Month: March 2021
Neuroimaging Explains Workings of Placebo Effect and Pain
A large proportion of the benefit that a person gets from taking a real drug or receiving a treatment to alleviate pain is due to an individual’s mindset, not to the drug itself. Understanding the neural mechanisms driving this placebo effect has been a longstanding question. A meta-analysis published inRead
Strange but True: Llamas as the Solution to COVID Antibodies Explained
Who would have thought the pandemic could get any stranger? You may have seen popular media mentioning the llamas are a solution to COVID-19 antibodies. Do you think this sounds frivolous with multiple vaccines being administered? There is still a need for effective treatments for those who contract the virus.Read
Plant-Forward Diet Reduces Risk of Ischemic Stroke by 10%
Eating a healthy, plant-based diet that includes foods like vegetables, whole grains and beans, and decreasing intakes of less healthy foods like refined grains or added sugars may reduce the risk of ischemic stroke by up to 10%, according to a study published in the online issue of Neurology®, theRead
DISCOVERY: Researchers ID Gastrointestinal Cell Types in Cystic Fibrosis
Researchers from the group of Hans Clevers identified and characterized rare cell types in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The researchers analyzed human biopsies from the healthy esophagus, three different gastric regions, and the duodenum, by single-cell analysis. The results, published in Cell Reports, identified rare cell types and provided insightsRead
Paper Suggests Vitamin B6 May Calm Cytokine Storms Linked to COVID-19
Studies have so far explored the benefits of vitamins D and C and minerals like zinc and magnesium in fortifying immune response against COVID-19 (read more on that here). But research on vitamin B6 has been mostly missing. Food scientist Thanutchaporn Kumrungsee hopes a paper published in Frontiers in NutritionRead
Preclinical Ginger Study Shows Promise for Antiphospholipid Syndrome
In the alternative, complementary and integrative medical community, it is well known that ginger has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects, which makes it a popular herbal supplement in inflammatory diseases. This new study offers insight into what happens when researchers and physicians, who are not familiar with its beneficial properties, areRead
DISCOVERY: Immune Defense Guidance System Identified
A new mice experimental study shows that at the kick off of the immune response, the molecule sphingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) mobilizes immune cells into the bloodstream to target infection sites and then rapidly shifts position. Researchers say this indirectly amplifies the attack on foreign microbes or the body’s ownRead