A minimally invasive treatment that injects allograft disk tissue into the spine to relieve pain associated with degenerative disk disease provides significant improvement in pain and function over a sustained period, according to new research to be presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology Annual Scientific Meeting in Phoenix, March 4–9.
US drugmaker Eli Lilly says slashing insulin prices by 70%
US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced Wednesday it was cutting the cost of its most commonly prescribed insulins by 70 percent after years of soaring prices that hit millions of Americans living with diabetes.
Unique alcohol avoidance program is associated with lower death rates
A statewide alcohol-monitoring program in South Dakota that requires people arrested for drunk driving and other alcohol-involved offenses to be tested frequently for alcohol use can reduce the likelihood that participants die during the years after their involvement with the program, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
How bacteria invade the brain
A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School details the step-by-step cascade that allows bacteria to break through the brain’s protective layers—the meninges—and cause brain infection, or meningitis, a highly fatal disease.
Study reinforces potential use of zika virus to combat prostate cancer but points to possible side-effect
Preclinical trials have shown that zika virus can inhibit the spread of prostate cancer, suggesting its potential use in treating the disease. However, a new study by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo State, Brazil, shows that zika can trigger a persistent inflammatory process in healthy epithelial cells and damage the male reproductive system.
Researchers reveal how oxygen is delivered to tissues, opening the door to a new class of drugs
Cardiovascular medicine, hematology and pulmonary medicine may soon have the first-ever therapies to correct poor tissue oxygenation, a key driver of disease in millions, including peripheral artery disease, sickle cell disease, heart failure, stroke, emphysema and many others.
How gut bacteria can impact treatments for cancer
A large team of cancer researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in Germany, working with a colleague from the U.S., has discovered some of the ways gut bacteria can positively impact treatments for cancer. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group studied the impact of gut microbiota on chemotherapy given to patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Le Li and Florencia McAllister with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, have published a News and Views piece in the same journal issue, outlining the work done by the team in Germany.
Four ways to reduce unwanted iodized table salt reactions when boiling pasta
Iodized salt helps prevent iodine-deficiency disorders, including goiters and certain birth defects. Yet it’s unclear how this seasoning interacts with chloramine-treated drinking water if some of the disinfectant is left behind. Now, researchers in the journal Environmental Science & Technology have demonstrated that cooking pasta in such water with iodized table salt could produce potentially harmful byproducts. But they also report four simple ways that people can reduce or avoid these unwanted compounds.
Chemotherapy alters immune cell landscape in pancreatic cancer
Chemotherapy affects the ability of a patient’s immune system to attack pancreatic tumors, a new study shows.
Long COVID linked to lower brain oxygen levels, cognitive problems and psychiatric symptoms
Long COVID is associated with reduced brain oxygen levels, worse performance on cognitive tests and increased psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, according to new research studying the impacts of the disease.