Medicalxpress

• Why does cancer rarely spread to the heart? Researchers develop organ-on-a-chip platform to find out

  Researchers from the University of Toronto have created a new multi-organ-on-a-chip device to investigate why the heart is one of the least common sites of cancer metastasis, creating new opportunities for cancer research and drug discovery.

• Digitally supported care model improves serum urate target attainment in gout

  For patients with gout, a physician-supervised treat-to-target (T2T) care model improves serum urate (SUA) target attainment, according to a study published online Nov. 4 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

• New biomarker may extend detection window for date-rape drug GHB

  Every hour is critical when it comes to detecting the use of drugs used to render victims unconscious. The substance GHB, which is commonly used in this way, is excreted rapidly from blood and urine. Researchers at the University of Zurich have been evaluating a new biomarker using urine samples from real forensic cases. This biomarker can indicate earlier GHB intake even when the drug is no longer detectable using conventional analysis.

• Lung ultrasound predicts progression of interstitial lung abnormalities in rheumatoid arthritis

  Lung ultrasound (LUS) can predict radiologic progression of interstitial lung abnormalities (ILAs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a study published in the November issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.

• About half have meaningful drop in long COVID symptoms by 36 months, study finds

  About one-half of persons with likely long COVID (LC) after first severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection experience a meaningful reduction in symptoms by 36 months, according to a study published online Nov. 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

• Prostate cancer drug combination adds toxicity without clear benefit for tumors lacking targetable mutations

  The prospective, multicenter, randomized phase 2 ZZ-FIRST clinical trial, led by the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology's (VHIO) Prostate Cancer Group, evaluated the androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI) enzalutamide plus the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) talazoparib versus enzalutamide alone in patients with high-tumor-burden metastatic prostate cancer who had not previously received hormone therapy.

• Rare eye condition prompts new FDA warning on popular GLP-1 drugs

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requiring makers of Ozempic, Wegovy and similar drugs to warn of a rare eye condition that can cause vision loss.

• AI tools can simplify medical reports but still need human oversight

  A team of researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has evaluated various artificial intelligence (AI) language models to simplify medical reports and adapt them into clearer language for nonexpert audiences. This work will help patients better understand their health conditions and properly adhere to prescribed treatments.

• Cholera killed more than 3,000 this year: WHO

  Cholera has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since the start of the year, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, insisting its goal of cutting global cases by 90% by 2030 remained in reach.

• Brain stimulation reveals how language networks adapt in real time to disruption

  When an important area of the human brain involved in language processing is temporarily disrupted, other areas of the brain take over much of its work. Researchers at Leipzig University and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig have shown how flexibly the brain can maintain performance even in the face of acute disruption, and how different brain networks work together in real time to achieve this. The researchers have just published their new study in Nature Communications.

• Experimental cell therapy improves skin resilience, advancing treatments for skin injuries

  In a phase 1 clinical trial, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have partially transformed ordinary human skin cells into volar skin—the durable skin found exclusively on the palms and soles that resists friction and pressure.

• Three-week Arctic operation shows blood products can survive harsh transport conditions and remain transfusion-ready

  Getting blood products for transfusions to a battlefield in Canada's High Arctic is feasible but complex, according to newly published research in the journal Transfusion.

• A personality trait may provide clues to functioning in frontotemporal dementia

  Frontotemporal dementia often results in early changes in personality or behavior before changes in cognitive skills. People with this condition who have lower levels of conscientiousness, a personality trait related to organization, reliability and planning, may be more likely to have problems with their ability to complete everyday activities, according to a study published in Neurology.

• How babies are born knowing the difference between day and night

  Before a baby sees its first sunrise, it is already receiving signals about day and night. Melatonin, a hormone released mainly at night, can pass from the mother through the placenta. The placenta supplies the developing fetus with oxygen and nutrients.

• New MRI scan 'color codes' treatment-resistant cancer cells, sparing some patients from aggressive treatment

  Scientists are developing a new MRI-based test that could spare thousands of cancer patients from aggressive radiotherapy treatment.

• Tiny sensor could track blood pressure continuously without inflatable cuff

  A tiny sensor could one day measure blood pressure continuously, comfortably and accurately without an inflatable cuff. The device was developed by professors Amir Rosenthal and Daniel Lange of the Technion's Andrew and Erna Viterbi Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, together with doctoral student Gil Gelbert. They published their findings in Nature Communications.

• Good news for people newly diagnosed with rare autoimmune disorder: Study finds low relapse risk

  People newly diagnosed with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease, or MOGAD, generally had a low risk of relapse and lasting disability, according to a Kaiser Permanente study. The work is published in the journal Neurology.

• Study finds that genetic risk does not explain the maternal effect in type 1 diabetes

  Children whose mothers have type 1 diabetes develop the disease at about half the rate of children whose fathers have it. Inherited genetic risk alone does not explain this long-observed maternal effect, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and published in Diabetes Care. The findings point to other possible biological mechanisms that warrant further investigation.

• Predicting long-term pain after freezing nerves in surgery

  After thoracic surgery—any medical operation done inside the chest—patients can experience pain, soreness or numbness even years later. This is because the incisions cut through muscles and nerves on sensitive ribs, which can cause damage and inflammation.

• Why eczema increases the risk of asthma in patients

  People with eczema often develop allergic asthma during the course of their lives. The reason for this is still largely unclear. Two publications from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) now turn the spotlight on certain immune cells, known as basophils, as the link between skin and lung conditions.