Epidemiology News and Research

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New study can help reduce the failure rate of drug development for various diseases

A novel genetic analysis of blood protein concentrations has shown how genetic information can be applied to support the prioritization of drug targets.

9 Sep 2020

New COVID-19 mouse model helps advance vaccine development

A new COVID-19 mouse model developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill captures many of the features of human disease and has helped advance a COVID-19 vaccine candidate to clinical trial.

28 Aug 2020

Study shows how DUSP8 protein regulates glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity

The brain plays a major role in controlling our blood glucose levels. In type 2 diabetics this glucose metabolism brain control is often dysfunctional. Genetic components for this phenomenon have so far remained elusive.

24 Aug 2020

Extrachromosomal DNA with potential to cause cancer drives poor patient outcomes

The multiplication of genes located in extrachromosomal DNA that have the potential to cause cancer drives poor patient outcomes across many cancer types, according to a Nature Genetics study published Aug. 17, 2020 by a team of researchers including Professors Vineet Bafna and Dr.Paul Mischel of the University of California San Diego and Professor Roel Verhaak of Jackson Laboratories.

From UC San Diego 18 Aug 2020

Researchers develop new drugs to eradicate parasitic worms

In this breakthrough method, parasitic worms are prevented from using alternative metabolism routes offered by microbes living inside them.

12 Aug 2020

Aspirin may increase risk of disease progression in older adults with advanced cancer

Results from a recent clinical trial indicate that for older adults with advanced cancer, initiating aspirin may increase their risk of disease progression and early death.

11 Aug 2020

Simple blood test is useful in screening youth for prediabetes and diabetes

A simple blood test that does not require overnight fasting has been found to be an accurate screening tool for identifying youth at risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease risk later in life, according to a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

11 Aug 2020

Test pinpoints which people with gonorrhea can be treated with ciprofloxacin

A test designed by UCLA researchers can pinpoint which people with gonorrhea will respond successfully to the inexpensive oral antibiotic ciprofloxacin, which had previously been sidelined over concerns the bacterium that causes the infection was becoming resistant to it.

10 Aug 2020

Phthalate exposure associated with sleep disruptions in midlife women

For menopausal women who have difficulty sleeping, it might be because of chemicals in the environment.

30 Jul 2020

Experimental mRNA-based vaccine protects animals against SARS-CoV-2

An experimental messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) elicits protective immune responses in mice and non-human primates, researchers report on July 23rd in the journal Cell.

27 Jul 2020

Novel genetic measure could improve screening for osteoporosis

An international team of scientists has developed a novel genetic measure that could dramatically improve how doctors assess the risk of sustaining a fracture due to osteoporosis or fragility.

22 Jul 2020

Using blood samples to detect positive COVID-19 cases in 20 minutes

World-first research by Monash University in Australia has been able to detect positive COVID-19 cases using blood samples in about 20 minutes, and identify whether someone has contracted the virus.

20 Jul 2020

Single dose of tocilizumab improves survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Critically ill COVID-19 patients who received a single dose of a drug that calms an overreacting immune system were 45% less likely to die overall, and more likely to be out of the hospital or off a ventilator one month after treatment, compared with those who didn't receive the drug, according to a new study by a team from the University of Michigan.

14 Jul 2020

Compound in pickled capers can activate proteins required for bodily processes

A compound commonly found in pickled capers has been shown to activate proteins required for normal human brain and heart activity, and may even lead to future therapies for the treatment of epilepsy and abnormal heart rhythms.

14 Jul 2020

Five-minute urine test measures quality of people's diets

Scientists have completed large-scale tests on a new type of five-minute urine test that measures the health of a person's diet, and produces an individual's unique urine 'fingerprint'.

23 Jun 2020

Combination drugs for COVID-19 show promise in laboratory tests

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 7.4 million people have been infected, and more than 410 000 have died. As yet, there is no treatment or vaccine for the disease.

16 Jun 2020

Disrupted circadian rhythms in older adults linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease

Older men who have a weak or irregular circadian rhythm guiding their daily cycles of rest and activity are more likely to later develop Parkinson's disease, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences who analyzed 11 years of data for nearly 3,000 independently living older men.

16 Jun 2020

Study identifies potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2

A joint research team led by Sunney Xie, Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University has successfully identified multiple highly potent neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of the respiratory disease COVID-19, from convalescent plasma by high-throughput single-cell sequencing.

29 May 2020

'Metabolic Signature' Can Determine Adherence To Mediterranean Diet, Help Predict CVD Risk

"Metabolic signature" can evaluate an individual's response to the Mediterranean diet and help predict future risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).

18 May 2020