A new class of oral cholesterol-lowering drug could help patients unable to take statins due to side effects. The findings come from the largest study to date to test the effectiveness and safety of bempedoic acid, an oral medication - yet to be approved in Europe - which inhibits the body's ability to create the building blocks of cholesterol.

A research team led by Nuno Barbosa Morais, group leader at Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM) in Lisbon, computationally analysed the expression of marker genes that are associated with a "fingerprint" of cancer cells in thousands of tumors and revealed its therapeutic potential in the fight against cancer. The study published in the scientific journal PLoS Computational Biology shows

A first-of-its-kind nanoparticle vaccine candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been designed in an international research effort. RSV is second only to malaria as a cause of infant mortality worldwide. The new vaccine elicits potent neutralizing antibodies against RSV in both mice and monkeys. The animal research findings, reported March 7 in the journal Cell, pave the way for human clinical trials.

Autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, arise when the body's immune cells attack itself. Current treatments eliminate these misfunctioning immune cells, but also destroy normal, protective immune cells, leaving patients susceptible to immune deficiency and opportunistic infections. Researchers at University of Utah Health have developed a new approach that targets the misfunctioning immune cells while leaving normal immune cells in place.

Celastrol's potent anti-obesity effects were widely reported in 2015. Derived from the roots of the thunder god vine, the drug curbed food intake in obese mice by nearly 80 percent, producing up to a 45 percent weight loss. Celastrol increases the brain's sensitivity to leptin, the hormone that signals we've had enough to eat, but until now, no one knew how. In today's Nature Medicine, a study led by Umut Ozcan, MD, at Boston Children's Hospital finally solves the mystery.

Brain tumors vary widely in how they respond to treatment. However, early assessment of therapy response is essential in order to choose the best possible treatment for the patient. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now been able to show in a study using non-invasive high-resolution 7-Tesla MRI scans that the protein content of tumors correlates with response to treatment and survival.

Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019.