Researchers led by François Fuks - Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, ULB Faculty of Medicine, ULB-Cancer Research Center and Jules Bordet Institute, H.U.B. - have discovered a new mechanism which enables precise gene regulation by combining DNA and RNA epigenetics. Published in the journal Cell, their discovery opens up new perspectives in biology and could revolutionise future cancer treatments through personalised therapies.

In this cross-sectional study, nearly one-half of all primary care physicians (PCPs) were affiliated with hospitals, while private equity-affiliated PCPs were growing and concentrated in certain regional markets. Relative to PCPs in independent settings, hospital-affiliated PCPs and private equity-affiliated PCPs had higher prices for the same services. 

This cross-sectional study showed websites that sell compounded glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) often partially informed and sometimes misinformed potential consumers. Compounded medications contain the same active ingredients as in branded medications but may contain different inactive ingredients. Most websites did not disclose that compounded GLP-1 RAs were not FDA approved, although some suggested these drugs were FDA approved.

This study found modest evidence of reductions in out-of-pocket costs and improvements in health among adults entering Medicare after the Affordable Care Act. Insurance coverage and financial assistance should be preserved and enhanced to improve health and health care access among vulnerable older adults. 

A new study led by WashU Medicine researchers has found older-looking brains in adults with sickle cell disease, helping to explain the cognitive challenges experienced by such individuals. A brain image from a healthy individual (left) shows a larger brain with more white matter compared with a brain image from a patient with sickle cell disease (right). Healthy individuals experiencing economic deprivation also had more-aged appearing brains.

Fetuses of pregnant people who gained excess weight in the first trimester of pregnancy show signs of excess fat distribution in the upper arm and in the abdomen, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. These findings may inform efforts to prevent excessive weight gain early in life, a risk factor for adult obesity and related conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. The study, conducted by researchers at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and other institutions, appears in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

With support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is leading the implementation of the Dr. Emmanuel Bilirakis and Honorable Jennifer Wexton National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act (P.L. 118-66), which was signed into law on July 2, 2024.  This follows a delegation of authority from the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the NIH Director.