Predictive models can be used for assessing the age at natural menopause
The natural menopause occurs when the menstrual periods cease due to the naturally decreased ovary function. There is a significant interindividual variation in the age at natural menopause but, on average, women undergo it around the age of 51 in Western countries. Furthermore, the length of the preceding menopausal transition, characterized by irregular menstrual cycles and menopausal symptoms, is also known to vary between individuals.
The study revealed that higher estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels, irregular menstrual cycles, and menopausal symptoms are strong indicators of approaching menopause in middle-aged women. Additionally, information related to life habits, such as physical activity, alcohol consumption, and smoking, may provide useful information for assessing the time to natural menopause.
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IMAGE: By coupling ultrasound waves to a medical needle, researchers were able to make the tip of a medical needle vibrate 30 000 times per second. The new technology could improve. view more
Credit: Aalto University
The diagnosis of diseases like cancer almost always needs a biopsy - a procedure where a clinician removes a piece of suspect tissue from the body to examine it, typically under a microscope. Many areas of diagnostic medicine, especially cancer management, have seen huge advances in technology, with genetic sequencing, molecular biology and artificial intelligence all rapidly increasing doctors ability to work out what s wrong with a patient. However the technology of medical needles hasn t changed dramatically in 150 years, and - in the context of cancer management - needles are struggling to provide adequate tissue samples for new diagnostic techniques. Now researchers have shown that modifying the biopsy needle to vibrate rapidly at 30,000 time
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In a study conducted at the University of Helsinki, researchers found a cause for severe epilepsy resulting in death in Parson Russell Terrier puppies at a few months of age. A change in the PITRM1 gene can lead to a dysfunction of mitochondria, the cellular energy pumps. Concurrently, amyloid-β accumulation and widespread neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer s disease were identified in the puppies brains. Changes to the PITRM1 gene in humans also cause a severe but slowly progressing brain disease.
Some Parson Russell Terrier puppies were seen to suddenly develop epileptic seizures at 6 to 12 weeks of age. The disease progressed very rapidly, in a matter of hours in the worst cases, to a situation where the seizures were continuous and unresponsive to medication.
Credit: Matt Allinson, Aalto University
Researchers at Aalto University have developed a new device for spintronics. The results have been published in the journal
Nature Communications, and mark a step towards the goal of using spintronics to make computer chips and devices for data processing and communication technology that are small and powerful.
Traditional electronics uses electrical charge to carry out computations that power most of our day-to-day technology. However, engineers are unable to make electronics do calculations faster, as moving charge creates heat, and we re at the limits of how small and fast chips can get before overheating. Because electronics can t be made smaller, there are concerns that computers won t be able to get more powerful and cheaper at the same rate they have been for the past 7 decades. This is where spintronics comes in.
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IMAGE: The inflamed joints of a rheumatoid arthritis patient are clearly visible in the PET images with the novel 68Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 radiopharmaceutical. view more
Credit: Anne Roivainen
The preliminary trial results of a novel radiopharmaceutical for PET imaging of inflammation developed at the University of Turku, Finland, have been published. The compound, which targets the vascular adhesion protein 1 (VAP-1) that regulates inflammatory cell traffic, is the first radiopharmaceutical that has been developed completely in Finland and has advanced to clinical trials. In the study that started with healthy volunteers, the radiopharmaceutical was found to be well tolerated and safe.
The radiopharmaceutical is 68Ga-labelled Siglec-9 peptide.