Health & Fitness

Changes in a single gene open the door for harmful gut bacteria to set off the inflammation that drives Crohn's disease, according to a new study. These findings could one day help doctors better select targeted treatments for patients with this immune disorder. This particular host gene, called AGR2, encodes part of the cell's machinery that helps prepare new proteins properly so that they can help repel 'bad' bacteria. When anything from microbes to inflammatory conditions disrupts this process, protein production gets backed up, stressing the cell. Extremes in the expression of AGR2 -- when it becomes too active or just silent -- are associated with such stress and the cell's response to it, and formed the basis of the study described Nov. 15 in Cell Reports.

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Neuroscientists have discovered that a specific type of brain cell could be a key player in making you feel the negative impacts of stress.

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A link has been found between joint hypermobility and the emergence of depression and anxiety in adolescence, according to a new study. Researchers found that young people with joint hypermobility were more likely to have depression and anxiety, and that psychiatric symptoms were also more severe among hypermobile participants.

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Researchers are a step closer to identifying ways to support clinicians in predicting drug treatment outcomes for patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

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In a study using a mouse model of aging that mimics breast cancer development in estrogen receptor-positive post-menopausal women, investigators have determined that over-expression, or switching on of the Esr1 gene, could lead to elevated risk of developing estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer in older women.

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