Health & Fitness

Primary health care, conditional cash transfers and social pensions have prevented 1.4 million deaths of all ages in Brazil over the past two decades, according to a new study. If expanded, these programs could avert an additional 1.3 million deaths and 6.6 million hospitalizations by 2030.

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Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is a plant in the family Asteraceae. For centuries, it has been used as a medicinal herb as an extract or tea, e.g. to aid the digestive system. Researchers have now found a completely novel use for Cnicin. Animal models as well as human cells have shown that Cnicin significantly accelerates axon (nerve fibers) growth.

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Researchers explore a cancer immunotherapy treatment that involves activating the immune cells in the body and reprogramming them to attack and destroy cancer cells. This therapeutic method frequently uses cytokines, small protein molecules that act as intercellular biochemical messengers and are released by the body's immune cells to coordinate their response.

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Researchers have revealed the regulatory mechanism of a specific protein, TRBP, that plays a key role in balancing the immune response triggered by viral infections in mammal cells. These findings could help drive the development of antiviral therapies and nucleic acid medicines to treat genetic disorders.

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When epileptic patients suffer seizures, their brain is undergoing repetitive and excessive neuronal firing. But what triggers this has stumped scientists for years. Now, researchers have used fluorescence calcium sensors to track astrocytes' role in epileptic seizures, finding that that astrocyte activity starts approximately 20 seconds before the onset of epileptic neuronal hyperactivity.

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Dietary treatment is more effective than medications in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). With dietary adjustments, more than seven out of ten patients had significantly reduced symptoms.

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The annual influenza vaccine has become less effective on average over time. One reason may be reduced vaccine efficacy in people with obesity than those with a healthier body mass index (BMI), while the number of people with high BMI grows. Findings showed switching mice to a healthy diet four weeks before influenza vaccination protected 100% from a later flu exposure, despite still having a high BMI.

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