Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a previously unknown biological process that helps explain why only a subset of patients with alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency develop liver disease.

New research from MUSC Hollings Cancer Center highlights a promising new approach to smoking cessation by targeting the brain’s executive control system. In a randomized clinical trial led by Hollings researcher Xingbao Li, M.D., noninvasive brain stimulation aimed at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex helped participants reduce smoking and suppress cravings more effectively than other targeting approaches.

The findings suggest that strengthening brain regions involved in decision-making and self-control may help people to better manage the urge to smoke. The work adds to growing efforts at Hollings to expand evidence-based tobacco treatment options and better understand the brain mechanisms underlying addiction.

UC Davis researchers have mapped the structure and mechanics of a critical cellular machine that malfunctions in people with currently untreatable diseases such as infantile encephalopathy. These genetic disorders are caused by defects in the assembly of tubulin proteins that form the skeleton inside cells.