Adaptive cardiac devices are revolutionising heart disease treatment for real-time monitoring and dynamic therapy adjustments, according to a report.

The report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company, showed that these devices offer continuous, precise interventions enabling better patient outcomes. These also present a shift toward more effective and responsive management of heart disease.

In contrast to traditional devices like pacemakers that deliver consistent outputs, the novel adaptive cardiac technologies leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse heart activity. The adaptive technology also adjusts treatment based on fluctuations in cardiac rhythms, leading to a personalised approach.

This ensures that therapy aligns precisely with a patient's evolving condition, providing 24/7 care and better health outcomes.

Researchers have unveiled transformative insights into the relationship between inflammation and depression, a finding that can fundamentally change our understanding of depression's biological underpinnings.

The research by neuroscientist Professor Raz Yirmiya from Hebrew University of Jerusalem extends far beyond the laboratory.

His discoveries about the role of microglia cells and interleukin-1 in stress-induced depression raise intriguing questions about therapeutic interventions: How might understanding inflammatory processes lead to more targeted treatments? What role do different types of immune responses play in various forms of depression?

"Most depressed patients do not have any overt inflammatory disease. However, we and others found that exposure to stress, which is the most significant trigger of depression in humans and animals, also activates inflammatory processes, particularly in the brain," Yirmiya explained in a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview published in the journal Brain Medicine.

Health authorities in Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, on Tuesday issued a high-risk warning after identifying a human case of a deadly mosquito-borne virus.

The Department of Health in Victoria announced that a probable human case of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus has been identified in a resident of the state's north.

It is the first human case of JE virus -- a potentially deadly flavivirus related to dengue and yellow fever -- in Victoria during the current summer and has prompted a warning for people to take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

"The risk of mosquito-borne diseases remains high in the coming weeks. Taking measures to avoid mosquito bites is critical to protect against infections," the alert issued by Victoria's Acting Chief Health Officer Christian McGrath said.

According to the World Health Organization, one in 250 human infections with JE virus results in severe clinical illness. The virus can cause a rare infection of the brain that can lead to seizures, hearing or vision loss, paralysis or even death.

Ladies, blame your levels of oestrogen -- female sex hormone -- for making you binge on alcohol, according to a preclinical study in mice on Monday.

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine showed that the hormone oestrogen regulates binge drinking in females, causing them to “pregame” or binge. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, establishes that circulating oestrogen increases binge alcohol consumption in females and contributes to known sex differences in this behaviour.

“We know a lot less about what drives alcohol drinking behaviour in females because most studies of alcohol use have been done in males,” said senior author Dr. Kristen Pleil, Associate Professor of pharmacology at the varsity.

Yet recent studies indicate that women have increased their heavy alcohol consumption more than men. This overindulgence is set to make them more susceptible to the negative health effects of alcohol than males, said Pleil.

“Many studies show this pattern of drinking enhances alcohol’s harmful effects,” said the expert, noting that the findings could lead to novel approaches for treating alcohol use disorder in women.

Cooking garlic and onions in vegetable oil at high temperatures can generate trans-fatty acids (TFA) and can prove to be detrimental to heart health, claims a study by Japanese researchers.

TFAs are harmful fats that can accumulate along artery walls, restricting blood flow and increasing the risk of heart attacks.

While TFAs are commonly present in processed foods, evidence suggests that they can also be created at home during cooking. Studies indicate that unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), usually considered beneficial, can undergo trans-isomerisation -- a molecular reconfiguration that transforms them into TFAs when heated at 150 degrees Celsius or higher.

To explore, researchers from Meijo University assessed the role of isothiocyanates and polysulfides -- sulphur-containing compounds found in vegetables like garlic, leeks, onions, scallions, and shallots -- in promoting the trans-isomerisation of vegetable UFAs during cooking.

Even as digital healthcare consultations are becoming more common, a study showed it may not be enough for a safe assessment of tonsillitis.

Tonsillitis is a painful infection of the tonsils -- two lymph node-rich glands in the back of the throat. Symptoms of tonsillitis include swollen tonsils, sore throat, and difficulty swallowing.

The study showed that digital assessment may not be reliable, thus increasing the risk of over- or undertreatment of a sore throat.

As tonsillitis is commonly treated with antibiotics, digital assessment may not be as reliable as physical examinations in determining whether antibiotic treatment is warranted, said the team from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

To determine whether a patient needs antibiotics, doctors use the so-called Centor Criteria -- fever, tender, and swollen lymph nodes in the angles of the jaw, and inspection of the tonsils. However, it has been unclear how well these criteria can be assessed during digital healthcare consultations compared to traditional in-person consultations, said the researchers.

Exercise is a cornerstone in managing metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), according to a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

MASLD, previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a chronic liver disease that occurs when fat builds up in the liver in people who don't drink much alcohol. It can affect people with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.

The study, led by Hirsh D. Trivedi and team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in California, US showed that exercise can be beneficial even for patients who have progressed to cirrhosis -- severe scarring of the liver.

Besides weight loss, exercise can aid in reducing liver fat, improving inflammation biomarkers, and enhancing cardiovascular health, revealed the study, published in the Liver International journal.

There is an urgent need for improved diagnostic tools and targeted therapies to address the gap in care for patients with severe asthma, specifically for those with T-helper cell type 2 (T2)-low asthma, a subtype lacking typical inflammatory biomarkers, according to a report on Friday.

T2-low asthma presents unique challenges due to the absence of eosinophils and immunoglobulin E (IgE), which complicates both diagnosis and treatment. And treatments currently available are primarily focused on eosinophilic and allergic inflammation. This leaves patients with non-eosinophilic or neutrophilic asthma without adequate options.

The report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company, showed that while T2-high asthma has benefitted from targeted biologic treatments, T2-low asthma remains largely underserved.

A novel stent surface treatment technology using laser patterning can revolutionise surgeries for heart diseases, according to a study on Thursday.

Traditional metal stents may cause restenosis -- a re-narrowing of the artery -- due to excessive smooth muscle cell proliferation one month after implantation. However, the innovative stent surface technology controls vascular cell responses without drug side effects.

Developed by a team at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), the technology promotes endothelial cell growth while slowing down smooth muscle cell dedifferentiation in blood vessels.

It holds promise for enhancing vascular recovery, especially when combined with chemical coating methods.

California's battle against avian influenza A (H5N1) intensified amid spreading infections across dairy farms and a growing number of human infection, including two newly confirmed cases in Stanislaus and Los Angeles counties.

The virus, commonly known as bird flu, has infected 659 of California's 984 dairy operations since August, with one-quarter of these cases emerging in the past month alone, according to California authorities.

The rapid spread through the state's dairy industry prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency last week to protect agricultural workers and public health, news agency reported.