- Smelling a familiar scent is more effective than words at cueing up a memory of a specific event and could even be used in the clinical setting to help depressed individuals get out of negative thought cycles and rewire thought patterns, aiding faster and smoother healing, finds a new study. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/021324-are-you-depressed 17 comments science
- A new study indicates that severity of amyloid deposition in the brain — not just age — may be key to determining who will benefit from new anti-amyloid therapies to delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/122223-predicting-alz-dementia 9 comments science
- Researchers discovered a suite of genes that influence head shape in humans. These findings help explain the diversity of human head shapes and may also offer important clues about the genetic basis of conditions that affect the skull, such as craniosynostosis. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/111723-genetics-head-shape 2 comments science
- Genetic Vulnerability to ADHD Signals Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease in Old Age https://www.upmc.com/media/news/120722-genetic-vulnerability-to-adhd-signals-risk 7 comments technology
- Scientists have found hospitalized children who tested or were presumed positive for SARS-CoV-2, 44% developed neurological symptoms, and these kids were more likely to require intensive care than their peers who didn't experience such symptoms, https://www.upmc.com/media/news/012122-Fink-COVID-Children 20 comments science
- Children in sub-Saharan Africa who are hospitalized with COVID-19 are dying at a rate far greater than children in the U.S. and Europe, according to a new study. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/011922-nachega-covid-kids-africa 181 comments science
- Being kind to oneself is not a new age fad—and there is research to back it up. Middle-aged women who practiced self-compassion had lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, irrespective of other traditional risk factors such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and cholesterol levels. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/121621-thurston-self-compassion 11 comments science
- Study: In a concerning trend for the health of US children, the rate of underinsured youngsters rose from 30.6% to 34%—an additional 2.4 million kids—from 2016 to 2019. This was driven by rising insurance inadequacy, mainly experienced as high out-of-pocket expenses for health services. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/120621-yu-houtrow-underinsured-kids 65 comments science
- An analysis of pharmaceutical sales data in the United States reveals there was a marked increase in the purchase of erectile dysfunction medication during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/062521-davies-pandemic-sex 8 comments science
- Subtle differences in the shape of the brain that are present in adolescence are associated with the development of psychosis. Scientists found that those at high risk for psychosis had widespread lower cortical thickness, a measure of the thickness of the brain's gray matter https://www.upmc.com/media/news/050521-jalbrzikowski-enigma 5 comments science
- A new study demonstrates positive effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion. Health insurance expansions increased early-stage cancer diagnoses, while rates of late-stage cancer decreased, highlighting the role of public health insurance in improving cancer outcomes. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/111220-ajpm-aca 34 comments science
- According to a study published today in Science, llama “nanobodies” are highly effective at neutralizing the SARS-CoV-2 virus and stable enough that they can be delivered as an inhalable mist. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/110520-shi-llama-nanobody 34 comments science
- Research has found people who use a wide variety of negative emotional words tend to display linguistic markers associated with lower well-being -- such as references to illness and being alone -- and report greater depression and neuroticism, as well as poor physical health. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/091020-vine-ev-study 5 comments science
- Study shows that plexiglass "intubation boxes" placed over a COVID-19 patient's head and shoulders can't protect health care workers against aerosolized virus. Negative pressure and filtration are needed. [video] https://www.upmc.com/media/news/090320-turer-ibu-aem 11 comments science
- Scientists coax pigs to grow new livers in their lymph nodes to compensate for liver injury. This large animal study is the last preclinical step before moving to human trials. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/082420-lagasse-ectopic-pig-liver 24 comments science
- In a pair of papers, researchers found that many "orphan genes" truly don't have parents, and discovered that the potential for coding stable, functional proteins is rampant among non-coding "junk DNA" https://www.upmc.com/media/news/021720-carvunis-nat-comms-elife 9 comments science
- Identical twins don't need immunosuppressants to avoid rejection after transplant, but half get them anyway https://www.upmc.com/media/news/110519-twin-kidney-transplant 14 comments science
- New study finding that the health care market is failing to support new antibiotics used to treat some of the world’s most dangerous, drug-resistant superbugs, is "chilling commentary" on the future of antibiotics https://www.upmc.com/media/news/100719-clancy-nguyen-antibiotics 3 comments science
- One of every five tweets mentioning JUUL in analysis also references addiction-related themes, study finds https://www.upmc.com/media/news/090919-juul-tweets 3 comments science
- In a decade, Medicare recipients saw a sevenfold increase in out of pocket costs for multiple sclerosis drugs, new study finds https://www.upmc.com/media/news/082619-hernandez-ms-drug-pricing 3 comments science
- Simulation finds a 5% decrease in vaccination rates could lead to a 4,000% increase in the size of a potential measles outbreak in some Texas cities https://www.upmc.com/media/news/082119-sinclair-fred-texas 181 comments science
- Using human stem cells, researchers grow genetically engineered miniature livers in the lab and demonstrate why a promising drug for fatty liver disease failed in clinical trials https://www.upmc.com/media/news/080619-soto-gutierrez-mini-livers 16 comments science
- People who receive opioids for the first time while hospitalized have double the risk of continuing to receive opioids for months after discharge compared with those who are not given opioids, according to new research (n=191,249), and non-opioids were rarely tried before an opioid was administered. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/061719-donohue-inpatient-opioid 9 comments science
- In a first, scientists developed an all-in-one immunotherapy approach that not only kicks HIV out of hiding in the immune system, but also kills it, using cells from people with HIV, that could lead to a vaccine that would allow people to stop taking daily medications to keep the virus in check. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/040319-kristoff-mailliard-mdc1 317 comments science
- People living in colder regions with less sunlight drink more alcohol than their warm-weather counterparts. The new study found that as temperature and sunlight hours dropped, alcohol consumption increased. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/111418-alcohol-and-weather?t=au 1963 comments science
- Religious freedom laws may be linked to poorer self-reported health among people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or are unsure of their sexual orientation. Prior research show sexual minorities have greater rates of poor mental health, due to discrimination, harassment, and stigma they often endure. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/101118-religious-freedom-laws-linked-to-poor-lgbt-health 5 comments science
- States’ religious freedom laws may be linked to poorer self-reported health among sexual minorities, finds a new national study. Such laws are often invoked by courts to support those who want to deny services to members of particular groups due to conflicts with their personal religious beliefs. https://www.upmc.com/media/news/101118-religious-freedom-laws-linked-to-poor-lgbt-health 3 comments science
- Negative experiences on social media carry more weight than positive interactions when it comes to the likelihood of young adults reporting depressive symptoms, suggests a new study. (n=1,179 full-time students age 18 to 30) http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2018/pages/primack-smposneg.aspx 3 comments science
- E-Cig Use Increases Risk of Beginning Tobacco Cigarette Use in Young Adults: Young adults who use electronic cigarettes are more than four times as likely to begin smoking tobacco cigarettes within 18 months as their peers who do not vape, according to new University of Pittsburgh research. http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2017/pages/ecig-to-cigarette.aspx 8 comments science
- Researchers Make Surprising Discovery About How Neurons Talk to Each Other. The findings, made in fruit flies and mice, challenge existing dogma about how neurons communicate, and may have implications for many dopamine-related diseases, including schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and addiction. http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2017/pages/freyburg.aspx 10 comments science
- A novel gene therapy using CRISPR genome editing technology effectively targets cancer-causing “fusion genes” and improves survival in mouse models of aggressive liver and prostate cancers. http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2017/pages/novel-gene-editing-.aspx 5 comments science
- Longer-than-expected telomeres are associated with an increased cancer risk. http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2017/pages/yuan-singapore-aacr.aspx 8 comments science
- The more time a young adult uses social media, the more likely they are to feel socially isolated. Study suggests use of social media doesn’t present a panacea to reduce perceived social isolation. Past studies have shown that social isolation is associated with an increased risk for mortality. http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2017/pages/primack-smu.aspx 277 comments science
- Vast Majority of Guns Recovered by Police Not Carried by Legal Owners, Pitt Public Health Analysis Reveals http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2016/pages/fabio-firearms.aspx 20 comments politics
- Most gun crimes not committed by legal gun owner. Nearly 80 percent of perpetrators carrying a gun recovered by Pittsburgh Police were not the lawful owners, a strong indication that theft and trafficking are significant sources of firearms involved in crimes in southwest Pennsylvania. http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2016/pages/fabio-firearms.aspx 3853 comments science
- Treating the potentially blinding haze of a scar on the cornea might be as straightforward as growing stem cells from a tiny biopsy of the patient’s undamaged eye and then placing them on the injury site, according to mouse model experiments http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2014/pages/som-study-shows-stems-cells-clear-cloudy-cornea.aspx 22 comments science
- Viral Infections, Including Flu, Could Be Inhibited by Naturally Occurring Protein, Research Finds http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2014/pages/upci-study-viral-infections.aspx 6 comments science
- Women seeking emergency contraception more likely to use IUDs if offered counseling and ‘same-day service,’ study finds: Health care clinics should routinely offer same-day placement of intrauterine devices (IUDs) to women seeking emergency contraception, according to researchers http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2014/pages/pitt-study-knowledge-use-iuds-increase-with-counseling-same-day-service.aspx 718 comments science
- For the first time, a mouse heart was able to contract and beat again after its own cells were stripped and replaced with human heart precursor cells http://www.upmc.com/media/newsreleases/2013/pages/pitt-project-shows-mouse-heart-beats-after-regeneration.aspx 3 comments science
- Life Expectancy for Those With Type 1 Diabetes Improving, Pitt Study http://www.upmc.com/mediarelations/newsreleases/2011/pages/life-expectancy-for-type-1-diabetes-improving.aspx 3 comments science