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Genetic test helps with sepsis diagnosis

Genetic test helps with sepsis diagnosis

Sepsis is a life threatening condition that requires immediate treatment with antibiotics. However, the accompanying clinical presentation may also occur with other causes, leading to a possible delay in diagnosis and treatment. The expression pattern of eleven genes may help to distinguish between these conditions more efficiently, scientists of the Stanford University Medical School, California, write in Science. Continue reading

Measles vaccine: additional protection against other infections?

Measles vaccine: additional protection against other infections?

Vaccination against measles has led to a worldwide reduction of child death. However, the observed decrease cannot entirely be explained by elimination of the measles virus. Scientists from the Princeton University in New York and the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam presume that the measles vaccine prevents weakening of the immune system after a measles infection, as was published in Science. Continue reading

3D tumour model predicts effectiveness cancer therapy

3D tumour model predicts effectiveness cancer therapy

Scientists of the Hubrecht Institute, part of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW), and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a British research centre for genetics, have developed a 3D model for colon cancer. According to their publication in Cell, the model mimics the original tumour so accurately, it can predict which cancer therapy will work in the patient. Continue reading

Deep brain stimulation therapy for depression

Deep brain stimulation therapy for depression

What deep brain stimulation can accomplish, has become apparent in the treatment of Parkinson patients. As soon as the electrode in the brain is switched on, all involuntary movements disappear immediately. According to some scientists, the same therapy applied to another part of the brain could be effective in people suffering from depression. Scientists of the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC) presume to have found the right spot in the cortex. These findings were published in Translational Psychiatry. Continue reading

HIV-infected men are more sensitive to effects of alcohol

HIV-infected men are more sensitive to effects of alcohol

American researchers of the Yale University School of Medicine and the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion in Pittsburgh have discovered that men with HIV need fewer drinks to experience the effects of alcohol than uninfected men. Their research was recently published in AIDS and Behavior. Continue reading

Genetic variants influence placebo effect

Genetic variants influence placebo effect

The placebo effect has puzzled scientists for years. Why do patients experience a temporary relief in symptoms without the administration of biologically active substances? According to scientists of the Harvard Medical School in Boston the susceptibility to placebos may be partly based on specific genetic variants. These results were published in a review in Trends in Molecular Medicine. Continue reading

Smartphone device for cancer diagnostics

Smartphone device for cancer diagnostics

Identifying cancerous tissues with your smartphone will soon be possible, according to scientists of the Massachusetts General Hospital. They developed a device that can be connected to smartphones enabling the analysis of blood and tissue samples. This is especially convenient for doctors in remote areas who have no access to laboratory facilities, the investigators write in PNAS Early Edition. Continue reading

Mother’s gene influences bacteria in the gut of her child

Mother’s gene influences bacteria in the gut of her child

The gene fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2), which is not active in all mothers, is responsible for the production of certain sugars in breast milk, Californian scientists have discovered. These sugars are not digested by the child but serve as nutrition for bacteria that colonise the gut. In this manner, the composition of breast milk has effect on the gut microbiota, according to an article published in Microbiome. Continue reading

Personalised melanoma vaccine yields promising results

Personalised melanoma vaccine yields promising results

In advanced melanoma patients who do not benefit from existing therapies, personalised anti-cancer vaccines may help in the future. The first test of individual immunotherapie in three melanoma patients achieved good results. The American scientists measured an increase in number and diversity of cancer-fighting T cells, the publication in Science Express shows. Continue reading

Music performance influences gene expression of professional musicians

Music performance influences gene expression of professional musicians

After a concert, professional musicians have a different expression of more than seventy genes. That is written by researchers of the University of Helsinki in an article, recently published in Nature Scientific Reports. Also, the authors identify several genes that are involved in song perception and production in songbirds. Mapping gene expression during music performance could shed more light on the molecular development of neurological diseases. Continue reading

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