein is responsible for this. This provides a new and, for the first time, targeted target for drug therapies against atrial fibrillation.

A new clinical study of adults with moderate joint health issues demonstrated that a novel iminosugar-containing dietary supplement ingredient, marketed as Q-actin , improved joint function and mobility significantly better than a placebo. The results were published in the February issue of Current Rheumatology Reviews.

Typically T cells of the immune system respond to a specific feature (antigen) of a microbe, thereby generating protective immunity. As reported in the journal Immunity, an international team of scientists have discovered an exception to this rule. Namely, a group of divergent bacterial pathogens, including pneumococci, all share a small highly conserved protein sequence, which is both presented and recognized by human T cells in a conserved population-wide manner.