Online data mining adds to the picture of vaping-related lung disease
Severe lung disease related to vaping has been surging across the U.S., with the eighth death confirmed last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A brief report in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that online data-mining tools can supplement traditional public health surveillance and help officials stay ahead of this sudden epidemic. ... Read More about Online data mining adds to the picture of vaping-related lung disease
Targeting a rogue T cell prevents and reverses multiple sclerosis in mice
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease affecting both adults and children. It’s driven by “helper” T cells, white blood cells that mount an inflammatory attack on the brain and spinal cord, degrading the protective myelin sheath that covers nerve fibers. But there are many different kinds of T helper cells, and up until now, no ... Read More about Targeting a rogue T cell prevents and reverses multiple sclerosis in mice
An advance for drug-eluting contact lenses: Delivery to the back of the eye
Drug-eluting contact lenses, which gradually release drugs into the eye, offer a promising alternative to daily eye drops, which can be unpleasant and hard for patients to properly administer. In a 2016 pre-clinical study of glaucoma, the engineered lenses lowered eye pressure at least as well as daily eye drops. New work from Massachusetts Eye ... Read More about An advance for drug-eluting contact lenses: Delivery to the back of the eye
Babies’ EEG patterns predict whether they will develop autism
Signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically start to become apparent only in a child’s second year of life or later, but earlier identification could allow children to receive interventions as babies, when they have greater brain plasticity and thus may receive more benefit. A new study in Nature Communications finds that periodic EEGs in ... Read More about Babies’ EEG patterns predict whether they will develop autism
Meet BORIS: A new culprit in drug-resistant cancer?
Like a Russian bot corrupting U.S. elections, or a new prime minister wreaking havoc in the U.K., a protein named BORIS is showing itself to be a malevolent player in some childhood cancers. New research fingers BORIS as a culprit that can hack the neuroblastoma genome, rousing the cancer cells from dormancy after certain types ... Read More about Meet BORIS: A new culprit in drug-resistant cancer?
How breast cancer uses exosomes to metastasize to the brain
Metastasizing breast cancers typically seek out the bones, lung, and brain. Brain metastases are especially dangerous; many women survive for less than a year after diagnosis. How is the cancer able to get past the blood brain barrier? And can it be blocked? Those questions led PhD candidate Golnaz Morad, DDS, and her mentor Marsha ... Read More about How breast cancer uses exosomes to metastasize to the brain
How new loops in DNA packaging help us make diverse antibodies
Diversity is good, especially when it comes to antibodies. It’s long been known that a gene assembly process called V(D)J recombination allows our immune system to mix and match bits of genetic code, generating new antibodies to conquer newly encountered threats. But how these gene segments come together to be spliced has been a mystery. ... Read More about How new loops in DNA packaging help us make diverse antibodies
In high-risk neuroblastoma, two stem cell transplants may be better than one
Since the early 1990s, chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant has been the standard of care for high-risk neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that starts in nerve cells outside the brain, especially in the tissues of the adrenal glands, and sometimes the neck, chest, or pelvis. Before children receive chemotherapy to destroy the neuroblastoma, ... Read More about In high-risk neuroblastoma, two stem cell transplants may be better than one
Pioneering microbiome findings shed light on aspiration
When children have respiratory infections, clinicians tend to blame gastroesophageal reflux, based on the assumption that bacteria-laden stomach contents rise into the mouth and are then aspirated. As a result, clinicians often recommend a type of anti-reflux surgery called fundoplication to treat these infections. Yet, despite undergoing this procedure, many patients don’t improve. A new ... Read More about Pioneering microbiome findings shed light on aspiration
New insights on medulloblastoma from single-cell sequencing
Medulloblastoma, a malignant tumor in the cerebellum, is one of the most common malignant brain cancers in children. Survival rates range from 20 to 90 percent, depending on the genetic subtype. There are at least four: WNT and Sonic Hedgehog (named for the signaling pathways that drive them), Group 3, and Group 4. Group 3 ... Read More about New insights on medulloblastoma from single-cell sequencing