Medical University of South Carolina News - SciTechDaily

Scientists Uncover Hidden Mechanism Behind Opioid Addiction – Discovery Could Revolutionize Addiction Treatment

Medical University of South Carolina — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 08:21:50 +0000

Opioid receptors located in the dorsal peduncular nucleus uniquely contribute to the rewarding effects of opioids. Opioids, such as the widely prescribed painkiller oxycodone, are notorious for their high addiction potential. In 2022, opioid overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 85,000 people in the U.S., as reported by the Centers for Disease Control. Despite this, [...]

“Monstrous” Discovery: Scientists Identify Key to Stopping Cancer Recurrence

Medical University of South Carolina — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 08:21:52 +0000

Scientists have discovered that polyploid giant cancer cells, which are monstrously oversized and contain multiple nuclei, may be responsible for disease recurrence after cancer therapy. Researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center have made a breakthrough that may reveal why cancer sometimes returns in patients who have received chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Both forms of therapy aim [...]

Rapid Brain Transformation: Neurological Insights Into Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy

Edmund S. Higgins, Medical University of South Carolina — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 08:25:08 +0000

Although the brain’s capacity for change is usually slow, it can be rapidly enhanced through psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Using substances like psilocybin, this therapy induces significant brain changes, potentially aiding in mental health treatment. However, the experiences with psychedelics can be unpredictable, and their therapeutic use is still under research and regulation. The human brain can [...]

Nanowired Cardiac Organoids – New Technology Could Revolutionize Recovery After Heart Attack

Medical University of South Carolina — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:27:21 +0000

Preclinical research indicates that nanowired cardiac organoids could one day repair hearts instead of just preventing further damage. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming a life every 36 seconds. Heart attacks, a common manifestation of heart disease, occur when the blood supply to the heart is obstructed, leading to [...]

Unmasking Early Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease With Individualized Brain Fingerprints

Medical University of South Carolina — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 03:32:51 +0000

Neuroscientists at the Medical University of South Carolina use a novel brain imaging technique to visualize subtle brain changes in pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients. Neuroscientists from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) report in the journal Brain Connectivity that they have detected subtle differences in the way the brain functions in older adults with preclinical [...]

Startling Findings: Midwest and Southeast Experience Dramatic Increase in Anal Cancer

Medical University of South Carolina — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 00:46:44 +0000

According to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, South Carolina is experiencing one of the most significant increases in anal cancer incidence among women and anal cancer deaths among men. The study was led by Ashish Deshmukh, Ph.D., a researcher at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Deshmukh, in his recent study, identified [...]

Common Acne Treatment Can Have Unintended Life-Long Effects on the Skeleton

Medical University of South Carolina — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 16:42:30 +0000

Physicians have the best intentions of treating adolescent acne with systemic antibiotics; however, long-term use can perturb the gut microbiome, leading to altered profiles of circulating bile acids that reduce osteoblast function and bone mass accrual. Sex hormones drive major physiologic changes throughout adolescence. Acne, a skin condition caused by the plugging of hair follicles [...]

A Near-Real-Time View of the Drains Inside the Human Brain

Medical University of South Carolina — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 23:39:10 +0000

A new non-invasive technique provides a near-real-time view of the human brain’s waste-clearance vessels. A joint research team at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the University of Florida describes the first non-invasive and near real-time visualization of the human brain’s waste-clearance system in Nature Communications. The brain is densely organized, and visualizing [...]

Nationwide Study on Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness for Ages 12 to 18 – “The Vaccine Works for Children!”

Medical University of South Carolina — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 21:51:03 +0000

A team of researchers at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital contributed to a nationwide study on the effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine against hospitalization in children age 12-18. The study was conducted by 19 hospitals in 16 states. The results of the study, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and [...]

Forget Me Not: Target Identified for Preventing and Reversing Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias

Medical University of South Carolina — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 16:09:11 +0000

A novel tau protein conformation, cis P-tau, is a toxic early driver of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Silencing of this protein through immunotherapy ameliorates dementia symptoms in preclinical models. Researchers remain perplexed as to what causes dementia and how to treat and reverse the cognitive decline seen in patients. In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers [...]

Is What I See, What I Imagine? Neural Overlap Discovered Between Vision and Imagination

Medical University of South Carolina — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 14:19:51 +0000

Medical University of South Carolina researchers report in Current Biology that the brain uses similar visual areas for mental imagery and vision, but it uses low-level visual areas less precisely with mental imagery than with vision. These findings add knowledge to the field by refining methods to study mental imagery and vision. In the long [...]

Study Reveals E-Cigarette Users Smoke Less and Increase Quit Attempts

Medical University of South Carolina — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 17:50:45 +0000

As e-cigarettes become more popular, fewer people are taking up smoking traditional cigarettes. But can e-cigarettes, an electronic nicotine delivery system, help people quit smoking altogether? That was the focus of a recent study led by a Hollings Cancer Center researcher. The study found that smokers who are willing to use e-cigarettes tend to smoke [...]

Researchers Identify Mechanism That Leads to Cell Migration and Metastasis

Medical University of South Carolina — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 22:33:46 +0000

Understanding how cancer cells are able to metastasize — migrate from the primary tumor to distant sites in the body — and developing therapies to inhibit this process are the focus of many laboratories around the country. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) have identified one mechanism that regulates signaling events leading [...]