People who carry two copies of the gene mutation most strongly implicated in Alzheimer’s disease are almost certain to develop brain changes related to the degenerative disorder, a new study says. A single mutated APOE4 gene has been found to pose the strongest genetics-driven risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s, researchers said. Virtually everyone with two… read on > read on >
Researchers say they’ve identified a human “neural compass” — a pattern of brain activity that helps prevent humans from becoming lost. For the first time, the internal compass humans use to orient themselves and navigate through the environment has been pinpointed in the human brain, researchers reported May 6 in the journal Nature Human Behavior.… read on > read on >
Parents can be very effective buzzkills for their teens, just by letting kids know they’re being closely watched, a new study reports. Teenagers are less likely to drink, smoke or use drugs when parents keep tabs on their activities, according to findings published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. What’s more, teens… read on > read on >
An artificial intelligence (AI) program trained to analyze cardiac ultrasounds can detect abnormal heart rhythms that a doctor is apt to overlook, a new study reports. “Atrial fibrillation can come and go, so it might not be present at a doctor’s appointment,” said corresponding author Dr. Neal Yuan, a staff scientist at Smidt Heart Institute… read on > read on >
A small, implantable heart pump could help children await heart transplants at home rather than languishing in a hospital, according to a new study. The pump is surgically attached to augment the heart’s blood-pumping action, giving more time to find a donor heart, researchers said. The pump worked well for seven children participating in a… read on > read on >
An injectable gene therapy caused measurable improvements in vision among a small group of people with inherited blindness, an early-stage clinical trial says. Researchers recruited 14 people with Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare genetic condition that causes babies to lose some or all of their sight from birth. Eleven of the 14 had measurable… read on > read on >
Nearly 100,000 U.S. children lost a parent in 2020 to gun violence or drug overdose, a three-fold rise since 1999, according to a new study. Overall, these two causes made up nearly a quarter (23%) of parental losses in 2020, almost double the level cited in 1999, according to a team who reported its findings… read on > read on >
Two-thirds of kids who suffer a subtle type of epileptic seizure go undiagnosed when they seek emergency room treatment, new research shows. “We do not know how many people are walking around with seizures that they are unaware of, and we are unaware of,” said researcher Jacqueline French, a professor of neurology at NYU Grossman… read on > read on >
A potentially dangerous spike in blood pressure known as preeclampsia can occur in 1 in every 25 pregnancies, but an accurate test to spot those women at highest risk has remained elusive. Now, Canadian researchers at Université Laval in Québec City say they’ve developed an algorithm that seems to do just that. In their study… read on > read on >
Everyone knows that specific type of sports parent – the over-the-top dad or mom who curses, shouts and even becomes physically aggressive during their kid’s match. While they might think they’re cheering their kid to victory, such poor sports behavior actually can turn a child or teen off to athletics, psychiatrists warn. “Some of those… read on > read on >
