patients

A Toxic Fungus Could Be Contributing to Some People’s Irritable Bowel Disease

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Some strains of yeast in the human gut can produce toxins that could contribute to irritable bowel disease (IBD), according to new research. These “high-damaging” Candida albicans yeast strains aren’t usually a problem when they are kept in balance, but in the guts of those with IBD, the fungi appear to proliferate, triggering inflammation.   The … Read more

A Single Genetic Test Can Accurately Diagnose 25 Rare Diseases Faster Than Ever

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Scientists have developed a quick genetic test that can diagnose a large range of rare muscle and nerve diseases with near perfect accuracy. Tandem repeat disorders are a family of over 50 inherited diseases, including Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), that seem to occur when short DNA sequences are repeated too many times. … Read more

How a 19th-Century Breakthrough Could Revolutionize COVID-19 Diagnosis

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It sounds simple, but to treat someone you suspect has COVID, you need to confirm they are actually infected with the coronavirus. In the UK, it is easy to take this for granted – we’ve had a reliable detection method for diagnosing infected patients widely available since early on in the pandemic. This allowed for … Read more

ADHD Linked to ‘Significantly Higher’ Risk of Hoarding, New Study Finds

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Many of us may find we have acquired too many possessions that clutter our living spaces, but refuse to part with things “in case we might need them”. Although having too much stuff is something many of us can relate to, for some people, a persistent difficulty parting with possessions can become a problem: hoarding. … Read more

Scientists Convert Donor Lungs to Universal Blood Type in a Medical First

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Patients can wait a long time for potentially life-saving lung transplants, since the need to find close matches complicates the process. One of the characteristics that need to be matched is patient and donor blood type.   Now new research shows that the blood type of some donated lungs could be altered before transplant, which … Read more

COVID-19 patients face higher risk of brain fog and depression, even 1 year after infection | Science

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Dozens of papers have examined the lingering mental health effects of COVID-19, but many have measured conditions such as depression and brain fog only a few months after infection. Now, a giant new study shows people who contracted COVID-19 faced substantially higher risks of neuropsychiatric ailments 1 year later, including brain fog, depression, and substance … Read more

American Woman Appears to Be Entirely Cured of HIV After Unique Medical Treatment

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Ten years ago, an unnamed American woman was diagnosed with HIV. Like the tens of thousands of people who test positive in the US each year, she faced a lifetime of anti-retroviral therapies to keep the virus from obliterating her immune system.   Today, that’s no longer the case. The patient is part of an … Read more

Scientists Think They’ve Unlocked The Secret of Long-Term Lyme Disease Symptoms

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Scientists may have discovered a new way of tackling the lingering, debilitating effects of Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness that can lead to flu-like symptoms and a rash called erythema migrans.   The latest research suggests that dead fragments of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, continue to hang around in the body … Read more

A Common Over-The-Counter Drug Could Treat Long COVID, Case Study Reports

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Two patients with long COVID in California have almost completely alleviated their symptoms by taking daily antihistamines, according to a newly published case report. While the evidence is anecdotal, the remarkable results aren’t without precedent, and the authors hope the stories they have detailed can give patients hope and point researchers in the right direction … Read more