What is the role of human decision-making regarding health care in an AI–driven future?

Australian researchers have established a set of protocols for a research project in JMIR Research Protocols that aims to explore whether humans will continue in meaningful decision-making roles in an AI-driven future. The researchers, Dr. Nandini Doreswamy and Dr. Louise Horstmanshof from Southern Cross University, found that there is a dearth of guidance in establishing whole sets of protocols for methods used in complex health research.

Alcohol abuse and anxiety sensitivity are linked in different but mutually reinforcing ways, finds study

Anxiety sensitivity—the fear of anxiety-related sensations—has a long and not very healthy relationship with alcohol use and abuse. People who display high levels of AS are more likely to drink heavily and use alcohol as a coping method or to reduce tensions. For young adults, who drink the most, high AS can put them at risk for drinking to cope, which poses risks for long-term consequences on their personal and professional lives, including underemployment and addiction.

Study suggests that patients with baclofen pumps may safely undergo transcutaneous spinal stimulation

Researchers from Kessler Foundation and Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation (collectively termed “Kessler”) have conducted the first prospective study to assess whether transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS) interacts with implanted intrathecal baclofen (ITB) pump delivery systems for managing spasticity. Their article, “Transcutaneous spinal stimulation in patients with intrathecal baclofen pump delivery system: A preliminary safety study,” was published December 21, 2022, in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Non-canonical proteins as candidate targets for cancer immunotherapy

Recently published in Clinical Cancer Research, a study led by Alena Gros, Principal Investigator of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology’s Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Group, tested more than 500 peptides (amino acid sequences) derived from non-canonical proteins as candidate tumor antigens that could be recognized by T-cells that activate an immune response in patients.