Investigators have discovered how a drug for multiple sclerosis interacts with its targets, a finding that may pave the way for better treatments. The study, published Feb. 8 in Nature Communications, details the precise molecular structure of the multiple sclerosis drug siponimod as it interacts with its target, the human S1P receptor 1 (S1P1), and…

People with dementia receiving home health care visits are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital when there is consistency in nursing staff, according to a new study. Home health care — in which health providers, primarily nurses, visit patients’ homes to deliver care — has become a leading source of home- and community-based…

Scientists have developed a new therapeutic concept for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. It represents a gene therapy capable of suppressing seizures at their site of origin on demand. Having been shown to be effective in an animal model, the new method will now be optimized for clinical use. Epilepsy affects approximately 5 million…

A researcher examined the role of cholesterol in both Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes to identify a small molecule that may help regulate cholesterol levels in the brain, making it a potential new therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease. There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 5.5 million people in…

An in-hospital stroke is a stroke that occurs during a hospitalization for another diagnosis. In-hospital stroke affects roughly 35,000-75,000 hospitalized people annually in the United States and occurs most often among patients who have undergone a recent procedure or an invasive diagnostic test. The statement details five key suggestions focused on reducing delays and optimizing…

Research shows that starting infants as young as 3 weeks old on the ketogenic diet is effective in treating epilepsy. «Overall, we observed that ketogenic diet continues to be a safe, effective and well-tolerated treatment for patients under 3 years of age with drug-resistant epilepsy,» says study author John Millichap, MD, an epilepsy specialist at…

Down syndrome, due to an extra chromosome 21, occurs in 250,000 children and adults in the United States, making it the country’s most common chromosomal disorder. Inherited heart defects, thyroid cancer, celiac disease and developmental disabilities are common Down syndrome complications. Only recently has catatonia, a behavioral condition marked by new onset immobility, mutism, withdrawal…

When cells within a single tumor differ in terms of their genetic makeup, this is referred to as intratumor heterogeneity. Researchers have been able to reconstruct the process by which this genetic heterogeneity develops in neuroblastoma, a type of cancer which primarily affects young children. According to their findings, the genetic makeup of individual tumors…

Fusing the neck’s top two vertebrae can prevent repeat strokes in children with bow hunter syndrome, a rare condition that affects a handful of U.S. pediatric patients each year, researchers suggest in a recent study. The finding offers a new way to treat these children and protect them from potentially lifelong neurological consequences. Bow hunter…

Brain metastasis occurs when cancer in one part of the body spreads to the brain. The lifetime incidence of such metastatic brain tumors in cancer patients is between 20%-45%, research shows. A new study from USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, suggests that the region cancer spreads to in the…