Clinical Trials & Research

In a recent study published on the medRxiv* preprint server, Taiwanese scientists determined the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis among young individuals who have received messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Study: Risk of Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following Coronavirus Disease 2019 Messenger RNA Vaccination—A Nationwide Study. Image Credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com Background

As of October 18, 2022, over 625 million people worldwide have been infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Study: Increased levels of inflammatory molecules in blood of Long COVID patients point to thrombotic endotheliitis. Image Credit: Dai Yim / Shutterstock.com Introduction Many survivors experience long-term symptoms

Throughout the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been caused by the spread of the highly infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), scientists have developed various innovative diagnostic tools, many of which have been extended beyond the boundaries of the conventional clinical microbiological laboratory. A recent editorial published in the journal Clinical

Infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can cause a wide range of symptoms. While most people remain asymptomatic or are mildly affected, a significant minority develop severe or fatal disease. Considerable research has been directed toward identifying risk factors for severe COVID-19. To this

In a recent review published in Thrombosis Research, researchers reported the mechanisms involved in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) coagulopathy and the significance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections for cancer patients concerning outcomes, thromboembolic complication risks and consequences of management strategies. Study: COVID-19 associated coagulopathy and thrombosis in cancer. Image Credit: MattLphotography/Shutterstock

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers investigated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) envelope (E) protein activity in terms of calcium cations (Ca2+) cations. Study: The SARS-CoV-2 envelope (E) protein forms a calcium- and voltage-activated calcium channel. Image Credit: PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek/Shutterstock Functional ion channels are critical in the

Oxygen is vital for life, and clinicians can provide supplemental oxygen to patients through face masks and nasal tubes, but there are no methods available for delivering oxygen directly into cells. This capability would be useful initially as a research tool but could eventually have important medical applications-;for example, to enhance therapies that lose effectiveness

Children who did not take part in social and group activities during the pandemic had significantly higher levels of anxiety than those who did not. Elevated anxiety levels were also found among children in households whose incomes fell, a University of Gothenburg study shows. The study, published in The Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, is

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers analyzed the primer and probe sequences of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended monkeypox virus (MPXV) generic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay(s). Study: Wide mismatches in the sequences of primers and probes for Monkeypox virus diagnostic assays. Image

Artificial intelligence models that interpret medical images hold the promise to enhance clinicians’ ability to make accurate and timely diagnoses, while also lessening workload by allowing busy physicians to focus on critical cases and delegate rote tasks to AI. But AI models that lack transparency about how and why a diagnosis is made can be

When struggling to conceive, every second that ticks by feels precious. That makes it easy to get discouraged: 65 percent of those who seek fertility care eventually discontinue treatment, the majority due to stress. That’s why Penn Medicine recently instituted a telemedicine-driven program aimed at seeing patients more quickly and starting treatments sooner. The program,

Amid much speculation and research about how our genetics affect the way we age, a University of California, Berkeley, study now shows that individual differences in our DNA matter less as we get older and become prone to diseases of aging, such as diabetes and cancer. In a study of the relative effects of genetics,

A team led by a West Virginia University biomedical engineer is working to ramp up and reimagine how medical professionals diagnose tick-borne infections such as Lyme disease. Soumya Srivastava, assistant professor at the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, is developing a tool that more quickly detects tick-borne diseases via a blood

Findings from a small study of eight patients published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest that COVID-19 rebound is likely not caused by impaired immune responses. The study, led by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, aimed to define the clinical course and the

Stroke is the leading cause of age-related motor disabilities and is becoming more prevalent in younger populations as well. But while there is a burgeoning marketplace for rehabilitation devices that claim to accelerate recovery, including robotic rehabilitation systems, recommendations for how and when to use them are based mostly on subjective evaluation of the sensorimotor

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused great havoc worldwide, directly through its impact on human health and because of the non-pharmaceutical measures implemented to mitigate its spread. After one year of lockdowns, social distancing, mask-wearing, and closures of businesses and educational institutions, multiple variants of the causative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Joint flexibility is an important measure of physical fitness in humans, especially when it comes to determining athletic performance. It is responsible for protecting the muscle-tendon unit under stressful conditions by resisting external forces for long periods of time and ensuring a wider range of motion (RoM) of the joints. Joint stiffness of the lower

Using advanced diffusion neuroimaging technology, Kessler Foundation researchers investigated the relationship between the rate of cognitive fatigue to microstructural changes in the brain in persons with multiple sclerosis. Their findings help fill a gap in the current understanding of how brain pathology influences the development of fatigue over time. Their findings were reported in Frontiers

Scientists are still trying to understand why many breast cancer survivors experience troubling cognitive problems for years after treatment. Inflammation is one possible culprit. A new long-term study of older breast cancer survivors published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and co-led by UCLA researchers adds important evidence to that potential link. Higher levels

In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers explored the crystalline structure of the monkeypox (MPX) virus (MPXV) and the complex of VP39, a 2′-O-RNA methyltransferase (MTase) and sinefungin, a pan-MTase inhibitor. Study: The structure of monkeypox virus 2’-O-ribose methyltransferase VP39 in complex with sinefungin provides the foundation for inhibitor design. Image

Congress is supposed to complete its annual appropriations bills before the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. But it rarely does, and this year is no different, as lawmakers scramble to pass a short-term funding bill so they can put off final decisions until at least December. Meanwhile, with an eye to the

Supporting emotional connection between a premature baby and mother during the intensive care unit treatment effectively improves the baby’s brain development. The effects are clearly visible in the baby’s brain network function and later neurocognitive development. A joint study by the University of Helsinki and Columbia University showed that supporting emotional connection between mother and

A research team comprised of members of the School of Chinese Medicine, AIDS Institute, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine and State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases, the LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) have discovered a natural product SSP derived from a Chinese herb Spatholobus Suberectus Dunn that

Radhakrishna Rao, PhD, vice-chair and professor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has received two large national awards totaling $5 million for separate studies involving the gut as a therapeutic target for treating disease. Dr. Rao is known worldwide for his two decades of research into the

Neutrophils, the most abundant type of white blood cell, are the body’s first line of defense against infection. Foreign pathogens can stress the body and activate neutrophils. When activated, neutrophils employ various weapons to protect the body. But if overactivated, these weapons can damage the body’s own tissues. Lung tissue is saturated with blood vessels,

New UMBC-led research in Frontiers in Microbiology suggests that viruses are using information from their environment to “decide” when to sit tight inside their hosts and when to multiply and burst out, killing the host cell. The work has implications for antiviral drug development. A virus’s ability to sense its environment, including elements produced by

On Aug. 11, LifeCenter Northwest, the Organ Procurement Organization for Washington, and UW Medicine’s heart transplant team together facilitated the Pacific Northwest’s first donation-after-circulatory-death (DCD) heart transplant. The patient, Ryan Stovall, 48, a resident of Beaver Creek, Oregon, is recovering well in Seattle. For decades, only donor hearts from patients who experienced brain death have

A study published in the journal Cell demonstrates that dietary sugar increases the risk of metabolic syndrome by disrupting gut microbiota and suppressing protective T helper 17 (Th17) cells. Study: Microbiota imbalance induced by dietary sugar disrupts immune-mediated protection from metabolic syndrome. Image Credit: Alpha Tauri 3D Graphics/Shutterstock Background Consumption of a high-fat diet increases