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How Our Social Circle Shapes Body Perception

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© UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID

A scientific study led by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and partly funded by the European Research Council (ERC) has determined that the size and composition of our social support networks directly influence how we perceive our body image. The findings could help us in treating conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, anorexia, and other eating disorders.

Published in iScience, the study involved over 100 participants and used the “Footsteps Illusion,” an experiment in which the sounds of a person’s footsteps are modified in real time to simulate those of a lighter or heavier body. These auditory changes shift people’s perception of their own weight and trigger behavioral, emotional, and physiological variations, demonstrating how malleable body image is to sensory input.

Participants were asked to walk while listening to three types of footstep sounds: one unmodified, one with footsteps that sounded as if they were produced by a lighter body, and one with footsteps that sounded as if they were produced by a heavier body. In addition, participants answered questionnaires about their body image, possible symptoms of eating disorders, and the breadth of their social support networks.

The results of this experiment showed that people with larger and more diverse social networks were generally less influenced by the sound illusion and tended to be more satisfied with their body image and have fewer symptoms of eating disorders. Conversely, the modified effects of the steps were more intense in people with smaller social networks, leading to the conclusion that body perception and its malleability not only depend on immediate sensory stimuli but are also influenced by the social structure in which the person is integrated. 

‘The implications of our study are that your circle of friends influences how you perceive your own body. If you have a wider circle of friends, you perceive your body in a more positive way,’ says Anxo Sánchez, a researcher in the Department of Mathematics at UC3M. ‘People would think that self-perception depends on oneself, but in reality it depends on the number of people who support you and surround you,’ explains another of the study’s authors, Amar D’Adamo, a researcher in the Department of Computer Science at UC3M.

These findings show that having broad and diverse social support reinforces the stability of body self-perception and protects against the influence of external signals that could distort it. This discovery, in turn, opens the door to new social interventions that serve to promote a more positive body image and mitigate the effects of weight-related stigma.

In addition, the team proposes the use of mobile applications to help people who may suffer from disorders associated with a negative self-perception of their own body: ‘At the i_mBODY Lab, we develop sensory technologies that allow us to change the perception of the body. We are also very focused on applications because we want to understand how we can use these technologies to support people,’ explains Ana Tajadura, head of the i_mBODY Lab, researcher at the Department of Computer Science at UC3M and ERC grantee.

Source: Carlos III University of Madrid

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Study Sheds Light on Why Tendons Are Prone to Injury

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Achilles tendon injury. Credit: Scientific Animations CC0

Scientists at the University of Portsmouth have created the first detailed 3D map of how a crucial piece of connective tissue in our bodies responds to the stresses of movement and exercise. This tissue, called calcified fibrocartilage (CFC), acts like a biological shock absorber where tendons attach to bone.

Damage to the CFC tissue – common in sport-related injuries – does not mend well. To improve healing treatments, scientists need to better understand the structure of this tissue and how it reacts to varying types of pressure.

Research by Atousa Moayedi, a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth’s School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, has been able to demonstrate that the centre of the CFC tissue changes shape more than the surrounding areas, when stressed at different angles. 

In areas where the microscopic cavities within the tissue (the lacunae) were more densely packed, the distortion was greater. This means that the way the tissue layers are arranged, and how thick they are, strongly influences how stretching (strain) is dispersed where the tendon meets the bone.

The study, published in the Nature journal Communications Materials, is the first to measure how differently tiny regions inside this tissue stretch or deform when forces are applied.

Until now, scientists couldn’t see exactly how this tissue behaves when put under pressure, making it nearly impossible to design effective treatments. The research team used high resolution 3D scanning and AI powered image reconstruction to map the way in which CFC tissue behaves under pressure in a mouse model, as well as how and where it might fail. Importantly, they were also able to identify the features that would be important for healing.

Better understanding of how these attachments fail under stress could help prevent common sports injuries. Tennis champion Andy Murray has battled hip tendon problems, England cricket captain Ben Stokes has dealt with recurring knee tendon issues, and footballer Harry Kane has faced ankle tendon injuries that kept him off the pitch.

Atousa said: “Once you know which parts experience the most stress and why, you can design better treatments and implants that actually replicate how the natural attachment works.”

Overseeing the study, was Professor Gordon Blunn from the University of Portsmouth’s School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. Professor Blunn said: “The weak link in the way that load is transferred from muscle to the skeleton is where the tendon joins with the bone. After injury this region is slow to heal and difficult to repair. Importantly, Atousa’s work identifies the way that load is naturally transferred in this region and serves as a model for the repair and regeneration of tissues at this site.”

Source: University of Portsmouth

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Men at Greater Risk of Major Health Effects of Diabetes than Women

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Cases of cardiovascular, leg/foot, kidney complications, and eye disease all higher in men
Sex differences in complication rates persist regardless of disease duration

Photo by Photomix Company on Pexels

Men are at greater risk than women of the major health effects of diabetes (types 1 and 2), suggests a long term study published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Rates of cardiovascular disease, leg, foot, and kidney complications, and the sight-threatening eye disease diabetic retinopathy are all higher in men, regardless of whether they had diabetes for more or less than 10 years, the findings show.

The global prevalence of diabetes is similar in men and women, and is projected to rise to 783 million by 2045, note the researchers.

But while cardiovascular disease is more common in men, overall, it’s not clear if this sex difference is apparent in the incidence of the complications associated with diabetes, say the researchers. Nor is it clear whether the length of time lived with diabetes might be influential, they add.

To explore this further, the researchers drew on survey responses from the 45 and Up Study, Australia, a large prospective study of 267 357 people over the age of 45 living in New South Wales (NSW).

These responses were linked to medical records for a total of 25 713 people, all of whom had either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, to monitor the development of any of the major health issues associated with diabetes

These include cardiovascular disease – ischaemic heart disease, mini stroke or TIA, stroke, heart failure, diabetic cardiomyopathy; eye problems – cataract, diabetic retinopathy; leg/foot problems – peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage), ulcers, cellulitis, osteomyelitis (bone inflammation), peripheral vascular disease (poor circulation), and minor or major amputation; and kidney problems – acute kidney failure, chronic kidney disease, chronic kidney failure, dialysis, and kidney transplant.

Almost half of the group were aged 60 to 74, and over half (57%; 14,697) were men, a higher proportion of whom were overweight (39% vs 29% of women) and had a history of heart disease.

Although a similar proportion of men and women were current smokers, a higher proportion of men were ex-smokers: 51% vs  29% of the women.

Of the 19 277 (75%) people with diabetes whose age was recorded at their diagnosis, 58% had been living with the disease for less than a decade and 42% had lived with it for 10 or more years.

Men had higher rates, and were at greater risk, of the complications associated with diabetes.

Over an average monitoring period of 10 years, and after factoring in age, 44% of the men experienced a cardiovascular disease complication while 57% had eye complications. Similarly, 25% of the men had leg/foot complications, and 35% kidney complications. The equivalent figures for women were, respectively, 31%, 61%, 18% and 25%.

Overall, men were 51% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than women, 47% more likely to have leg and foot complications, and 55% more likely to have kidney complications.

Although there was little difference in the overall risk of eye complications between the sexes, men were at slightly higher risk (14%) of diabetic retinopathy.

While complication rates rose in tandem with the number of years lived with diabetes for both men and women, the sex difference in complication rates persisted.

By way of an explanation, the researchers point out that the men in the study were more likely to have well known risk factors. Men may also be less likely to make lifestyle changes, take preventive meds, or get health checks to lower their risks, they suggest.

This is an observational study, and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about causal factors, added to which people with a history of complications were excluded from the study. And information on potentially influential factors, such as diabetes medications, and glucose, blood fat, and blood pressure control wasn’t available.

But based on their findings, the researchers suggest: “For every 1000 people with diabetes, our findings suggest that an average of 37, 52, 21, and 32 people will develop cardiovascular disease, eye, lower limb, and kidney complications every year.”

While the risks of complications are lower in women with diabetes, they are still high, emphasise the researchers.

And they conclude: “Although men with diabetes are at greater risk of developing complications, in particular [cardiovascular disease], kidney and lower-limb complications, the rates of complications are high in both sexes.

“The similar sex difference for those with shorter compared with longer diabetes duration highlights the need for targeted complication screening and prevention strategies from the time of diabetes diagnosis.

“Further investigation into the underlying mechanisms for the observed sex differences in diabetes complications are needed to inform targeted interventions.”

Source: BMJ Group

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Sanofi South Africa Confronts Challenge of Transformation in Healthcare

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Sanofi South Africa is proud to announce it has reached Level 1 B-BBEE status, the top rating in South Africa’s transformation framework and a rare achievement for a global healthcare company. The achievement underscores the role of global companies in driving local empowerment and healthcare access and demonstrates the potential support that multinational pharmaceuticals companies can provide in strengthening South Africa’s healthcare system.

Level 1 status recognises performance in all five B-BBEE pillars: ownership, management control, skills, supplier growth, and socio-economic development. For partners, it brings concrete benefits, including 135% procurement recognition to boost their own scorecards.

Developing people and skills
Sanofi places people at the centre of its transformation efforts. The company runs programmes for graduates, persons with disabilities, and young people through the Youth Employment Service, while also investing in management development to support career growth.

“We encourage employees to join leadership programmes that build a pipeline of diverse future leaders,” says Prudence Selani, Head of External Affairs, Sanofi South Africa. “Outside the company, Sanofi has provided interest-free loans and grants to help small businesses expand and create jobs.”

Sanofi goes beyond the B-BBEE compliance, working towards meaningful and lasting results. By the end of 2025, all Sanofi workplaces and digital platforms will be fully accessible, ensuring all employees, including those who are differently abled, can thrive. This includes new accessibility standards, assistive technology, and barrier-free workplace design through the WorkX 2.0 and Digital Accessibility standards, which guarantee full access for people with disabilities, including assistive software where needed.

Gender balance and leadership
Globally, Sanofi is ranked among the Top 25 companies for gender equality and has set clear targets for female leadership. Women already make up 50 % of the workforce, 45 % of senior leaders, and 42 % of executives. By 2025, the goal is for women to hold half of senior leadership roles and at least 40 % of executive positions.

In South Africa, this aligns with the national transformation agenda, where advancing black women into leadership is a key priority. Through targeted development and succession planning, Sanofi is increasing representation of black women in senior decision-making roles. The company also supports families through a global gender-neutral parental leave policy that gives all new parents 14 weeks of paid leave, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Supplier development
Expanding opportunities for black-owned and diverse suppliers is one of the biggest challenges in South Africa’s healthcare industry. Sanofi is addressing this by growing local partnerships and strengthening supply chains that support both healthcare resilience and inclusive growth.

Globally, the company has pledged to spend more than €1.5 billion with small and diverse suppliers by 2025. South Africa is already the third largest contributor to that target, showing how local progress can influence global impact.

A key example is Sanofi’s partnership with Biovac, which has expanded local vaccine manufacturing capacity and demonstrated how supplier development can drive industrial capability as well as positive public health outcomes.

“Supplier diversity is not about meeting quotas; it’s about building sustainable capability within the local economy,” says Selani. “When we strengthen local suppliers, we build a stronger healthcare system that serves South Africans for generations to come.”

Community programmes
Inequitable access to healthcare is another of South Africa’s most persistent challenges. Investing in initiatives that improve access to treatment, raise awareness of rare diseases, and support vulnerable groups across the country are key to closing these gaps.

One of the Sanofi’s largest global efforts, the €50 million A Million Conversations initiative, gives marginalised communities a platform to voice concerns and rebuild trust in healthcare. In South Africa, this commitment translates into community projects that extend treatment to more people, strengthen diagnosis and screening, and expand opportunities for healthcare education and awareness.

“You can’t transform healthcare without trust,” says Selani. “That means listening to communities, understanding their realities, and working alongside health professionals and patient groups to make care accessible where it’s needed most.”

Through collaboration with health care professionals, patients, and advocacy organisations, Sanofi aims to help build a healthcare system that is more inclusive, responsive, and trusted by all who depend on it.

“Our Level 1 B-BBEE rating is a springboard for deeper change. We plan to expand clinical research in South Africa, bring more diverse patient groups into trials, and to step up support for black-owned suppliers so they can play a bigger role in the healthcare value chain. We also want to widen access to treatments for rare diseases and immunology, areas where many patients still struggle to get the care they need,” says Selani.

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Fame Itself May Be Critical Factor in Shortening Singers’ Lives

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Effects of fame comparable to certain other health risks, suggest the researchers

Freddie Mercury performing with Queen in 1977. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Fame itself may be a critical factor in shortening singers’ lives beyond the hazards of the job—at least those in the UK/Europe and North America – suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

These stars seem to die around four years earlier, on average, than their peers who haven’t achieved celebrity status, and the effects of fame are on a par with certain other health risks, suggest the researchers.

Previously published research indicates that famous singers tend to die earlier than the general public. But it’s far from clear whether it’s fame itself, the demands of the music industry, or the lifestyle associated with being a musician, which contribute to this heightened risk, explain the researchers.

To shed more light on this conundrum, they retrospectively compared the risk of death in 648 singers, half of whom had achieved celebrity status and half of whom hadn’t.

Each of the 324 stars was matched for birth year, gender, nationality, ethnicity, music genre and solo/lead singer in a band status with their lesser known peers.

Most (83.5%) were male, and the average year of birth was 1949, but ranged from 1910 to 1975. Over half (61%) the singers were from North America, with the remainder from Europe/the UK. And most were White (77%), with only 19% being of Black and 4% of other or mixed ethnicities.

Most singers were in the Rock genre (65%), followed by R&B (14%), Pop (9%), New-Wave (6%), Rap (4%), and Electronica (2%). Over half (59%) the singers were in a band; 29% were solo artists; and 12% performed both solo and in a band.

The sample of famous singers was drawn from the Top 2000 Artists of All Time on acclaimedmusic.net, a database that aggregates global rankings based on published lists from music critics, journalists, and industry professionals, but not audience polls or sales data.

Only artists active after 1950 and before 1990 were included to gather sufficient tracking information on the risk of death by the end of December 2023.

Analysis of the data showed that, on average, famous singers survived until they were 75; less famous singers survived until they were 79.

While band membership was associated with a 26% lower risk of death compared with going it alone, the inclusion of this variable didn’t influence the overall effect of fame, as famous singers were still 33% more likely to die earlier than their less well known counterparts.

Only two (0.6%) of the stars achieved fame posthumously, and the heightened risk of death started only once fame had been achieved and remained significantly associated throughout the period of fame.

This suggests that the heightened risk of death isn’t attributable to baseline differences or to reverse causation, whereby earlier death contributes to fame, but that this risk emerges specifically after the attainment of fame, say the researchers.

“Together, the analyses indicate that an elevated risk emerges specifically after achieving fame, which highlights fame as a potential temporal turning point for health risks including mortality. Beyond occupational explanations, our findings suggest that fame adds further vulnerability within an already at-risk group,” they explain.

The heightened risk associated with fame is comparable to other known health risks, such as occasional smoking, which confers a heightened risk of death of 34%, they add.

This is an observational study, and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. And the researchers acknowledge that their study sample wasn’t global and was confined to singers, meaning that their observations might not apply to other regions of the world or to other domains of fame, such as acting or sport.

But a possible explanation for the findings may lie in “the unique psychosocial stress that accompanies fame, such as intense public scrutiny, performance pressure, and loss of privacy,” they suggest.

“These stressors may fuel psychological distress and harmful coping behaviours, making fame a chronic burden that amplifies existing occupational risk,” they add.

Fame brings with it significant financial security, a factor that is frequently associated with healthy ageing, while wealth is usually associated with a lower risk of premature death, they point out.

But they conclude: “Being famous appears so detrimental that it overrides any potential benefits associated with high socioeconomic status. Again, this highlights the increased vulnerability of famous individuals, suggesting a need for targeted protection and support for this population.”

Source: BMJ Group

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UK Launches World’s First Trial of Lung Cancer Vaccine

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Image of a lung lobe showing cells expressing the basal cell marker Krt5 spreading. Credit: UCL.

In the UK, people at high risk of lung cancer will soon be able to receive the first ever experimental vaccine designed to prevent the disease, in a world-first clinical trial led by researchers at UCL and the University of Oxford.

The research team has been awarded up to £2.06 million from Cancer Research UK, supported by the CRIS Cancer Foundation, to run a clinical trial of LungVax over the next four years.

This phase I trial will investigate the best dose of LungVax to give to people at high risk of lung cancer, as well as looking for any potential side-effects from different doses of the vaccine.

The trial is expected to begin in summer 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Professor Mariam Jamal-Hanjani, co-founder and lead for the LungVax clinical trials, from UCL Cancer Institute, UCLH and the Francis Crick Institute, said: “Fewer than 10% of people with lung cancer survive their disease for 10 years or more. That must change, and that change will come from targeting lung cancer at the earliest stages.

“The LungVax clinical trial is the crucial first step in bringing this vaccine to people at the highest risk of the disease. We will be looking carefully at how people respond to the vaccine, how easy it is to deliver, and who might benefit from it most in the future.

“Preventative vaccines will not replace stopping smoking as the best way to reduce the risk of lung cancer. But they could offer a viable route to preventing some cancers from emerging in the first place.”

Lung cancer cells are different from normal cells. They have ‘red flag’ proteins made by cancer-causing mutations within their DNA. These are called neoantigens and tumour associated antigens and appear on the surface of cells at a very early stage of lung cancer formation.

The LungVax vaccine carries a series of genetic instructions which train the immune system to recognise these tumour antigens on the surface of abnormal lung cells. In trialling the vaccine, the aim is to get the immune system to recognise these early abnormal cells, and kill them before they start to become cancer. The vaccine uses technology developed by the University of Oxford during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver these instructions to the immune system.

Professor Sarah Blagden, co-founder of the LungVax project from the University of Oxford, said: “Lung cancer is lethal and blights far too many lives. Survival has been stubbornly poor for decades. LungVax is our chance to do something to actively prevent this disease.

“Years of research into the biology of cancer, understanding the fundamental changes which occur in the very earliest stages of the disease, will now be put to the test. This funding means that, for the first time, we hope that people will be able to receive LungVax in clinical trials from next year.” 

To find out how safe and effective the vaccine is, the trial will initially focus on people who have been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer and have had it successfully removed but are at risk of it returning. The vaccine will also be tested in people who are undergoing lung cancer screening as part of the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme in England.

If the trial delivers promising results, the vaccine could then be scaled up to larger trials for people at risk of lung cancer.

There are around 48 500 cases of lung cancer every year in the UK. Around 72% of lung cancers are caused by smoking, which is the biggest preventable cause of cancer worldwide.

Graeme Dickie, 55, from Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire, is helping the scientists prepare for the LungVax clinical trial. In 2013, aged 42, he was diagnosed with stage II lung cancer. By 2017, it had progressed to stage IV. He has never smoked. Over the years, he’s undergone surgery to remove part of his left lung, and more than 80 rounds of chemotherapy. When those treatments stopped working, Graeme began a new targeted treatment drug, mobocertinib, that he continues with today.

Graeme said: “I am proof that research saves lives. I have been able to enjoy many more happy years with my family thanks to scientists working hard, year after year, to bring new tests and treatments.

“For me, research is vital. I won’t be able to benefit directly from LungVax personally, but I know that my story will help others to access better interventions at an early stage.”

  • Image of a lung lobe showing cells expressing the basal cell marker Krt5 spreading. Credit: UCL.

Source: University College London

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Focused Ultrasound with Chemotherapy Improves Survival for Glioblastoma Patients

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Image credit: University of Maryland School of Medicine

Patients with glioblastoma who received MRI-guided focused ultrasound with standard-of-care chemotherapy had a nearly 40% increase in overall survival in a landmark trial of 34 patients led by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. This is the first time researchers have demonstrated a potential survival benefit from using focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier to improve delivery of chemotherapy to the tumour site in brain cancer patients after surgery.

“Our results are very encouraging. Using focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier and deliver chemotherapy could significantly increase patient survival, which other ongoing studies are seeking to confirm and expand,” said study principal investigator Graeme Woodworth, MD, Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at UMSOM and Neurosurgeon-In-Chief at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC).

The findings of this groundbreaking safety, feasibility, and comparative trial involved glioblastoma patients who were given focused ultrasound to open their blood-brain barrier before getting chemotherapy; they were matched to a rigorously selected control group of 185 glioblastoma patients with similar characteristics who received the standard dose of the chemotherapy drug, temozolomide, without receiving focused ultrasound. Trial participants were initially treated with surgery to remove their brain tumour, followed by six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation, and up to six monthly focused-ultrasound treatments plus temozolomide.

Results were published in the journal Lancet Oncology and show that trial participants had nearly 14 months of median progression-free survival, compared to eight months in the control group. In terms of overall survival, trial participants, on average, lived for more than 30 months compared to 19 months in the control group.

The study builds on more than a decade of intensive research to test the safety and feasibility of opening the blood-brain barrier using focused ultrasound first in animal studies and then in patients. It was led by Dr Woodworth and was conducted at UMMC and four other university-affiliated clinical sites. “We also demonstrated that this could be a useful technique that enables us to better monitor patients to determine if their brain cancer has progressed,” said Dr Woodworth, who also serves as Director of the Brain Tumor Program at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC).

He and his team demonstrated that opening the blood-brain barrier facilitated the use of a “liquid biopsy,” which is a blood test that detects cancer biomarkers, which can include DNA fragments, proteins and other components from the liquid environment surrounding the tumor site.

Such biomarkers have been used in other cancers to determine whether the tumor has remained stable or has the potential to progress or even metastasize. Up until now, however, these tests have not been utilized in brain cancer patients since most components can never pass into the bloodstream from the brain due to the blood-brain barrier.

“These liquid biomarkers were found to be closely concordant with the patient outcomes over time, progression-free survival and overall survival,” said Dr Woodworth.

While temozolomide is the standard treatment for glioblastoma, the drug typically gets blocked by the blood-brain barrier with studies showing that less than 20 percent reaches the brain in patients. This study did not determine the exact amount of temozolomide to reach the brain in each patient, but earlier studies have shown that opening the blood-brain barrier before delivering chemotherapy can dramatically increase the amount that gets to the original tumor site.

Glioblastoma is the most common and deadliest type of malignant brain tumour. The five-year survival rate is only 5.5%, and patients live an average of 14 to 16 months after diagnosis when treated with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy when appropriate. The malignancy nearly always recurs even after it is removed due to residual infiltrating cancer cells that remain after treatment.

The blood-brain barrier is a specialized network of vascular and brain cells that acts as the brain’s security system to protect against invasion by dangerous toxins and microbes. It can be opened temporarily using a specialised focused ultrasound device. This process starts with injecting microscopic inert gas-filled bubbles into the patient’s bloodstream. Guided by an MRI, precise brain regions are targeted while the injected microbubbles are circulating.

“Upon excitation under low-intensity ultrasound waves, the microbubbles oscillate within the energy field, causing temporary mechanical perturbations in the walls of the brain blood vessels,” said Pavlos Anastasiadis, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at UMSOM who is an expert in ultrasound biophysics.

Prior studies led by Dr Woodworth and this trial’s co-investigators showed that opening the blood-brain barrier temporarily can be safely and feasibly performed in brain tumour patients. He and his team conducted this procedure in the first brain cancer patient in the US in 2018 at UMMC after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the inaugural clinical trial.

Future trials could use focused ultrasound alongside other chemotherapy agents to test the effectiveness of drugs never used in brain cancer due to their ineffectiveness at crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Source: University of Maryland School of Medicine

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New Research May Help Doctors Identify Coeliac Disease Earlier in Kids with T1D

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Photo by cottonbro studio

Children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) face more than just managing their blood sugar. They are also at a higher lifelong risk of developing coeliac disease. Because of this, regular screening is recommended to catch coeliac disease early in kids with T1D.

A new article published in Clinical Chemistry takes a closer look at how blood tests for coeliac disease can be used more effectively in this group of patients. In celiac disease, elevated TTG-IgA antibodies are often the first step in the diagnostic process. If blood levels of TTG-IgA are elevated, patients are typically sent for a biopsy to confirm coeliac disease. In kids with T1D, this can be a bit more complicated. In children with T1D, TTG-IgA antibody levels can fluctuate, and there hasn’t been a clear cutoff for when a biopsy is truly necessary.

Researchers studied nearly 600 children with T1D and found that using a cutoff of six times the normal limit gave the best balance of accuracy, which performed better than the older cutoff of 11 times the normal limit. The study also showed that kids who developed celiac disease soon after being diagnosed with T1D often had higher antibody levels right away, while those who developed celiac disease later had lower levels in the beginning. This highlights the importance of testing at the time of T1D diagnosis and continuing to monitor regularly, even if early test results aren’t extremely high.

“Our article looked at recent work investigating serologic assays’ efficacies in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. We found that recent data such as those seen in Muller et al.’s study (2025) suggest that lower transglutaminase elevations can portend coeliac disease in this population than previously thought, and the disease remains considerably prevalent among patients with T1d. As such it is crucial to actively evaluate for CeD in T1d patients, and the serologies provide an excellent tool for doing so,” said study author Dr Andrew M. Ford.

For families, the key takeaway is that regular screening matters, and doctors are working to fine-tune how these tests are used so children with both T1D and coeliac disease can be diagnosed as early and accurately as possible.

Source: Celiac Disease Foundation

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Fruit Juices in South Africa Are Getting a Free Ride: Why They Should Have the Same Health Warning Labels as Fizzy Drinks

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Siphiwe Dlamini, University of the Witwatersrand

Photo by Eiliv Aceron on Unsplash

South Africa is facing a sharp rise in obesity-related diseases like type 2 diabetes. Between 2010 and 2019, the prevalence of diabetes nearly tripled from 4.5% to 12.7%. This increase is linked to lifestyle risk factors including drinking sugary beverages, eating unhealthy foods, and not getting enough physical activity.

To help tackle the problem, the government has introduced several public health measures targeting key risk factors, including unhealthy eating.

One of the most prominent measures was the introduction of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2018. The tax targets added sugars, encouraging manufacturers to reformulate products like soft drinks and energy drinks to reduce their sugar content. But beverages containing naturally occurring sugars, such as 100% fruit juices, are exempt.

Often, 100% fruit juices are seen as healthier alternatives to sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened drinks. But growing research shows this may not be true. A 2023 meta-analysis of 72 published studies involving over 3 million people found that drinking fruit juice does not lower the risk of type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. It was instead linked to a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases.

The recommendation from that meta-analysis and other studies is that fruit juices should not be considered a healthier alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages. This could be because, although fruit juices contain more vitamins and minerals than soft drinks, they are also high in natural sugars and lack the fibre found in whole fruits, which helps control blood sugar and keeps you feeling full.

In a further move to curb sugar intake in beverages the government has proposed new food labelling regulations. These would require front-of-package warning labels for products high in added sugar, saturated fat, sodium, or artificial sweeteners. The regulations are still under review. But they align with international best practices adopted by countries like Chile, Mexico and Brazil.

If implemented effectively, they could help South African consumers make more informed dietary choices.

But, once again, fruit juices are getting a free ride. This is even though they have the highest energy (calories) and sugar content (8.4%) across a range of soft and energy drinks, according to our recent study.

As researchers in public health nutrition, we are concerned that the regulations had some important gaps. The proposed regulations introduce a simple package warning label system for prepacked foods that contain added sugar, saturated fat, or sodium and exceed specific nutrient thresholds. It also requires warning labels for products containing artificial sweeteners, reflecting growing concerns about their long-term health effects.

But the regulations exclude certain sugar-containing beverages from front-of-pack warning label requirements, particularly those with naturally occurring sugars. Many juices, such as 100% fruit juices, are exempt despite their high sugar content and significant contribution to overall sugar and energy intake. This raises concerns about the consistency of the policy and whether it adequately addresses the health risks associated with excessive sugar consumption across all types of beverages.

To test the scale of the problem, we analysed over 600 non-alcoholic beverages sold in major South African supermarkets. The study found that 21.4% of beverages would require a warning for high sugar, 49.8% for artificial sweeteners, and 58.7% for at least one of these criteria.

Juices were least likely to qualify for warning labels. Only 30% of juices met the criteria , versus 94.1% of soft drinks and 96.9% of energy drinks. Excluding 100% fruit juices from South Africa’s proposed warning label regulations could have serious public health consequences.

We recommend that the health department revise the criteria for warning labels to include beverages that are high in naturally occurring sugars.

Fruit juices

Fruit juices are often seen as a healthier choice because of their natural origin. In South Africa, regular consumption of 100% fruit juice is common, with many consumers perceiving it as beneficial despite its high sugar content.

This is a problem for a number of reasons.

Because of their high sugar content, fruit juices can cause sharp spikes in blood glucose. For more than 2.3 million South Africans living with diabetes regular consumption may interfere with blood glucose control. But this is not only a concern for people with diabetes. Research shows that even among non-diabetics, frequent intake of fruit juice increases weight gain, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time.

Labelling policies that ignore naturally occurring sugars risks misleading consumers. In particular, it misleads those trying to make healthier choices into over-consuming these products. International examples, such as Chile’s approach to food labelling, show that including total sugar content in warning criteria can reduce purchases of high-sugar items and improve public awareness.

Exempting juices also creates an uneven playing field. While soft drink and energy drink manufacturers are pushed to reformulate products to avoid taxes and warning labels, juice producers face no such pressure, despite offering products with comparable health risks.

We also demonstrated that nearly half of the beverages analysed contained artificial sweeteners, which are increasingly used to lower sugar content and bypass the sugar tax. Emerging research suggests these additives may negatively affect gut health and contribute to nutrition-related diseases. Taken together, these factors highlight the need for comprehensive regulation that reflects the full spectrum of health risks posed by sugary beverages.

Next steps

South Africa’s efforts to regulate sugary beverages are commendable and reflect a growing commitment to tackling lifestyle-related diseases. But excluding fruit juices from key policies risks undermining these efforts.

By aligning regulations with scientific evidence and international best practices, the country can take a more comprehensive approach to sugar reduction. This approach will protect all consumers, especially the most vulnerable.

To ensure that South Africa’s food labelling regulations achieve their intended public health outcomes, we recommend the following steps.

  • Include naturally occurring sugars: Revise the criteria for warning labels to account for total sugar content, not just added sugars. This would ensure that high-sugar juices are appropriately labelled, and consumers are fully informed.
  • Extend the sugar tax: Consider applying the sugar tax to fruit juices with high sugar content. This would encourage manufacturers to explore lower-sugar formulations.
  • Public education campaigns: Launch targeted education initiatives to raise awareness about the health risks associated with all types of sugar, including those found in fruit juices.
  • Ongoing monitoring: Establish systems to monitor the impact of both labelling and taxation policies on consumer behaviour and health outcomes, allowing for evidence-based adjustments over time.

Siphiwe Dlamini, Lecturer, Department of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Can Therapies Against Cellular Aging Help Treat Metabolic Diseases?

On By ModernMedia
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

A growing body of evidence implicates cellular senescence – when cells age and permanently stop dividing – as an important contributor to metabolic dysfunction that can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. A review in the Journal of Internal Medicine explores the research connecting senescent cells to metabolic diseases and highlights the potential of “senotherapeutics” in treatment strategies.

The authors note that senescent cells accumulate in metabolic tissues where they secrete factors that disrupt tissue function by promoting inflammation and fibrosis. With this information, investigators have developed senotherapeutic interventions that include senolytics (which eliminate senescent cells), senomorphics (which suppress factors secreted by senescent cells), and senosensitisers (which render senescent cells more vulnerable to clearance).

“By targeting senescent cells, senotherapeutics mitigate one of the root drivers of age- and obesity-related metabolic disease, opening a powerful new frontier in modern medicine,” said corresponding author Allyson Palmer, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic. “This emerging class of therapies could transform how we treat and even prevent metabolic disease.”

Source: Wiley