News

  • Virtual cycling technology reduces pain, depression and anxiety in elderly

    The use of immersive virtual reality cycling technology has been shown to increase levels of physical activity and reduce feelings of pain, anxiety and depression in elderly people residing in care homes, according to a study. The study, 'Combining physical, cognitive and social activity for older people and people with dementia', was conducted by Motitech [...]

  • Bad dreams could be early warning of Parkinson’s disease

    A UK study has shown that in a cohort of older men, individuals experiencing frequent bad dreams were twice as likely to be later diagnosed with Parkinson’s as those who did not. Previous studies have revealed that people with Parkinson’s disease experience nightmares and bad dreams more frequently than adults in the general population. But using [...]

  • Foot exercise device designed to treat symptoms of arthritis

    A foot strengthening and mobility device which may help people with arthritis of the joints in their feet will be launched onto the market this summer. Gerry Farrell, a dentist from Glasgow, created the Novabow device with specialist designers and advisers from the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre at Heriot-Watt University. "My patented foot exercise device [...]

  • Supplements slow age-related macular degeneration, study finds

    Dietary supplements can slow progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in older Americans. In a new study, US scientists analysed 10 years of Age-Related Eye Disease Studies (AREDS and AREDS2) data. They showed that the AREDS2 supplement formula, which uses antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin instead of beta-carotene, reduced risk [...]

  • Target protein in diabetes drug linked to lower risk of Alzheimer’s

    Mechanisms associated with a particular diabetes drug can also help to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, a study has reported. The results of the Karolinska Institutet study published in Neurology on June 2 indicate that the drug’s target protein can be an interesting candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is becoming increasingly common, but [...]

  • Researchers unlock secrets of ageing in blood stem cells

    New research has uncovered how genetic changes that accumulate slowly in blood stem cells throughout life are likely to be responsible for the dramatic change in blood production after the age of 70. The study, by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and collaborators, was published on June 1 [...]

  • Gene regulation holds clues to a longer lifespan, study finds

    Rochester biologists who study the genetics of lifespan have suggested novel targets to combat ageing and age-related diseases. Natural selection has produced mammals that age at dramatically different rates. Take, for example, naked mole rats - they can live up to 41 years, nearly ten times as long as similar-size rodents such as mice. What [...]

  • Senescent brain cells may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

    People with Alzheimer’s have more senescent brain cells than those without this disease, a new study shows. Senescent cells, which are damaged cells in the body that do not die off when they should, have been linked to many aspects of ageing and disease. The new results, published in Nature Aging, show that these neurons [...]

  • Smart, dissolving pacemaker allows patients to recover at home

    Last summer, Northwestern University researchers introduced the first-ever transient pacemaker - a fully implantable, wireless device that harmlessly dissolves in the body after it’s no longer needed. Now, they have unveiled a new, smart version that is integrated into a coordinated network of soft, flexible, wireless, wearable sensors and control units placed around the upper body. The study [...]

  • Nanoparticles used to trigger immune system to fight brain cancer

    Scientists at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center were optimistic when they identified a small molecule that blocked a key pathway in brain tumours. But there was a problem: How to get the inhibitor through the bloodstream and into the brain to reach the tumour. In collaboration with multiple labs, the teams fabricated a [...]