Author: healthtost

University of BC researchers have discovered surprising links between micronutrient deficiencies and the composition of gut microbiomes in early life that could explain why antibiotic resistance has increased around the world. The team investigated how deficiencies in critical micronutrients such as vitamin A, B12, folate, iron and zinc affected the community of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes living in the digestive tract. They found that these deficiencies led to significant changes in the gut microbiome of the mice—notably an alarming expansion of bacteria and fungi known to be opportunistic pathogens. Importantly, the micronutrient-deficient mice also showed higher enrichment of…

A team of scientists from the Institut Pasteur used the database of the National Meningococcal Reference Center to trace the evolution of cases of invasive meningococcal disease in France between 2015 and 2022, revealing an unprecedented resurgence of the disease after the relaxation of control measures imposed on the of the COVID-19 outbreak. The newly reported cases were mainly caused by meningococcal serogroups that were less common before the pandemic, and there was a particular increase in cases in people aged 16 to 24 years. The results, published in Journal of Infection and Public Health on October 12, 2023, should…

What question were you researching? Despite the increased risk for substance use disorder and overdose death in the homeless population, benzodiazepine prescribing for this population has not been examined. Therefore, our team decided to answer the questions: What is the rate of benzodiazepine prescribing in homeless versus non-homeless veterans with mental illness in the VA system? Are homeless veterans more likely to receive dangerous and potentially inappropriate prescriptions? What methods did you use? We used logistic regression to compare the likelihood of benzodiazepine prescribing and tests to compare indicators of risky and potentially inappropriate benzodiazepine prescribing patterns for homeless…

A migraine is more than just a headache. Often the pain is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light and sensitivity to sound. Chronic migraine can be disabling and can prevent many, especially women, from contributing to working life. However, it often takes a long time for migraine sufferers to find a treatment that works well for them. Researchers at the Norwegian Center for Headache Research (NorHead) used data from the Norwegian Prescription Register to examine which medicines best prevent migraine in people in Norway: A lot of research has now been done on this topic in the past.…

This year’s European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) focuses on the objectives outlined in the 2023 Council Recommendation to strengthen efforts in the European Union (EU) against antimicrobial resistance in a One Health approach. These recommendations set a 2023 target to reduce overall antibiotic consumption (community and hospital sector combined) by 20%, using consumption data from 2019 as a baseline. Antibiotic consumption in the community accounts for approximately 90% of total use. This means that a substantial and consistent reduction in antibiotic use in this area will be crucial to achieving the set 2030 targets aimed at preventing and reducing antimicrobial…

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have identified a protein key to the development of a type of brain cell believed to play a role in disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and used the discovery to grow neurons from stem cells for the first time. Stem cell-derived norepinephrine neurons of the type found in a part of the human brain called the locus coeruleus could enable research into many psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases and provide a tool for developing new ways to treat them. Yunlong Tao, a researcher at Nanjing University in China who was a research professor…

Small molecules called immunomodulators can help create more effective vaccines and stronger immunotherapies to treat cancer. But finding the molecules that trigger the right immune response is difficult – the number of drug-like small molecules has been estimated at 1060much higher than the number of stars in the visible universe. In a possible first for the field of vaccine design, machine learning guided the discovery of new molecules that enhance the immune pathway and found a specific small molecule that could outperform the best immunomodulators on the market. The results are published in the journal Chemical Science. “We used artificial…