An unusual type of fat that forms near the intestines in Crohn’s disease prompts the growth of debilitating scars seen in the condition, a Stanford Medicine-led study showed.

Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that repeated head impacts from contact sports can cause early and lasting changes in the brains of young- to middle-aged athletes. The findings show that these changes may occur years before chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) develops its hallmark disease features, which can now only be detected by examining brain tissue after death. 

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that metabolic bariatric surgery was associated with more weight loss at lower ongoing costs compared with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in class II and III obesity. Further study is needed to determine if metabolic bariatric surgery should still be considered the last resort in treating obesity. 

Researchers show that stretching the skin stimulates immune cells and increases the skin’s ability to absorb large molecules, including those present in vaccines. Publishing September 17 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports, they report that applying vaccines topically while stretching the skin resulted in more effective immunization than subcutaneously injecting the vaccine in mice. 

When brain development gets off to a bad start, the consequences are lifelong.  

One example is a condition called SCN2A haploinsufficiency, in which children are born with just one functioning copy of the SCN2A gene — instead of the normal two. They develop defects in the connections, or synapses, between some of their brain cells; they do not learn to speak; and many of them experience seizures.