by Iliyah Maddox | May 27, 2025 | health and medicine
While checklists are often a vital tool for medical procedures, there has so far been little guidance on how they should be designed and applied in real medical scenarios. Now, a team including Dr. Alex Chaparro, a researcher at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has developed an algorithm which can help medical experts to decide when a checklist is the best-suited tool for the task at hand; and if so, which type of checklist should be applied, based on the user’s technical experience. The approach could ultimately help complex, potentially urgent medical procedures to become safer and more efficient.
by Iliyah Maddox | May 14, 2025 | health and medicine
Research from Professor Mamta Jain at UT Southwestern Medical Center and her colleagues reveals how electronic alerts, patient navigation, and mailed outreach can significantly increase hepatitis C screening and treatment in traditionally difficult-to-reach populations. Their work demonstrates that while electronic reminders are effective, combining multiple approaches with adequate clinical staffing and resources leads to the greatest improvements in patient care across all stages of the hepatitis C care continuum.
by Iliyah Maddox | Apr 29, 2025 | health and medicine
We can imagine our health as a jigsaw, with each individual piece representing a different aspect of our medical history. These pieces might include blood test results, X-ray images or the notes taken by a doctor as we describe our symptoms. These jigsaw pieces are ultimately recorded and stored in electronic health records (or EHRs). EHRs are a valuable resource, providing an overview of someone’s health and they could have the potential to allow clinicians and researchers to unlock new medical insights. However, there’s a fly in the ointment – not all the pieces in such records always fit together correctly, and they may not completely capture the required information. Some clinical event documentation may not be complete, others do not align with related pieces, and some events are even missing entirely. This data quality problem was tackled by Dr. Hanieh Razzaghi of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and her colleagues, in their innovative work on the PRESERVE study, a research project exploring chronic kidney disease in children (the PRESERVE study itself was led by Drs. Michelle Denburg and Christopher Forrest). Using EHRs from 15 different hospitals across the United States, the team aimed to understand how various treatments could potentially slow down chronic kidney disease progression. However, initially, they had to make sure that the data they were relying on were accurate, reliable, and suitable for the required complex analyses.
by Iliyah Maddox | Apr 25, 2025 | health and medicine
Associate Professor Yassir Mahgoub and his team at Penn State University have uncovered an important link between melancholia – a severe form of depression that often doesn’t respond to treatment – and catatonia – a condition characterized by abnormal movements and associated with schizophrenia. The researchers analyzed case studies involving six patients who had been hospitalized for severe depression. All six patients experienced significant relief from their depressive symptoms by taking lorazepam – a drug typically used to treat catatonia. This discovery reveals a potential new avenue for treating severe, treatment-resistant depression.
by Iliyah Maddox | Apr 25, 2025 | biology, health and medicine
Our gut contains a sleepless army, creating a hostile environment for pathogens, and helping to fortify our body’s immune defences. It may surprise you to learn that this army isn’t even human in nature, but is bacterial. The trillions of bacteria that naturally live in our gut, known as the gut microbiota, form an important component of our overall immunity against infectious disease. While bacteria can also cause disease, beneficial bacteria naturally colonise available spaces in our body, such as the gut, and play a key role in our immunity and physiology. Research conducted by Prof. Nelson Gekara of Stockholm University in Sweden and colleagues has revealed that these microscopic organisms play a crucial role in protecting us from viral infections, even in organs that are unconnected to the gut. Their study, published in the journal Immunity, uncovers a fascinating link between the gut microbiota and our body’s ability to fight viruses, offering new insights into immune function and the unintended consequences of antibiotic use.
by Iliyah Maddox | Apr 17, 2025 | biology, health and medicine
Cancer is a daunting healthcare challenge, and is still affecting millions worldwide, despite the enormous research resources that have been directed at finding effective treatments over the past decades. Many anti-cancer treatments remain poorly specific for the tumours they are intended to treat, and often suffer from modest efficacy and serious off-target effects. Part of the problem is the inherent variability between many tumours and their resulting unpredictable responses to standard chemotherapy. However, the latest advancements in precision oncology may be the start of a new paradigm, potentially providing targeted therapeutic payloads that can successfully address the specific and unique issues underlying a given patient’s cancer. Researchers such as Prof. Diana Jaalouk and her colleagues at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon are pioneering innovative tools that are changing the way we understand and treat this complex disease. Two remarkable recent technologies, CRISPR-Cas9 and PROteolysis TArgeting Chimeras (or PROTACs for short), are at the forefront of this precision revolution. While distinct in their approach, these tools share a common goal: targeting cancer with precision and minimizing harm to healthy cells. Together, they are set to reshape the therapeutic landscape.
