If you want to stay well, make sure you’re getting enough sleep. That’s the conclusion of a new study that found that good sleep helps regulate a key component of the body’s immune system. Specifically, it influences the environment where white blood cells known as monocytes form, develop and get ready to support the immune…  read on >  read on >

Two common diabetes medications seem to outperform two others when it comes to controlling blood sugar levels, a large U.S. trial has found. The trial of more than 5,000 people with type 2 diabetes found that two injection medications — a long-acting insulin and liraglutide (Victoza) — typically worked better than two oral drugs in…  read on >  read on >

When traditional treatments fail to help patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an implant that zaps the brain with electrical pulses just might, a new research review shows. It found that the remedy — known as “deep brain stimulation,” or DBS — can offer significant relief to as many as two-thirds of such patients. On…  read on >  read on >

Every year, hibernating bears are able to feast, pack on a huge amount of weight and then lie around for months — all without suffering the health consequence of diabetes. Now researchers are closer to understanding their secret. Scientists with the Washington State University Bear Center say they’ve zeroed in on eight proteins that appear…  read on >  read on >

THURSDAY, Sept. 22, 2022 (HealthDay News) – The fight against malaria could hinge on genetically engineered mosquitoes that have something called “gene drive.” Researchers from the Transmission: Zero team at Imperial College London report that they have engineered mosquitoes that slow the growth in their gut of the parasites that cause malaria. This delay would…  read on >  read on >

For many years, doctors have advised taking low-dose aspirin to help prevent first-time heart attacks and stroke. But increasingly, they’re doing an about-face. The latest warnings come from University of Michigan researchers who reported that patients simultaneously taking another blood thinner, warfarin, along with aspirin are more likely to have bleeding problems. The research team…  read on >  read on >

Too few children with sickle cell anemia are getting the recommended screening tests for stroke, a common complication of this disease, a new government report finds. What’s more, many aren’t receiving hydroxyurea, a medication that can reduce the complications associated with the blood disorder, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted.…  read on >  read on >