Hurricane Irma’s deadly tear through the Caribbean will hobble the region’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry for months, just as hotels, airlines, and cruises were gearing up for the region’s peak winter season.

A mother who was given a 50 percent survival chance and her newborn baby were discharged from hospital on Monday (May 4) after both fighting COVID-19.

Srinivisa Ramanujan’s ideas seemed to come from a parallel universe and mathematicians are still getting to grips with them today, say Ken Ono and Robert Schneider

China just tested its biggest rocket yet, along with a new capsule designed to carry humans to its planned space station, the moon and beyond

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said it's "one of those things" after he learned that a White House valet tested positive for the coronavirus, noting contact with that person was limited. Gavino Garay has more.

Title: After Tooth Pull, Opioids Don't Relieve Pain Better Than Other Meds: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 3/13/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/16/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Clot-Preventing Drug Improves Heart Blood Flow After Angioplasty
Category: Health News
Created: 5/4/2007 2:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/4/2007 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: After Baby is Born
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2009 2:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2009 12:00:00 AM

Title: After Teeth Are Pulled, Platelet-Rich Plasma May Speed Healing
Category: Health News
Created: 4/23/2010 12:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/26/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: Selenium Helped Cells 'Reboot' After Exposure to Cancer-Causing Chemicals
Category: Health News
Created: 4/27/2010 2:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/28/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: Cancer Risk After Kidney Transplant Unaffected by Type of Drug Treatment
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2010 4:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2010 12:00:00 AM

Title: Fish Oil Doesn't Cut Failure Rate of Hemodialysis Grafts
Category: Health News
Created: 5/1/2012 6:05:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: Manage Visitors After Bringing Home Baby
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2013 8:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: Health Tip: After a Stressful Event
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2013 8:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: Why Johnny Can't Add, Even After Tutoring
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2013 4:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: FDA Approves 'Morning-After' Pill Without a Prescription
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2013 8:36:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: White House to Challenge Ruling on Unlimited Access to 'Morning-After' Pill
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: Longer Wait for Mammogram After Benign Breast Biopsy May Be Warranted
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2013 12:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 5/3/2013 12:00:00 AM

Title: 2nd U.S. Ice Cream Maker Pulls All Products After Listeria Threat
Category: Health News
Created: 4/24/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: Dog Food Recalled After Tests Find Euthanasia Drug
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: California Handgun Sales Spiked After 2 Mass Shootings
Category: Health News
Created: 5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2017 12:00:00 AM

Title: After Age 50, Yearly Eye Checks May Catch Common Cause of Vision Loss
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Blood Type May Play Role in Death Risk After Trauma
Category: Health News
Created: 5/2/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: Why You Should Unwind After a Tough Day at Work
Category: Health News
Created: 5/1/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2018 12:00:00 AM

Title: U.S. Youth Suicide Rates Hit 19-Year High After '13 Reasons Why'
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Returning to Intimacy After Childbirth
Category: Health News
Created: 5/1/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: After Trump Hypes Use of a Lupus Med Against COVID-19, Lupus Patients Face Shortages
Category: Health News
Created: 4/25/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Cardiac Rehab Boosts Quality of Life After Heart Attack: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Interest in Unproven COVID Drugs Soared After Trump Gave Thumbs Up
Category: Health News
Created: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: CDC Draft Guidelines For Reopening U.S. Being Reviewed by White House
Category: Health News
Created: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Mental Health Problems After First Baby Reduce Likelihood of More Children: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 4/3/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/6/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Baby Boom After Pandemic Lockdowns? Maybe Not
Category: Health News
Created: 5/8/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/8/2020 12:00:00 AM

Researchers conducted nearly 1,500 online interviews and found that nearly 82% of those surveyed said they didn't plan to conceive during the coronavirus pandemic.

PMC marked its 10th anniversary in 2010 with a celebratory event at its annual Advisory Committee meeting, held at the National Library of Medicine last June. This milestone event was recently featured in the February 17th edition of NLM In Focus, in an article NLM Milestones: The Hits Just Keep on Coming. For more information on the ten years of PMC, see the article in the May-June issue of the NLM Technical Bulletin.

Title: A Woman's Guide to Skin Care During and After Menopause
Category: Health News
Created: 2/23/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 2/24/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: After 2nd Patient Cured of HIV, Hope Revives for an End to AIDS
Category: Health News
Created: 3/10/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/11/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Heavy Pot Use Linked to Mental Problems, Even After Quitting
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/1/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Crafting With Dry Pasta, Play-Doh Safe for Kids With Gluten Sensitivity: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 2/4/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 2/5/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Helping Seniors Manage Meds After Hospital Reduces Readmission: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 3/3/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/4/2020 12:00:00 AM

Title: Aftermath of Seizures Troubling for Those With Epilepsy
Category: Health News
Created: 4/17/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/20/2020 12:00:00 AM

Lipid rafts regulate the initiation of cellular metabolic and signaling pathways by organizing the pathway components in ordered microdomains on the cell surface. Cellular responses regulated by lipid rafts range from physiological to pathological, and the success of a therapeutic approach targeting "pathological" lipid rafts depends on the ability of a remedial agent to recognize them and disrupt pathological lipid rafts without affecting normal raft-dependent cellular functions. In this article, concluding the Thematic Review Series on Biology of Lipid Rafts, we review current experimental therapies targeting pathological lipid rafts, including examples of inflammarafts and clusters of apoptotic signaling molecule-enriched rafts. The corrective approaches include regulation of cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism and membrane trafficking by using HDL and its mimetics, LXR agonists, ABCA1 overexpression, and cyclodextrins, as well as a more targeted intervention with apoA-I binding protein. Among others, we highlight the design of antagonists that target inflammatory receptors only in their activated form of homo- or heterodimers, when receptor dimerization occurs in pathological lipid rafts. Other therapies aim to promote raft-dependent physiological functions, such as augmenting caveolae-dependent tissue repair. The overview of this highly dynamic field will provide readers with a view on the emerging concept of targeting lipid rafts as a therapeutic strategy.

Cellular membranes are not homogenous mixtures of proteins; rather, they are segregated into microdomains on the basis of preferential association between specific lipids and proteins. These microdomains, called lipid rafts, are well known for their role in receptor signaling on the plasma membrane (PM) and are essential to such cellular functions as signal transduction and spatial organization of the PM. A number of disease states, including atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular disorders, may be caused by dysfunctional maintenance of lipid rafts. Lipid rafts do not occur only in the PM but also have been found in intracellular membranes and extracellular vesicles (EVs). Here, we focus on discussing newly discovered functions of lipid rafts and microdomains in intracellular membranes, including lipid and protein trafficking from the ER, Golgi bodies, and endosomes to the PM, and we examine lipid raft involvement in the production and composition of EVs. Because lipid rafts are small and transient, visualization remains challenging. Future work with advanced techniques will continue to expand our knowledge about the roles of lipid rafts in cellular functioning.

Lipid rafts are highly ordered regions of the plasma membrane that are enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids and play important roles in many cells. In hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), lipid rafts house receptors critical for normal hematopoiesis. Lipid rafts also can bind and sequester kinases that induce negative feedback pathways to limit proliferative cytokine receptor cycling back to the cell membrane. Modulation of lipid rafts occurs through an array of mechanisms, with optimal cholesterol efflux one of the major regulators. As such, cholesterol homeostasis also regulates hematopoiesis. Increased lipid raft content, which occurs in response to changes in cholesterol efflux in the membrane, can result in prolonged receptor occupancy in the cell membrane and enhanced signaling. In addition, certain diseases, like diabetes, may contribute to lipid raft formation and affect cholesterol retention in rafts. In this review, we explore the role of lipid raft-related mechanisms in hematopoiesis and CVD (specifically, atherosclerosis) and discuss how defective cholesterol efflux pathways in HSPCs contribute to expansion of lipid rafts, thereby promoting myelopoiesis and thrombopoiesis. We also discuss the utility of cholesterol acceptors in contributing to lipid raft regulation and disruption, and highlight the potential to manipulate these pathways for therapeutic gain in CVD as well as other disorders with aberrant hematopoiesis.

Activation of microglia and astrocytes secondary to inflammatory processes contributes to the development and perpetuation of pain with a neuropathic phenotype. This pain state presents as a chronic debilitating condition and affects a large population of patients with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, or after surgery, trauma, or chemotherapy. Here, we review the regulation of lipid rafts in glial cells and the role they play as a key component of neuroinflammatory sensitization of central pain signaling pathways. In this context, we introduce the concept of an inflammaraft (i-raft), enlarged lipid rafts harboring activated receptors and adaptor molecules and serving as an organizing platform to initiate inflammatory signaling and the cellular response. Characteristics of the inflammaraft include increased relative abundance of lipid rafts in inflammatory cells, increased content of cholesterol per raft, and increased levels of inflammatory receptors, such as toll-like receptor (TLR)4, adaptor molecules, ion channels, and enzymes in lipid rafts. This inflammaraft motif serves an important role in the membrane assembly of protein complexes, for example, TLR4 dimerization. Operating within this framework, we demonstrate the involvement of inflammatory receptors, redox molecules, and ion channels in the inflammaraft formation and the regulation of cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism in the inflammaraft maintenance and disruption. Strategies for targeting inflammarafts, without affecting the integrity of lipid rafts in noninflammatory cells, may lead to developing novel therapies for neuropathic pain states and other neuroinflammatory conditions.

Lipid rafts are small, dynamic membrane areas characterized by the clustering of selected membrane lipids as the result of the spontaneous separation of glycolipids, sphingolipids, and cholesterol in a liquid-ordered phase. The exact dynamics underlying phase separation of membrane lipids in the complex biological membranes are still not fully understood. Nevertheless, alterations in the membrane lipid composition affect the lateral organization of molecules belonging to lipid rafts. Neural lipid rafts are found in brain cells, including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia, and are characterized by a high enrichment of specific lipids depending on the cell type. These lipid rafts seem to organize and determine the function of multiprotein complexes involved in several aspects of signal transduction, thus regulating the homeostasis of the brain. The progressive decline of brain performance along with physiological aging is at least in part associated with alterations in the composition and structure of neural lipid rafts. In addition, neurodegenerative conditions, such as lysosomal storage disorders, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases, are frequently characterized by dysregulated lipid metabolism, which in turn affects the structure of lipid rafts. Several events underlying the pathogenesis of these diseases appear to depend on the altered composition of lipid rafts. Thus, the structure and function of lipid rafts play a central role in the pathogenesis of many common neurodegenerative diseases.

Cholesterol/sphingolipid-rich membrane domains, known as lipid rafts or membrane rafts, play a critical role in the compartmentalization of signaling pathways. Physical segregation of proteins in lipid rafts may modulate the accessibility of proteins to regulatory or effector molecules. Thus, lipid rafts serve as sorting platforms and hubs for signal transduction proteins. Cancer cells contain higher levels of intracellular cholesterol and lipid rafts than their normal non-tumorigenic counterparts. Many signal transduction processes involved in cancer development (insulin-like growth factor system and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-AKT) and metastasis [cluster of differentiation (CD)44] are dependent on or modulated by lipid rafts. Additional proteins playing an important role in several malignant cancers (e.g., transmembrane glycoprotein mucin 1) are also being detected in association with lipid rafts, suggesting a major role of lipid rafts in tumor progression. Conversely, lipid rafts also serve as scaffolds for the recruitment and clustering of Fas/CD95 death receptors and downstream signaling molecules leading to cell death-promoting raft platforms. The partition of death receptors and downstream signaling molecules in aggregated lipid rafts has led to the formation of the so-called cluster of apoptotic signaling molecule-enriched rafts, or CASMER, which leads to apoptosis amplification and can be pharmacologically modulated. These death-promoting rafts can be viewed as a linchpin from which apoptotic signals are launched. In this review, we discuss the involvement of lipid rafts in major signaling processes in cancer cells, including cell survival, cell death, and metastasis, and we consider the potential of lipid raft modulation as a promising target in cancer therapy.

Lipid rafts, solid regions of the plasma membrane enriched in cholesterol and glycosphingolipids, are essential parts of a cell. Functionally, lipid rafts present a platform that facilitates interaction of cells with the outside world. However, the unique properties of lipid rafts required to fulfill this function at the same time make them susceptible to exploitation by pathogens. Many steps of pathogen interaction with host cells, and sometimes all steps within the entire lifecycle of various pathogens, rely on host lipid rafts. Such steps as binding of pathogens to the host cells, invasion of intracellular parasites into the cell, the intracellular dwelling of parasites, microbial assembly and exit from the host cell, and microbe transfer from one cell to another all involve lipid rafts. Interaction also includes modification of lipid rafts in host cells, inflicted by pathogens from both inside and outside the cell, through contact or remotely, to advance pathogen replication, to utilize cellular resources, and/or to mitigate immune response. Here, we provide a systematic overview of how and why pathogens interact with and exploit host lipid rafts, as well as the consequences of this interaction for the host, locally and systemically, and for the microbe. We also raise the possibility of modulation of lipid rafts as a therapeutic approach against a variety of infectious agents.

Lipid rafts are organized plasma membrane microdomains, which provide a distinct level of regulation of cellular metabolism and response to extracellular stimuli, affecting a diverse range of physiologic and pathologic processes. This Thematic Review Series focuses on Biology of Lipid Rafts rather than on their composition or structure. The aim is to provide an overview of ideas on how lipid rafts are involved in regulation of different pathways and how they interact with other layers of metabolic regulation. Articles in the series will review the involvement of lipid rafts in regulation of hematopoiesis, production of extracellular vesicles, host interaction with infection, and the development and progression of cancer, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration, as well as the current outlook on therapeutic targeting of lipid rafts.

A significant number of injury survivors experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and better screening practices could help connect them to mental health services.