Long Covid patients suffer from chronic symptoms such as fatigue or shortness of breath. As researchers have discovered, this is to some extent due to a part of our immune system called the complement system. The study identified a pattern in the blood proteins that will improve the diagnosis and perhaps also the targeted treatment of long Covid.
Read more …Complement system causes cell damage in long Covid
Tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) kills upwards of 1.6 million people a year, making it one of the leading causes of death by an infectious agent worldwide -- and that number is only growing larger. How, exactly, Mtb evades the immune system isn't yet known, but a collaborative team of researchers recently discovered something surprising: prior exposure to a genus of bacteria called Mycobacterium seems to remodel the first-line defenders in the body's immune system.
Read more …Remodeling the immune system to fight tuberculosis
A team of physicians, neuroscientists and engineers demonstrated two new strategies that use deep brain stimulation to improve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. By simultaneously targeting two key brain structures and using a novel self-adjusting device, the team showed that they can efficiently target and improve disruptive symptoms caused by the movement disorder.
Read more …Engineering a more elegant deep brain stimulation therapy for Parkinson's