Brain ‘noise’ may hold the keys to psychiatric treatment efficacy

It remains a central challenge in psychiatry to reliably judge whether a patient will respond to treatment. In a new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany show that moment-to-moment fluctuations in brain activity can reliably predict whether patients […]

Could bats hold the secret to healthy ageing?

In the fictional links he drew between immortal vampires and bats, Dracula creator Bram Stoker may have had one thing right. “Maybe it’s all in the blood,” says Emma Teeling, a geneticist studying the exceptional longevity of bats in the hope of discovering benefits for humans. The University College Dublin researcher works with the charity […]

Zombie cells hold clues to spinal cord injury repair

Mammals have a poor ability to recover after a spinal cord injury, which can result in paralysis. A main reason for this is the formation of a complex scar associated with chronic inflammation that produces a cellular microenvironment blocking tissue repair. Now, a research team led by Leonor Saude, group leader at Instituto de Medicina […]

Blood may hold clues to some of COVID-19’s most mysterious symptoms

The most severe cases of COVID-19 begin with leaky blood vessels. Breaches in the vascular system cause inflammation and coagulation, as fluid floods the lungs. Meanwhile, a host of seemingly unrelated symptoms set in. Blood pressure drops, arrhythmias test the heart, and the central nervous system takes a beating. Some studies suggest that such disparate […]

Unique protein structures could hold the key to Parkinson’s disease

Scientists at the University Bath have discovered a series of protein structures that are thought to be highly relevant to the onset of Parkinson’s disease. It is hoped that further analysis of these structures will open up a new avenue for potential treatment for a disease that is the fastest growing neurological condition in the […]