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eHealth and mHealth - smart helpers for people with depression

Smartphones have become our everyday companions. A lot of people are critical of this: On the one hand, they connect us to everything and everybody, on the other hand, we lack time and concentration for personal contacts and our surroundings because of them. Still, smartphones and other wearables are a great asset for medicine, as they help people to stay healthy or to manage a chronic illness, for example. Read in our Topic of the month what this can look like for people with depression.

News from the editors of MEDICA-tradefair.com

Image: young woman in front of a laptop, looking tired; Copyright: panthermedia.net/SIphotography

Why do some sleep-deprived people experience worse cognitive functioning than others?

Penn study reveals that microRNAs predict differences in cognitive impairment in memory and attention after sleep deprivation.

Image: nurse holding a brown dog in her arms; Copyright: Michael Bernkopf/Vetmeduni Vienna

Immunoglobulin E as a promising new form of anti-cancer immunotherapy

If immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies are directed against harmless antigens such as pollen, the result can be an allergic reaction. However the original purpose of these IgE antibodies is to repel harmful exogenous substances rather than to trigger allergies.

Image: left: mouse waiting for a reward for a short time; right: mouse waiting for a long time ; Copyright: OIST

Wait for it: Serotonin and confidence at the root of patience

Serotonin keeps mice hanging on if they are sure of getting rewards, but not sure when.

Image: S100A8/S100A9 protein complex (grey/beige) binds to the TLR4 receptor (rainbow-coloured) and MD2 (red); Copyright: Vogl et al./ J. Clin. Invest.

Münster researchers have discovered a possible new treatment for regulating inflammation

Researchers at the Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence have decoded a mechanism found at the beginning of almost every inflammatory response. Their study provides a new approach to develop novel treatment options for many inflammatory disorders with many fewer side effects compared to current drugs.

Image: illustration of an eye ball affected by diabetic retinopathy; Copyright: panthermedia.net/megija

New pharmacological treatment against diabetic eye diseases is tested

The so called "diabetic retinopathy" and the "diabetic macular edema" are two of the most frequent ocular diseases in patients with diabetes, and both feature pathologic changes of blood vessel functions in the retina. Experimental data and measurements in patients suggest that these changes in blood vessel functions may originate from a lack of vasoinhibin hormones in the retina.

Tuberculosis: clinical trials on a newly developed drug initiated

The first antibiotic against tuberculosis that has been developed in Germany is now ready for clinical testing. BTZ043, as the newly developed drug substance is called, is also effective against multidrug-resistant pathogens which are increasingly challenging successful treatment worldwide.

Image: scientist in the laboratory; Copyright: 2018 KAUST

The long and the short of DNA replication

An unexpectedtwo-step mechanism occurs when cells copy DNA.

Image: collection of antibiotics; Copyright: panthermedia.net/montenegro1

Nature's defence mechanisms can reduce the use of antibiotics

Researchers at DTU have identified natural peptides that fight bacteria, thereby reducing the need for antibiotics.

Image: Emerging platelets (white arrows) are buded off by their progenitor cells, the megakaryocytes; Copyright: Rudolf Virchow Center of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

Targeting platelets

A new Collaborative Research Center will start in July with a total funding of nearly 14 million euros, headed by the German Institute for Experimental Biomedicine in Würzburg. The aim is to decode the complex and insufficiently understood functions of platelets, the so-called thrombocytes.

Image: plastic heart with a stethoscope; Copyright: panthermedia.net/shidlovski

'Multiomics' and the mouse heart - New insights into the development of heart disease therapeutics

The heart of a neonatal mouse is capable of self-repair after tissue damage. However, this ability disappears during the first week of life. Researchers at the University of Helsinki investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying myocardial regenerative ability.

Ventricular fibrillation – Using ultrasound to detect its causes

Ventricular fibrillation is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the heart muscle exhibits a rapid, erratic beat and the heart will no longer pump blood. The cause might be a circulatory system disease or heart attack. Researchers in Göttingen are now developing an ultrasound technique to get to the bottom of ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmias and facilitate better treatment options.