Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is characterized by an abnormal inflammatory reaction of the lungs to inhaled particles, such as cigarette smoke. On the other hand, the transcription factor interferon responsive factors (IRFs) are key elements in the production of type I and III interferons. A group of researchers in Italy looked into the relationship between interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and COPD outcomes.
Researchers from University of Bristol and affiliated organizations performed studies to identify new risk factors that would predict future cardiovascular events after an incident stroke.
“Do dreams predict the future?” Abidemi Otaiku asked his audience at the 10th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, currently being held in Helsinki. Most audience members, being hard-boiled scientists, did not believe they did. But Otaiku, whose work won the award for best clinical abstract at the conference, presented data indicating that in some cases, they can.
Researchers have identified a gene associated with whether patients hospitalized with respiratory viral infections recover rapidly or face life-threatening complications. The gene has the potential to be used as a diagnostic tool or biomarker, which could help triage patients suffering from severe respiratory infections. Having such a biomarker would help clinicians in their early risk assessments to manage their intervention strategies.
Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and affiliated organizations have presented data from a study that aimed to identify the prognostic markers related to abnormal methylation in ocular melanoma, including uveal melanoma (UM).
Researchers from Qingdao University have presented data from a study that aimed to investigate the role of HIG1 hypoxia inducible domain family member 1B (HIGD1B) in gastric cancer (GC). The expression of HIGD1B was analyzed in GC and normal gastric tissues from multiple independent cohorts from public databases and verified using cell experiments.
Investigators at the University of Edinburgh have identified a genomic location linked to sensitivity to gabapentin in individuals with idiopathic chronic pelvic pain.
Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University presented data from a study that aimed to assess the role of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 1605 (LINC01605) in the progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Researchers from University of Tsukuba published data from a study designed to identify novel biomarkers for predicting treatment responses to nivolumab plus ipilimumab combination therapy.
Fermitin family homolog 1 (FERMT1), a member of the kindlin family of focal adhesion proteins, plays a pivotal role in mediating integrin-dependent cell adhesion and signaling. Scientists at Fujian Medical University (FJMU) assessed the functional significance of FERMT1 in glioma progression and stemness.