A two-week course of high doses of CBD helps restore the function of two proteins key to reducing the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, and improves cognition in an experimental model of early onset familial Alzheimer’s, investigators report. The proteins TREM2 and IL-33 are important to the ability of the brain’s […]
Solving mystery of rare cancers directly caused by HIV
For nearly a decade, scientists have known that HIV integrates itself into genes in cells that have the potential to cause cancer. And when this happens in animals with other retroviruses, those animals often develop cancer. But, perplexingly and fortunately, that isn’t regularly happening in people living with HIV. A team led by University of […]
Beetroot juice may provide benefits to heart disease patients
A new study finds that dietary nitrate — a compound that dilates blood vessels to decrease blood pressure — may reduce overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system that occurs with heart disease. The research team looked specifically at beetroot juice, a source of dietary nitrate, to explore its use as a future targeted treatment option […]
Excessive fructose consumption may cause a leaky gut, leading to fatty liver disease
Excessive consumption of fructose — a sweetener ubiquitous in the American diet — can result in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is comparably abundant in the United States. But contrary to previous understanding, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that fructose only adversely affects the liver after it reaches […]
Fungi that live in the gut influence health and disease
Bacteria’s role in gut health has received a lot of attention in recent years. But new research led by scientists at University of Utah Health shows that fungi — another microorganism that lives within us — may be equally important in health and disease. Fungi thrive in the healthy gut, but they can also cause […]
Being clean and hygienic need not impair childhood immunity
The theory that modern society is too clean, leading to defective immune systems in children, should be swept under the rug, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. In medicine, the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ states that early childhood exposure to particular microorganisms protects against allergic […]
Undiagnosed, undertreated Chagas disease emerging as U.S. public health threat
Across a broad swath of the southern United States, residents face a tangible but mostly unrecognized risk of contracting Chagas disease — a stealthy parasitic infection that can lead to severe heart disease and death — according to new research presented today at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting. Chagas […]
Researchers see health effects across generations from popular weed killer
Washington State University researchers have found a variety of diseases and other health problems in the second- and third-generation offspring of rats exposed to glyphosate, the world’s most popular weed killer. In the first study of its kind, the researchers saw descendants of exposed rats developing prostate, kidney and ovarian diseases, obesity and birth abnormalities. […]
DDT exposure in grandmothers linked to obesity, earlier periods in granddaughters
In the first study to report on the health effects of exposure to a toxic environmental chemical over three human generations, a new study has found that granddaughters whose grandmothers were exposed to the pesticide DDT have higher rates of obesity and earlier first menstrual periods. This may increase the granddaughters’ risk for breast cancer […]
Air pollution: The silent killer called PM 2.5
Millions of people die prematurely every year from diseases and cancer caused by air pollution. The first line of defence against this carnage is ambient air quality standards. Yet, according to researchers from McGill University, over half of the world’s population lives without the protection of adequate air quality standards. Air pollution varies greatly in […]