UT Southwestern researchers have determined how circulating “bad cholesterol” enters artery walls to cause the plaque that narrows the blood vessels and leads to heart attacks and strokes.

A research group from Sydney investigated the effect of elderberry extracts on viral replication in human cells.

A new study confirms that a simple blood test can reveal whether there is accelerating nerve cell damage in the brain. The researchers analyzed neurofilament light protein in blood samples from patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

A new discovery about dangerous C. difficile diarrhea has identified a new way that the bacteria – and possibly others like it – cause severe disease. C. diff is the most common hospital-acquired infection and estimated to result in 453,000 cases per year, with 29,300 associated deaths.

A simple blood test for breast cancer relapse raises the possibility of easy monitoring of patients, which would provide a critical window of opportunity for earlier treatment than by other current tests.

In a small study of patients referred to the Johns Hopkins Early Psychosis Intervention Clinic (EPIC), researchers report that about half the people referred to the clinic with a schizophrenia diagnosis didn’t actually have schizophrenia. People who reported hearing voices or having anxiety were the ones more likely to be misdiagnosed.

Given the complexity of cancer, it’s arguably unlikely that single molecules will work as clinically meaningful biomarkers for cancer. Today, biomarker discovery involves detecting patterns – characteristics or phenotypes that can be measured and monitored throughout a patient’s journey. Here, we look at two approaches being explored in this evolving field.

When developing diagnostic tests or evaluating results, it is important to understand how reliable those tests and therefore the results you are obtaining are. By using samples of known disease status, values such as sensitivity and specificity can be calculated that allow you to evaluate just that.

Running in parallel with advances in 3D cell culture is the growing use of human cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. Researchers are interested in testing drugs in the most physiologically relevant models possible, so it was only a matter of time before these two approaches converged – providing optimized systems for disease modeling and drug toxicity testing.

In an age where advanced high-throughput-omic technologies allow for cheaper and faster screening of the genome, consumer genomics is becoming increasingly mainstream and a growing number of people are opting to purchase genetic tests for a variety of purposes, including personalized nutrition advice.

This article reviews the importance and requirements for developing successful drug–diagnostic co-development models. It also highlights current challenges and ongoing efforts to address these issues, bringing us closer towards a more promising future for pharmacotherapy and patient care.

Dr Julia Kinder is a Down syndrome expert, national speaker, author, career consultant, fitness guru, and family practice physician. March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day, and we caught up with Julia to ask her how scientists, parents, and doctors can work together to benefit the lives of people with Down syndrome.