Health and Medicine
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Addressing antimalarial drug resistance in Africa to ensure patients can continue to be saved
We are pleased to be joined by Dorothy Achu, Regional Malaria Adviser, WHO African Region; Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, Director, National Malaria Control Program, Ministry of Health, Rwanda; Adam Aspinall, Senior Director, Access and Product Management, and George Jagoe, Executive Vice-President Medicines for Malaria Venture. To learn about antimalarial drug resistance in Africa to ensure patients can continue to be saved.
Douglas S. Levine | Douglas A. Drossman – How Knowledge-Sharing and Patient-Centered Care Could Improve US Healthcare
Despite many strengths, the US healthcare system has shortcomings, including unequal access to care, inconsistent quality, high costs, and dissatisfaction. In a recent paper, Levine and Drossman explored misalignments contributing to poorer health outcomes and increased costs in the US compared to peer countries. Their paper models the healthcare system as two parts: patient-provider relationships, and stakeholders.
Dr. Mario Ernesto Cruz Muñoz | Understanding How Leukemia Evades the Immune System
Natural killer cells, along with other lymphocytes, are responsible for finding cells that are experiencing stress. Such cellular stress can occur when a cell is infected with a virus, or when it is becoming cancerous. Natural killer cells can identify stressed cells by detecting signals on their surfaces. These signals are recognized by a suite of proteins found on the surfaces of killer cells, known as immunoreceptors. Upon detecting these signals, natural killer cells secrete toxic substances that can kill the stressed cells.
Dr Cini Bhanu | Revealing Which Medications Can Cause Postural Hypotension
The Office for National Statistics has forecast that by 2040, one in seven citizens will be aged 75 or over. An aging population faces a number of healthcare challenges, including an increase in the prevalence of chronic conditions, and changes in physiology that increase the risk of falls and other accidents. Postural – or orthostatic – hypotension is a condition in which a person’s blood pressure drops significantly when they stand up from sitting or lying down. When blood pressure drops suddenly on standing, not enough blood flow reaches a person’s brain and they can experience symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, and falls.
Dr Joseph DeLozier | A Promising Treatment to Reduce Wrinkles and Sun Damage
Out of all patients diagnosed with breast cancer, only 1% are men. The classical presentation of male breast cancer consists of a painless and hard tumour that appears behind the areola – the circular area around the nipple. This is different from breast cancer in women, who can present a tumour in different parts of the breast. In some cases, however, male breast cancer can manifest at the same time as gynecomastia.
Professor Dorothy Ibifuro Makanjuola | New Insights into Breast Cancer Presentation in Men
Out of all patients diagnosed with breast cancer, only 1% are men. The classical presentation of male breast cancer consists of a painless and hard tumour that appears behind the areola – the circular area around the nipple. This is different from breast cancer in women, who can present a tumour in different parts of the breast. In some cases, however, male breast cancer can manifest at the same time as gynecomastia.
Dr Zirui Huang | How the Brain’s Functional Geometry Could Encode Dimensions of the Mind
The concept of consciousness extends beyond mere philosophical pondering. Scientists are currently exploring how conscious experience emerges from electrochemical processes within the brain. Unraveling this mystery holds significant implications for brain health, encompassing phenomena such as comas, surgical anesthesia, and the altered perceptions observed in schizophrenia. Emerging research indicates that consciousness is not localized to a single brain region, but rather arises as a result of network interactions. Understanding the intricate connections between brain regions that contribute to consciousness has remained a challenging endeavor.
Professor Barrett Caldwell | Developing Effective Chronic Care for Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury
An estimated 69 million people worldwide are currently living with traumatic brain injury. Now recognised as a chronic condition, traumatic brain injury can lead to sleep disorders, depression, headaches and an increased risk of suicide. Unfortunately, the human factors involved in recovery remain understudied. Working to address this is Professor Barrett Caldwell, who leads the GROUPER Laboratory at Purdue University. He and his colleagues study the processes and technologies used to manage chronic conditions, to improve care systems for people living with traumatic brain injury.
Dr David Ussery | Discovering New Groups of E. Coli Bacteria
Escherichia coli – more commonly known as E. coli – is a leading cause of diarrhoea-associated hospitalisation. However, E. coli does not always cause disease. Alongside thousands of other bacterial species, E. coli lives inside and on the surface of the human body. Numerous different strains of E. coli have been identified by analysing their genomes.
PrognostX Health | A New Test to Identify Chronic Kidney Disease – A Costly and Silent Killer
Chronic kidney disease is a common but irreversible condition that involves progressive loss of kidney function. In general, there are rarely any symptoms present as the disease progresses, and over 90% of individuals have no idea they even have it. Approximately 700 million people have chronic kidney disease worldwide and most are unaware of their irreversible condition. If the disease progresses to end-stage renal disease, patients require life-sustaining dialysis treatments three times per week, which negatively impacts on quality of life. While a kidney transplant can delay major issues, most who progress to end-stage will only live an additional 5 to 10 years.
Dr Brian D. Tait | The Impact of Haplotyping on Disease Inheritance and Clinical Treatment
Humans inherit a version of each gene – an allele – from each parent. Through standard DNA analysis, it is not possible to know which allele of a given gene came from the mother and which came from the father. Understanding which allele came from which parent is known as ‘haplotyping’ or ‘genetic phasing’. This is particularly important when a gene has multiple changes in the gene sequence – called mutations.
Dr Victor Serebruany | Investigating Misreporting in a Clinical Trial
Clinical trials are the main way for scientists and doctors to test whether new treatments, such as drugs or devices, are safe and effective. Because of their pivotal importance in influencing treatment options and patient care, clinical trials must be conducted to the highest standards. For drugs, this means they are required to be proven safe and effective before they can gain government approval.
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