In a recent study published in the EClinicalMedicine, a group of researchers developed and validated a Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) (a progressive lung condition that causes breathing difficulties)-specific mortality risk prediction model using probabilistic graphical modeling to enhance disease management strategies. Study:  Development and validation of a mortality risk prediction model for…

With the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games just around the corner, the extensive training and the sacrifices athletes make to compete at the games take centre stage. For Paralympians and high-performance athletes with spinal cord injuries (SCI), assessing chronic pain plays a key role in their training and readiness to compete. However, the source of chronic…

A decade ago, federal officials drafted a plan to discourage Medicare Advantage health insurers from overcharging the government by billions of dollars — only to abruptly back off amid an "uproar" from the industry, newly released court filings show. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published the draft regulation in January 2014. The rule…

A KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) study on breastfeeding practices revealed that among the women who exclusively breastfed, those with high body mass index2] (BMI) before pregnancy lost more weight than women with a healthy BMI pre-pregnancy. Women with high BMI who exclusively breastfed, in addition to losing their pregnancy weight, lost an extra 200 grammes…

Cognitive functions, also known as intellectual functions, encompass thinking, understanding, memory, language, computation, and judgment, and are performed in the cerebrum. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), located in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex, handles these functions. Studies have shown that exercise improves cognitive function through mechanisms such as enhanced cerebral blood flow, structural changes…

Among things many families don't wish to pass down to their children and grandchildren: medical issues. One in five parents say their child has been diagnosed with a hereditary condition, while nearly half expressed concerns about their child potentially developing such a condition, a new national poll suggests. And two thirds of parents want their…

Study:  Evaluation of the “15 Minute Challenge”: A Workplace Health and Wellbeing Program. Image Credit: Pixel-Shot / Shutterstock.com The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2020 guidelines recommend 150–300 min of moderate-intensity or 75–150 min of vigorous-intensity activity per week, which is associated with a 20–30% reduction in all-cause mortality risk. In a recent study…

Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a rare X-linked neuromuscular disorder that results from an abnormal expansion of gene sequences in the androgen receptor gene. SBMA has an adult onset and is a slowly progressive disease that usually presents with muscle weakness in the limbs, predominantly in the proximal regions. In addition, SBMA progressively…

In the first 24 hours after a python devours its massive prey, its heart grows 25%, its cardiac tissue softens dramatically, and the organ squeezes harder and harder to more than double its pulse. Meanwhile, a vast collection of specialized genes kicks into action to help boost the snake's metabolism fortyfold. Two weeks later, after…

Pennington Biomedical Research Center's Dr. Candida Rebello wants to know more about the intersection of blood sugar levels and a diet rich in soy. This intersection is the primary focus of her new study, "Lifestyle Intervention for Improving Metabolic and Motivational Outcomes," or MOTIVATE, which explores how specific diets can impact blood sugar, and potentially…