Diabetes is a condition in which the body produces too little or no insulin. Diabetics thus depend on an external supply of this hormone via injection or pump. Researchers led by Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel want to make the lives of these people easier and are looking for solutions to produce and administer … [Read more...]
How The Flu Virus Hacks Our Cells
Influenza viruses represent a major risk to human and animal health. Their potential for mutation makes them particularly elusive. ''We already knew that the influenza A virus binds to sugar structures on the cell surface, then rolls along the cell surface until it finds a suitable entry point into the host cell. However, we did not know which proteins on the host cell surface … [Read more...]
Number of adults with diabetes reaches 422 million worldwide, with fastest increases in low and middle income countries
Since 1980, the number of adults with diabetes worldwide has quadrupled from 108 million to 422 million, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The findings provide the most comprehensive estimates of worldwide diabetes trends to date and show that diabetes is fast becoming a major problem in low and middle income countries. "Diabetes has become a defining … [Read more...]
Lung cancer: Protein as potential tool for predicting survival
The biomarker PD-1, a protein, could potentially be used to predict survival or disease-free survival of lung cancer patients who have had the tumour surgically removed. This is substantiated by the results of a study conducted under the direction of the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital, together with MedUni Graz and the University … [Read more...]
Viral particles support prophylactic vaccination against breast cancer
Artificial structures of tumour antigens, so-called mimotopes, applied in vaccinations of cancer patients can trigger a long-term immune response. For the vaccine, however, a carrier is required that triggers an immune response itself. A team of researchers from the Messerli Research Institute at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, and the Medical University of Vienna … [Read more...]
C-section carries increased risk for postpartum venous thromboembolism (VTE)
Women are four times more likely to suffer a VTE after a cesarean-section compared to a vaginal birth, according to a new study in CHEST®. Roughly one-third of all births in Europe and North America now occur via cesarean section (CS). Following any birth, women are at an increased risk for a venous thromboembolism (VTE), but it's believed that CS leaves women more … [Read more...]
Breastfeeding Can Help Infants Battle The Risk Of Asthma
Infants who have a genetic profile linked with asthma risk could be protected against respiratory symptoms if they are breastfeed, according to a new study. "Our study is the first to show that breastfeeding can modify the effect of asthma-related genetic profiles on respiratory symptoms in the first year of life," commented Dr Olga Gorlanova, from the University … [Read more...]