The new study explores alpha-synuclein’s basic properties, with a focus on a section of the protein known as the non-amyloidal component (NAC). The research was done on fruit fly larvae that were genetically engineered to produce both normal and mutated forms of human alpha-synuclein. Alpha-synuclein is known to form abnormal clumps in the brains of…

The painful overuse injury called swimmer’s shoulder, common in competitive swimmers, may be caused by excessive swimming distance during training along with a culture in competitive swimming that sublimates pain, according to new research. The research abstract, «No Pain, No Gain: Normalizing Attitudes Associated with Shoulder Pain in Adolescent Swimmers,» will be presented at the…

Cells regularly go through a process called autophagy — literally translated as ‘self-eating’ — which helps to destroy bacteria and viruses after infection. Now new research has shed light on the mechanisms behind autophagy and how it progresses — particularly relating to a process called liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). When it works, this process counteracts…

In geographic atrophy, a late form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), reading ability is closely related to the altered retinal structure. Reading speed makes everyday functional impairment measurable, which the most common functional test in ophthalmology — the best-corrected visual acuity assessment — cannot reflect. Retinal imaging can be used to assess loss of reading…

Researchers found high blood pressure complicated about 80,000 pregnancies in 2018, nearly twice as many as in 2007. Women living in rural areas continue to be approximately 20% more likely to have high blood pressure before pregnancy than women living in urban communities. Pre-pregnancy hypertension is a well-established risk to the health of both mothers…

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy can experience severe side effects that persist long after treatments end. A new study has found a novel pathway for understanding why these debilitating conditions happen — and why scientists should focus on ‘all of the possible neural processes that deliver sensory or motor problems to a patient’s brain’ and not…

Researchers from two independent research teams have discovered how the mislocalization of a protein, known as TDP-43, alters the genetic instructions for UNC13A, providing a possible therapeutic target that could also have implications in treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and other forms of dementia. ALS and FTD are two neurodegenerative disorders in…

Two studies explore the relationship between poor oral health and cognitive decline and the effects of perceived stress and social support on dry mouth among older Chinese Americans. Researchers interviewed more than 2,700 Chinese Americans aged 60 and older and found that nearly 50 percent of study participants reported experiencing tooth symptoms, 25.5 percent reported…

Primary progressive aphasia is a rare neurodegenerative condition characterized by prominent language problems that worsen over time. About 40% of people with the condition have underlying Alzheimer’s disease. But a new study has found that people with the condition may not develop the memory problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease. «While we knew that the memories…

Making initiation of buprenorphine easy and timely was associated with a 25 percent increase in the likelihood of its use of treatment in emergency departments. A program designed to increase initiation of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in the emergency department led to a sixfold increase in its use at three Penn Medicine hospitals,…