Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) was associated with a 35% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in studies presented at the plenary session of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting on Sunday.

Far from the Groundhog Day spectacle of amyloid-targeting antibodies that do little to nothing for patients in trial after trial, researchers have reported success in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in unexpected ways. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation have discovered that a Viagra prescription was associated with a roughly 70% reduced risk of being diagnosed with AD. And investigators from the University of Washington reported that in the prospective Adult Changes in Thought study, a long-term study into risk and protective factors for dementia, persons who underwent cataract surgery reduced their risk of AD by 30%, an effect that lasted for 10 years after surgery.

In the Dec. 3, 2021, issue of Science, researchers reported that a missense variant that is highly enriched in the Amish population was associated with reduced levels of both LDL cholesterol and fibrinogen. To date, very few variants have been identified that affect more than one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Far from the Groundhog Day spectacle of amyloid-targeting antibodies that do little to nothing for patients in trial after trial, researchers have reported success in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in unexpected ways. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation have discovered that a Viagra prescription was associated with a roughly 70% reduced risk of being diagnosed with AD. And investigators from the University of Washington reported that in the prospective Adult Changes in Thought study, a long-term study into risk and protective factors for dementia, persons who underwent cataract surgery reduced their risk of AD by 30%, an effect that lasted for 10 years after surgery.

In the December 3, 2021, issue of Science, researchers reported that a missense variant that is highly enriched in the Amish population was associated with reduced levels of both LDL cholesterol and fibrinogen. To date, very few variants have been identified that affect more than one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Investigators at the University of Wisconsin have decreased anxiety-related behaviors in monkeys with an anxious temperament by treating them with a combination of gene therapy and low doses of the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine, which is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

“I was not always someone who would have advertised probiotics,” Michael Otto told BioWorld. And it’s easy to see why. At this point, probiotics are more often dubious wellness offerings than evidence-based therapeutics. Part of the issue is that the mechanisms by which probiotics are supposed to exert their effects are mostly vague. Molecular mechanisms that could account for claimed health benefits are few and far between. But Otto, who is chief of the pathogen molecular genetics section at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and his colleagues have identified one such molecular mechanism.

Investigators from the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard have reported new details on a so-called exceptional elite controller, a patient who has rid herself of an HIV infection.

In contrast to most adult mammalian tissues, the liver can regenerate itself to an impressive degree. That regeneration is critical to survival – as a key digestive organ, the liver deals with all sorts of toxins, from rotten-ish food in the wild to alcohol in more cultured settings.