A friend’s struggles with arthritis and the finger braces used to manage it inspired research by a Carnegie Mellon University student that could make it easier for patients to follow rehabilitation plans, speed up recovery times and help people manage chronic conditions.

Faulty versions of the LMNA gene can cause a wide range of health problems, including heart muscle disease (dilated cardiomyopathy) and muscle weakness (muscular dystrophies). Many of these diseases are caused by single-point mutations, which are changes to one DNA “letter” (base).

Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in collaboration with Roche, have developed a next-generation human liver organoid microarray platform that could help predict which drugs may cause harmful immune reactions in some people.

Researchers have improved the ability of wearable health devices to accurately detect when a patient is coughing, making it easier to monitor chronic health conditions and predict health risks such as asthma attacks. The advance is significant because cough-detection technologies have historically struggled to distinguish the sound of coughing from the sound of speech and nonverbal human noises.

Vitamin B6, which is absorbed from a broad range of foods, helps bolster immune system function and neurotransmitters in the brain. But some patients with chronic conditions like diabetes might experience low concentrations of vitamin B6, leading to reduced mental and physical health function, with possible symptoms including irritability, depression, anemia, numbness or muscle twitching.