Posts in category: Uncategorized

While evidence has long shown that higher income inequality is associated with poorer population health outcomes, a new study from researchers at the University of Rhode Island College of Health Sciences suggests this association may vary based on other factors. In fact, socioeconomic status as well as geography (rural-urban status) play a role when it comes to life expectancy—but not necessarily in the way you might think.

Like many neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a thief that hacks into human operating systems and corrupts their cognitive hard drives until they can no longer control their movements or perform activities of daily living.

A University of Rhode Island researcher has led a study that confirms a direct link between certain chemicals in drinking water and human obesity—specifically that increased PFAS content in blood promotes weight gain and makes it harder to keep a lower body weight after weight loss.

Studies have shown that consuming alcohol during pregnancy can alter the brain and behavioral development of gestating offspring. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises against maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy and state that there is no known safe level of consumption. What are the consequences, however, of mothers consuming alcohol while breastfeeding?

Diagnostic imaging is indispensable in health care, as it allows clinicians to detect and diagnose a variety of medical conditions. Despite significant advances to imaging technology, however, existing single imaging techniques often fall short of addressing all diagnostic scenarios, which leads to an increased reliance on multiple imaging types and higher health care costs.

New research suggests that having a stronger purpose in life (PiL) may promote cognitive resilience among middle-aged adults. Cognitive resilience refers to the capacity of the brain to cope with stressors, injuries and pathology, and resist the development of symptoms or disabilities. Furthermore, having a purposeful life implies changes in the organization of the brain with one specific brain network, the dorsal Default Mode Network, showing greater functional connections within its components and with other brain areas. This may represent a neuroprotection mechanism that ultimately ensures better cognitive function into old age.

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that gestational obesity associated with infection by Zika virus influences the placenta’s antiviral response, weakening the organ’s capacity to attack the pathogen and protect the fetus.

Quebec scientists have succeeded in isolating infectious particles of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from air samples collected from hospital rooms of COVID-19 patients and kept frozen for more than a year, a new study shows.

Functional movement/conversion disorder (FMD), part of the spectrum of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), is a neuropsychiatric condition marked by a range of neurological symptoms, including tremors, muscular spasms and cognitive difficulties. Despite being the second-most common cause of referrals to neurology outpatient clinics after headache, scientists have struggled to pin down the disorder’s root cause. Female sex and a history of childhood trauma are factors associated with higher risk of developing FMD, but it’s been unclear why.

The skin is an appealing route for drug delivery because it allows drugs to go directly to the site where they’re needed, which could be useful for wound healing, pain relief, or other medical and cosmetic applications. However, delivering drugs through the skin is difficult because the tough outer layer of the skin prevents most small molecules from passing through it.