Researchers identified eEF2K as a key player in enabling the rapid production of Arc protein, crucial for long-term memory formation. The paradoxical mechanism involves eEF2K inhibiting protein translation while also facilitating Arc protein synthesis.
The Cancer Genome Atlas reports findings on the MGMT gene, which makes brain cancer cells more responsive to treatment but also leads to mutations in other genes essential for DNA repair. These mutations contribute to cancer recurrence and resistance to treatment.
A team of vaccine safety experts has developed a step-by-step tool to identify children with allergic reactions to vaccines and provide safe immunization plans. Most children with known or suspected vaccine allergies can be safely vaccinated with proper monitoring and precautions, according to the study.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have uncovered a molecular circuitry associated with schizophrenia, linking three previously known proteins. The study found that these proteins interact synergistically during normal brain development and are linked to the condition in some patients.
Scientists discovered the earliest form of human blood stem cells, called hemangioblasts, which can be replicated in unlimited supply using ACE as a marker. This breakthrough could lead to new treatments for heart diseases, anemias, leukemia and autoimmune diseases by mass-producing progenitor blood cells.
A study of 50 healthy adult men found that black non-sensitized males had an average of 17.2% more HLA-sensitive B cells than white non-sensitized males, increasing their opportunity for antibody-mediated rejection. This increased number of B cells may be customized in treatments to lessen the likelihood of organ rejection.
Research shows that walking on a treadmill can significantly improve mobility and health in stroke survivors even years post-stroke. Brain scans reveal increased metabolic activity in areas associated with walking, suggesting the brain's ability to rewire and recover through exercise.
A new study found that an experimental therapy for age-related macular degeneration may have adverse effects on patients with a certain genetic mutation. The therapy uses RNA interference to silence disease-causing genes, but this approach may not be suitable for everyone due to individual genetic differences.
A Johns Hopkins Children's Center study found that elevated cholesterol levels drop naturally in four out of 10 children with uncontrollable epilepsy treated with the high-fat ketogenic diet. Nearly half of these children returned to normal or near-normal cholesterol levels without modifications to their diet.
Platelet activation plays a key role in the development of cerebral malaria by triggering an immune response and obstructing blood vessels in the brain. Researchers found that treating mice with aspirin or Plavix improved survival rates when administered soon after infection.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine found a rare case of an individual with HIV who remains symptom-free without treatment, attributed to the strength of their immune system. The study's findings offer hope for vaccine development and understanding of how immune cells can effectively halt disease progression.
Researchers found a 26% increased risk of death among individuals with low blood levels of vitamin D. The study suggests that adequate vitamin D levels may be crucial in preventing cardiovascular disease.
Robert Siliciano, an HIV expert, says that current antiretroviral drug combinations can suppress the ability of HIV to replicate, with some combos reducing copies to less than one in a billion. However, progress is still needed to identify and eliminate viral reservoirs that persist in the body.
A commonly used diabetes monitoring test could be repurposed to screen for and diagnose diabetes, identifying millions of people with undiagnosed disease. The hemoglobin A1c test measures long-term glucose control, offering advantages over current testing methods that require fasting or are affected by recent meals and diet.
Researchers found that calmodulin uses two lobes to sense local and global calcium levels, allowing it to detect fluctuations within cells. This discovery sheds light on the universal means of communication in cells and has implications for understanding neural diseases.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have linked extreme fatigue in lung-scarring disease to poor sleep quality, finding a 25% loss in R.E.M. sleep time among patients. The study shows that people with stiffened lungs and sleep problems experience reduced physical and mental activity scores.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine found that fruit flies use TRPA1 to sense single degree changes in the comfortable range, adapting to different temperatures through a multistep process. This discovery raises the possibility that mammals may also be able to sense small changes in internal body temperature.
Researchers have developed a genetically engineered mouse model of chronic sinusitis, which mimics the disease's symptoms and provides a new tool for studying and treating the condition. The 'stuffy nose' mice suffer from reversible loss of smell due to inflammation, offering hope for developing new therapies.
A Johns Hopkins study found that giving children preventive antibiotics within one hour of spinal surgery significantly reduces the risk of serious infections. The study, published in Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, suggests that timely prophylaxis is crucial in preventing complications and reducing hospital stays.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine identified a deadly combination of gene activity in breast and colon cancers, leading to poor patient outcomes. The study found that epigenetic changes contribute to cancer aggressiveness by disrupting normal biochemical pathways.
A study by Johns Hopkins Children's Center found that 40% of pediatricians wouldn't reduce medication doses even if a child is well-controlled. The researchers suggest that pediatricians might benefit from a step-by-step tool to apply treatment guidelines and use different disease dimensions in their practice.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have found that the spiritual effects of psilocybin, a hallucinogen, can last more than a year. Most volunteer subjects reported the experience as one of the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant events of their lives.
A small study of 18 patients with severe Marfan syndrome found that losartan slowed aortic enlargement by nearly half, offering a promising new treatment option. The study's findings have led to the approval of a large-scale clinical trial for losartan in Marfan syndrome patients.
A team of Johns Hopkins experts suggests that epigenetic changes occurring over a person's lifetime may explain why disease susceptibility increases with age. They found that methylation levels changed in almost one-third of individuals over an 11-year span, and family members tended to exhibit similar changes.
A new study published in JAMA found that patients with depression are more likely to develop type-2 diabetes, and those with type-2 diabetes are also at a higher risk for developing depression. The study used data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) to investigate this connection.
A literature review by Johns Hopkins researchers found that hydroxyurea significantly reduces the frequency of intense sickle cell crises and hospital admissions by 68-84% and 18-32%, respectively. However, potential risks include impaired sperm development and unclear effects on leukemia risk.
A study of 635 men found that radiation therapy significantly prolongs survival in those with recurrent prostate cancer, particularly those with rapidly growing tumors. This breakthrough suggests that radiation can be a life-extending treatment option for these patients.
Researchers found a new enzyme, EhROM1, that helps the dysentery-causing amoeba evade the immune system. The enzyme is part of an ancient group of enzymes used by malaria parasites to enter host cells.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine tested a high-dose regimen of cyclophosphamide on nine MS patients, showing a 40% reduction in disability scores and an 87% improvement in physical and mental function. The 'HiCy' treatment appears to clear out the immune system and allow nerve cells to repair themselves.
Research by Johns Hopkins Children's Center suggests that breast-feeding not only provides more protection to girls than boys but also that formula-fed girls are at a higher risk for severe respiratory infections. Breast milk helps babies cope with an infection better, rather than preventing it.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have established a human cell-based system for studying sickle cell anemia by reprogramming somatic cells to an embryonic stem cell-like state. The new method improves reprogramming efficiency and increases the total number of reprogrammed cells, enabling future studies on blood diseases.
A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that heart bypass surgery is not the cause of lasting cognitive problems in patients. After six years of testing, both groups experienced similar declines in cognitive function, indicating that the disease itself may be the culprit.
A new treatment using tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has dramatically decreased death and disability in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), a condition where blood clots inside the brain. The treatment, which clears trapped blood from the brain, showed an 80% survival rate for patients.
Regulators may need to overhaul regulations for human studies, experts say, to allow patient safety research to move forward. Current rules can hinder the development of low-risk interventions that save lives and reduce costs.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have identified a gene, Pirt, that regulates a heat-activated molecular sensor, leading to variable pain sensitivity. The study found that mice lacking Pirt responded slower to heat and were less sensitive to capsaicin, suggesting Pirt's specific role in pain perception.
Researchers found that treatment with BH4 stabilizes the pumping function of failing hearts and dramatically shrinks muscle size in a short timeframe. The study's findings offer proof of principle that damage to the heart can be stopped and reversed, providing a potential therapy for high blood pressure.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered a link between the BACE1 enzyme and schizophrenia-like behaviors in mice lacking this enzyme. The study found that these mice exhibited deficits in social recognition and other schizophrenia-like traits, which improved with treatment with antipsychotic drug clozapine.
In a developing nervous system, peripheral nerve cells compete for NGF availability, with stronger connections surviving while weaker ones die. Target tissues release NGF protein, which changes from a growth cue to a survival factor, ultimately determining cell fate.
Researchers found a strong link between severe overweight and prolonged inflammation of the heart tissue, leading to heart failure. Inflammation also plays a key role in metabolic syndrome, increasing the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Researchers found that Paranthropus boisei's teeth showed little pitting indicative of eating hard foods, suggesting a more general diet than previously thought. This challenges the idea that their anatomy was specialized for a specific diet.
Researchers discovered that viral agents can kick-start the body's immune response in the moist nasal lining, leading to inflammation and symptoms like sneezing and congestion. This understanding may lead to new therapies to block the triggering reactions for sinusitis and asthma.
Research by Johns Hopkins Medicine found that African-American patients with chronic kidney disease continue to lose kidney function despite strict blood pressure control. The study suggests that treating CKD in this population may require a more comprehensive approach, considering other factors beyond just blood pressure.
The study found that endothelin, a protein regulating blood pressure, directs nerve cell growth along specific blood vessel branches. In mice, nerve cells grown near endothelin-soaked beads or in the absence of endothelin failed to grow towards those areas.
A new study found that potential research participants are mostly indifferent to financial disclosures from researchers, but trust decreases when the researcher owns company stock. The study suggests that clearer guidelines for disclosing acceptable financial interests are needed to inform potential study participants.
A large-scale study has found a specific gene variant that increases the risk of lung cancer. The researchers also discovered a connection between this gene and nicotine dependence, as well as smoking behavior.
A new study found that brief, high doses of folate in rats reduced muscle tissue damage and scarred areas after a heart attack. Researchers believe folate acts as an energy reserve for the heart, providing needed energy during a blocked artery.
A large multicenter study suggests new genetic markers for Crohn's disease, specifically affecting the Ashkenazi Jewish population. The study found evidence of genes causing familial Crohn's Disease on chromosomes 1 and 3, as well as a previously unidentified region on chromosome 13.
Researchers have discovered 53 million-year-old rabbit's foot bones that predates the oldest previously known rabbits by several million years. The fossils found in west-central India show advanced rabbit-like features and extend the record of rabbits on the Indian subcontinent by 35 million years.
Scientists have discovered specific methylation patterns in tumors and tissue that can predict which lung cancers are more likely to recur. These patterns could lead to reclassifying small lung cancers as advanced disease, allowing for more aggressive treatment options.
A study published in JAMA found that individuals who received monthly tips from trained counselors regained less weight than those using a custom-built weight-loss Web site or self-directed approach. The average weight regain was 9 pounds for the counseling group, compared to 12 pounds for both the web site and self-directed groups.