In a recent study published in Emerging Infectious Diseasesresearchers reported on the clinical and molecular characteristics of monkeypox (MPX) virus (MPXV) infections in Finland. Study: Intrahost Monkeypox Virus Genome Variation in Patient with Early Infection, Finland, 2022. Image Credit: ART-ur/Shutterstock Background Ever since 2022, an unprecedented MPXV outbreak has been observed across the globe, with … Read more
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are reporting the most comprehensive study to date describing the variations in drug response across different genetic subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The findings provide a blueprint for precision medicine to further individualize therapy. The study was published today in Nature Medicine. ALL, a cancer of lymphocytes … Read more
Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, McGill University and other institutions have found that a well-concealed genetic variation in the gene FGF14, called a DNA tandem repeat expansion, causes a common form of late-onset cerebellar ataxia, a brain disorder that interferes with coordinated movement. Tandem repeat expansions are only found in … Read more
Dementia encompasses a range of neurodegenerative conditions that lead to memory loss and cognitive deficiencies and affect some 55 million people worldwide. Yet despite its prevalence, there are few effective treatments, in part because scientists still don’t understand how exactly dementia arises on a cellular and molecular level. Now, a team led by scientists at … Read more
Two new studies from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis support development of a broadly applicable treatment for neurodegenerative diseases that targets a molecule that serves as the central executioner in the death of axons, the wiring of the nervous system. Blocking this molecular executioner prevents axon loss, which has been implicated in … Read more
A new study may have solved a mystery surrounding Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease in which immune defenses meant to attack invading microbes instead mistakenly target the body’s own digestive tract. Norovirus, a common infection that causes vomiting and diarrhea, is one of several viruses and bacteria thought to trigger disease onset … Read more
Calorie restriction has long been associated with reduced seizures in epilepsy. New research from Boston Children’s Hospital helps explain how fasting affects neurons in the brain and could lead the way to new approaches that would avoid the need for fasting or restrictive diets. The findings were published August 30 in the journal Cell Reports. … Read more
Genetic mutations which cause a debilitating hereditary kidney disease affecting children and young adults have been fixed in patient-derived kidney cells using a potentially game-changing DNA repair-kit. The advance developed by University of Bristol scientists is published in Nucleic Acids Research. In this new study, the international team describe how they created a DNA repair … Read more