Health News related to Brain Imaging, Treatment of Eye Diseases, Obesity – Hypertension, Alzheimer’s Disease, Gut Microbes – Stroke, Graphene Camera, Nanodecoy Therapy, Childhood Exercise
Note: I do not write/own any of the health news bits (and cover picture) given here. The links on each of the news bits will redirect to the news source. The content given under each headline is a basic gist and not the full story.
1. New Super-Resolution Technique Allows for More Detailed Brain Imaging
Source: Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
13 Jun 2021
A new imaging technique has the potential to detect neurological disorders—such as Alzheimer’s disease—at their earliest stages, enabling physicians to diagnose and treat patients more quickly. Termed super-resolution, the imaging methodology combines position emission tomography (PET) with an external motion tracking device to create highly detailed images of the brain.
2. Touchless Technology Could Enable Early Detection and Treatment of Eye Diseases That Cause Blindness
Source: University of Waterloo
14 Jun 2021
A non-contact laser imaging system could help doctors diagnose and treat eye diseases that cause blindness much earlier than is now possible. The new technology is designed to detect telltale signs of major blinding diseases in retinal blood and tissue that typically go unseen until it is too late.
3. Obesity & Hypertension: Researchers Discover Novel Mechanisms
Source: Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health
15 Jun 2021
Researchers have succeeded for the first time in demonstrating the role of hypothalamic astrocytes in obesity-related hypertension. In addition, they showed that the hormone leptin is involved in the increase of blood vessels in the hypothalamus of obese mice, contributing to hypertension.
4. New Treatment Stops Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease in Monkey Brains
Source: NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine
15 Jun 2021
A new therapy prompts immune defense cells to swallow misshapen proteins, amyloid beta plaques, and tau tangles, whose buildup is known to kill nearby brain cells as part of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows.
5. Research Identifies Link Between Gut Microbes and Stroke
Source: Cleveland Clinic
16 Jun 2021
New findings show for the first time that the gut microbiome impacts stroke severity and functional impairment following stroke. The study builds on more than a decade of research related to the gut microbiome’s role in cardiovascular health and disease, including the adverse effects of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) – a byproduct produced when gut bacteria digest certain nutrients abundant in red meat and other animal products.
6. Graphene ‘Camera’ Captures Real-Time Electrical Activity of Beating Heart
Source: University of California – Berkeley
16 Jun 2021
Scientists have captured the real-time electrical activity of a beating heart, using a sheet of graphene to record an optical image — almost like a video camera — of the faint electric fields generated by the rhythmic firing of the heart’s muscle cells.
Original written by: Robert Sanders
7. ‘Nanodecoy’ Therapy Binds and Neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Virus
Source: North Carolina State University
17 Jun 2021
Nanodecoys made from human lung spheroid cells (LSCs) can bind to and neutralize SARS-CoV-2, promoting viral clearance and reducing lung injury in a macaque model of COVID-19. By mimicking the receptor that the virus binds to rather than targeting the virus itself, nanodecoy therapy could remain effective against emerging variants of the virus.
Original written by: Tracey Peake
8. Childhood Exercise Could Maintain and Promote Cognitive Function in Later Life
Source: Kobe University
18 Jun 2021
A research group has illuminated the changes in the brain’s neural network and cortex structure that underlie the positive association between childhood exercise and the maintenance and promotion of cognitive function in later life. The researchers showed that people who are physically active during childhood (up to 12 years of age) have higher cognitive functions in later life.
That’s all the health news for this week! Maybe you can help me provide news better. Leave a comment below if you have any suggestions or send me a message via the contact form! Have fun!
