Medicare Card – Gum disease

Researchers identify immune culprits linked to inflammation and bone loss in gum disease An unhealthy population of microbes in the mouth triggers specialized immune cells that inflame and destroy tissues, leading to the type of bone loss associated with a severe form of gum disease, according to a new study in mice and humans. The … Read more

Medicare Card – More adults and children are using yoga and meditation

Over the past five years, more Americans of all ages are rolling out their yoga mats and meditating. A large nationally representative survey shows that the number of American adults and children using yoga and meditation has significantly increased over previous years and that use of chiropractic care has increased modestly for adults and held … Read more

NIH scientists illuminate causes of hepatitis b virus-associated acute liver failure

National Institutes of Health scientists and their collaborators found that hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated acute liver failure (ALF) — a rare condition that can turn fatal within days without liver transplantation — results from an uncommon encounter between a highly mutated HBV variant and an unusual immune response in the patient’s liver that is mainly … Read more

Medicare Card – Data sharing uncovers five new risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease

Analysis of genetic data from more than 94,000 individuals has revealed five new risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease, and confirmed 20 known others. An international team of researchers also reports for the first time that mutations in genes specific to tau, a hallmark protein of Alzheimer’s disease, may play an earlier role in the development … Read more

Medicare Card – Cystic Fibrosis

NIH-funded discovery uses common antifungal drug to improve lungs’ ability to fight infection. Researchers say a widely-used antifungal drug may hold promise for treating people with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disorder that causes serious damage to the lungs. In studies using human cells and animals models, the researchers found that the medication, called amphotericin, … Read more

Medicare Card – Surgery no better than medication at preventing serious complications of atrial fibrillation

Catheter ablation, a common cardiovascular procedure, appears no more effective than drug therapies in preventing strokes, deaths, and other complications in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, patients who get the procedure experience much greater symptom relief and long-term improvements in the quality of life, including fewer recurrences of the condition and fewer hospitalizations, than those … Read more

Medicare Card – Our brains may ripple before remembering

NIH study suggests tiny electrical brain waves may be a hallmark of successful memory retrieval. NIH scientists showed how electrical brain waves, called ripples, may help us remember our past experiences. Courtesy of Zaghloul lab, NIH/NINDSA sound, a smell, a word can all flood our minds with memories of past experiences. In a study of … Read more

Medicare Card – Lower Risk of Heart Disease Linked to Light physical activity in older women

Light physical activity such as gardening, strolling through a park, and folding clothes might be enough to significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease among women 63 and older, a new study has found. This kind of activity, researchers said, appears to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease events such as stroke or heart failure … Read more

Medicare Card – Retinal prion disease study redefines role for brain cells

National Institutes of Health scientists studying the progression of inherited and infectious eye diseases that can cause blindness have found that microglia, a type of nervous system cell suspected to cause retinal damage, surprisingly had no damaging role during prion disease in mice. In contrast, the study findings indicated that microglia might delay disease progression. … Read more

Medicare Card – Harnessing T-cell “stemness” could enhance cancer immunotherapy

A new study led by scientists in the Center for Cancer Research (CCR) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sheds light on one way tumors may continue to grow despite the presence of cancer-killing immune cells. The findings, published March 29, 2019, in Science, suggest a way to enhance the effectiveness of immunotherapies for cancer … Read more