SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, can directly infect the arteries of the heart and cause the fatty plaque inside arteries to become highly inflamed, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to an NIH-funded study.

An NIH-funded research team has developed a smartphone app that can track and analyze a person’s ability to move from one place to another, known as locomotion, and other types of movements.

An investigational drug, encaleret, restored calcium levels in people with autosomal dominant hypocalcemia type 1 (ADH1), a rare genetic disorder marked by an imbalance of calcium in the blood and urine. People with ADH1 have abnormally low levels of parathyroid hormone, which regulates blood calcium levels.

Researchers identified uric acid as a potential therapy to enhance recovery from acute ischemic stroke. In the study, researchers from NIH’s Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN) rigorously tested the effectiveness of six novel therapies in reducing ischemic brain injury in rodents, including four FDA-approved drugs to treat other conditions.

Using a novel deep brain stimulation (DBS) device capable of recording brain signals, researchers have identified a pattern of brain activity or “biomarker” related to clinical signs of recovery from treatment-resistant depression.

NIH launched a clinical trial to test whether early intensive immune modulation for hospitalized Covid-19 patients with relatively mild illness is beneficial.

Past-year use of marijuana and hallucinogens by adults ages 35 to 50 continued a long-term upward trajectory to reach all-time highs in 2022, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study, an annual survey of substance use behaviors and attitudes of adults 19 to 60 years old.

Severe Covid-19 may cause long-lasting alterations to the innate immune system, the first line of defense against pathogens, according to a small study funded by NIAID. These changes may help explain why the disease can damage so many different organs and why some people with long Covid have high levels of inflammation throughout the body. The findings were published online in the journal Cell.

A device known as a pessary, thought promising for reducing preterm birth risk due to a short cervix, appears no more effective than usual medical care, according to a study funded by NIH.

An NIH-supported study found that statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering medications, may offset the high risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV by more than a third.