The researchers set out to find which genes can regulate the cells that initiate brain metastases -
what are the genes that are sending the signal to leave the lung tumour, go into the blood stream, invade the blood-brain barrier and form a tumour in the brain.
Researchers have identified two new biological markers of cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease which affects children and young adults, leaving them with lifelong health complications including digestive problems and persistent lung infections.
The findings, published in the journal ACS Central Science, shed new light on the underlying mechanisms of CF and could lead to improved prognosis and better therapies for a disease which is quite variable, affecting different children in different ways, say researchers.
Whey protein supplements aren’t just for gym buffs according to new research from McMaster University. When taken on a regular basis, a combination of these and other ingredients in a ready-to-drink formula have been found to greatly improve the physical strength of a growing cohort: senior citizens.
New biological information gleaned from the red vizcacha rat, a native species of Argentina, demonstrates how genomes can rapidly change in size.
Researchers from McMaster University set out to study this particular species because its genome, or its complete set of DNA, is the largest of all mammals, and appears to have increased in size very rapidly.
A definitive guide to the findings from cutting-edge clinical research on addiction to front-line clinicians is found in a new book,
Integrating Psychological and Pharmacological Treatments for Addictive Disorders published by Routledge.
McMaster and Ryerson universities are launching the Smart Robots for Health Communication project, a joint research initiative designed to introduce social robotics and artificial intelligence into clinical health care.
CoreHEM Project, is a multi-stakeholder partnership which will establish a core set of outcome measurements to be used to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of gene therapies in hemophilia.
Researchers at McMaster are one step closer to solving one of the mysteries of social interaction: how musicians communicate during a performance and anticipate one another’s moves without saying a word.
The findings are important because a clearer appreciation of how musicians silently work together—across tempo changes, phrasing and musical dynamics—will improve our understanding of nonverbal communication. That could lead to better techniques to reach those with conditions such as autism or dementia, say researchers.
Using data from more than 2,100 Canadian children, the researchers found that infants who avoided cow’s milk products in their first year were nearly four times as likely to be sensitized to cow’s milk compared to infants who consumed cow’s milk products before 12 months of age. Similarly, infants who avoided egg or peanut in their first year were nearly twice as likely to be sensitized to those foods compared to infants who consumed them before 12 months of age.
The study looked at the microbial population in the gastrointestinal tract of infants at a formative stage of life when metabolic set points are being established. The study analyzed the stool samples from 173 white Caucasian and 182 South Asian one-year-olds recruited from two birth cohort studies (CHILD and START).
The visual cortex, the human brain’s vision-processing centre that was previously thought to mature and stabilize in the first few years of life, actually continues to develop until sometime in the late 30s or early 40s, a McMaster neuroscientist and her colleagues have found.
The results of the trial, published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrate that patients treated with a potential new medicine and antibody, called benralizumab, were more than four times likely to reduce their usage of oral corticosteroids than those taking a placebo.
It is the first study showing improved depression scores with a probiotic. It adds to the whole field of microbiota-gut-brain axis, providing evidence that bacteria affect behavior.
The story of humanity’s vital – and fragile – relationship with the sun has been locked inside our teeth for hundreds of thousands of years. A new method is starting to tease out answers to major questions of evolution and migration, using clues hidden just under the enamel.
Experts at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and McMaster University, in partnership with The Ottawa Hospital, have begun a clinical trial to determine if the unique experimental immunotherapy combination may be able to treat non-small cell lung cancer. The experimental therapy combines two different viruses with an approved drug to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
It was previously thought that bacteria only caused problems such as higher inflammation and higher blood glucose. But this is only half of the story. The researchers discovered that a specific component of bacteria actually lowers blood glucose and allows insulin to work better during obesity.
Mice in germ-free conditions and then compared to their conventionally raised counterparts. In contrast to conventionally raised mice, the germ-free mice did not show age-related increases in inflammation and a higher proportion of them lived to a ripe old age.
Age is associated with an increase in levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF), in the bloodstream and tissues. It was found that germ-free mice did not have increased TNF with age.
The researchers report that low-dose penicillin taken late in pregnancy and in early life of mice offspring, changes behaviour and the balance of microbes in the gut. While these studies have been performed in mice, they point to popular increasing concerns about the long-term effects of antibiotics.
Researchers found that women in methadone treatment who use cannabis are 82 per cent more likely to continue using opioids. This means that women who use cannabis are at high risk of failing methadone treatment.
In their search of seven databases and analysis of 161 papers, Meyre and his colleagues found that 79 obesity syndromes have been previously reported. Of the 79 syndromes, 19 have been genetically solved, to the point where a lab test could confirm a doctor’s suspicions. Another 11 have been partially clarified, and 27 have been mapped to a chromosomal region. For the remaining 22 syndromes, neither the gene(s) nor the chromosomal location(s) have yet been identified.
These findings suggest that one of the most important risk factors for heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, which is excess total and central fat in the body, is present relatively early in survivors of childhood brain tumors. This may program their future risk of these diseases and impact their outcomes. This indicates that these children need further monitoring for the factors that increase their risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, and that targeted therapies and prevention strategies are needed to deal with the early risk factors to improve survival and the quality of life of survivors.
Venous thromboembolism is a chronic disease, with risks of additional blood clots over a patient’s lifetime. However, many physicians and patients are deciding against long-term treatment with blood thinners because of concern about the risk of bleeding. Some are choosing aspirin instead because they consider it to be safer. This study has shown that the blood thinner rivaroxaban is as safe as aspirin, and more effective at preventing recurrence of life-threatening blood clots in the legs and lungs.
The gene, called CDH2, causes arrhythmogenic right ventricle cardiomyopathy (ARVC), which is a genetic disorder that predisposes patients to cardiac arrest and is a major cause of unexpected death in seemingly healthy young people.
The scientists discovered the antiprotozoal drug pentamidine disrupts the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria, even the most resistant. The anti-fungal medication was particularly potent when used with antibiotics against multidrug resistant bacteria.
The goal of the study was to explore whether fecal microbiota from human IBS patients with diarrhea has the ability to influence gut and brain function in recipient mice. Using fecal transplants, researchers transferred microbiota from IBS patients with or without anxiety into germ-free mice. The mice went on to develop changes both in intestinal function and behavior reminiscent of the donor IBS patients, compared to mice that were transplanted with microbiota from healthy individuals.
New research from a team of cognitive neuroscientists at McMaster University suggests that simply putting on a uniform, similar to one the police might wear, automatically affects how we perceive others, creating a bias towards those considered to be of a low social status.
The research team behind the Portal is now announcing the launch of French version of the Portal which can be found at www.mcmastervieillissementoptimal.org. The French language version of the portal is called the Portail sur le Vieillissement Optimal de McMaster.
There are no more excuses for being out of shape. Researchers at McMaster University have found that short, intense bursts of stair climbing, which can be done virtually anywhere, have major benefits for heart health.
The findings negate the two most common excuses of couch potatoes: no time and no access to the gym.
A brain-sensing headband designed to help consumers focus their thoughts is also generating valuable data for neuroscience research, shedding light on what happens to our thinking processes as we age, for example, or how women and men process thoughts differently.
Sedentary older adults with no genetic risk factors for dementia may be just as likely to develop the disease as those who are genetically predisposed, according to a major study which followed more than 1,600 Canadians over five years.
Researchers at McMaster University and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton have demonstrated that physiotherapists can safely start in-bed cycling sessions with critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients early on in their ICU stay.
The research team identified problems with the nutritional guidelines and in particular problems with the research that supported the guidelines’ recommendations.
A team of kinesiologists has found that high-intensity interval training (HIT) is more enjoyable than moderate exercise. It’s the first study to examine changes in enjoyment for HIT workouts versus moderate continuous training, over the first six weeks of an exercise program.
New genetic research from an international team including McMaster University, University of Helsinki, Vilnius University and the University of Sydney, suggests that smallpox, a pathogen that caused millions of deaths worldwide, may not be an ancient disease but a much more modern killer that went on to become the first human disease eradicated by vaccination.
Scientists examined one bacterium found 1,000 feet underground (called Paenibacillus) that demonstrated resistance to most antibiotics used today, including so-called ‘drugs of last resort’ such as daptomycin. These microorganisms have been isolated from the outside world for more than four million years within the cave.
An analysis of 2,000-year-old human remains from several regions across the Italian peninsula has confirmed the presence of malaria during the Roman Empire, addressing a longstanding debate about its pervasiveness in this ancient civilization.
Middle-age adults living with a combination of arthritis, heart disease or diabetes, and depression are more likely to experience disability and limited involvement in society
The researchers discovered an important ‘on’ button in DIXDC1 protein that instructs brain cells to form mature connections called synapses with other brain cells during development.
The team evaluated 15 randomized controlled trials published between 2011 and 2015, assessing the benefits and harms of targeted or immune checkpoint inhibitors in 6,662 patients with cancer that had spread to the lymph nodes and surgery was not an option, or distant metastatic melanoma.
The Ottawa Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) and McMaster University congratulate Turnstone Biologics Inc. (Turnstone) on securing $41.4 million U.S. in new private investments.
Low intensity ultrasound after surgical repair of a bone fracture is a popular treatment to improve recovery, but it doesn’t work, says a large international study led by researchers at McMaster University.
It’s been long thought that when blood transfusions are needed, it may be best to use the freshest blood, but McMaster University researchers have led a large international study proving that it is not so.
People who retain a particular bacterium in their gut after a bout of food poisoning may be at an increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease later in life, according to a new study led by researchers at McMaster University.
Seasonal flu vaccines work by generating antibodies that bind to the virus and prevent it from infecting cells. Universal flu vaccines do this as well, but go one step further by recruiting white blood cells to destroy infected cells, says Matthew Miller, the senior author of the study.
Two recent studies published in Diabetes and Scientific Reports highlight the loss of muscle stem cells early on in the disease; a likely key to the muscle deterioration which happens later on. One means to prevent the loss of skeletal muscle in diabetes is to reduce myostatin.
The PediFETCh study will help determine - for the first time - whether fecal transplants can be a viable treatment for children who cannot control their disease with their current medications, or who want to avoid moving onto higher doses, different medications, or surgery.
Researchers at McMaster University have re-invented the eye drop with technology that can deliver medicine much more efficiently, making life easier for patients.