Medicine

WAY-316606, a compound originally developed to treat osteoporosis, has a dramatic stimulatory effect on human hair follicles, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Biology. The new drug enhances human hair growth. Image credit: Pexels. Male androgenetic alopecia (MAA) is the most common form of hair loss in …

A research team led by a University of Cambridge scientist has found that in the brain, cholesterol acts as a catalyst which triggers the formation of the toxic clusters of the amyloid-beta protein, a central player in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. It is unclear, however, if the results — …

A modified form of a compound called itaconate suppresses an inflammatory pathway that is overactive in many autoimmune diseases, suggesting that it may be effective against psoriasis as well as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Lesional psoriatic skin. Image credit: …

Intestinal stem cells are responsible for maintaining the lining of the intestine, which typically renews itself every 5 days. When an injury or infection occurs, stem cells are key to repairing any damage. As we age, the regenerative abilities of our intestinal stem cells decline. According to the findings of …

Middle-aged to elderly men and women who take frequent sauna baths have a substantially reduced risk of new-onset stroke, according to a 15-year follow-up study published in the journal Neurology. In this new study, people taking a sauna 4-7 times a week were 61% less likely to suffer a stroke …

Dark chocolate consumption improves the ability to see low- and high-contrast targets, possibly owing to increased blood flow, suggests a small new study from the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry in San Antonio, Texas. Rabin et al found slight improvement in vision after eating dark chocolate. …

Living a healthy lifestyle — eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, keeping a healthy body weight, not drinking too much alcohol, and not smoking — during adulthood may extend longevity by 14 years for women and 12 years for men, according to a new study published in the journal Circulation. …

A team of researchers at Augusta University has shown that when rats or healthy people drink a solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3), it becomes a trigger for the stomach to make more acid to digest the next meal and for little-studied mesothelial cells sitting on the spleen to …

Consuming dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao has positive effects on stress levels, inflammation, mood, memory and immunity, according to two studies presented this week at the Experimental Biology 2018 annual meeting in San Diego. While it is well known that cacao is a major source of flavonoids, this …

According to a new study, published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, older adults who take a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant called MitoQ see age-related vascular changes reverse by the equivalent of 15 to 20 years within six weeks. This new study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting pharmaceutical-grade …