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It's well known that alcohol has profound consequences on the way the brain works, and research shows that even low levels of the drug can damage your brain. But how does alcohol actually cause brain damage at the cellular level? In a surprising discovery reported in Immunity, scientists found that alcohol doesn't just interact with neurons. New findings show the drug also affects immune cells in the brain called microglia, triggering them to dismantle the extracellular matrix that structurally supports brain cells. "For years, alcohol's effects on the brain were largely viewed through the lens of neurons, and for good reason: alcohol acts directly on neuronal receptors," says neuroscientist and senior author of the study Dimitrios Davalos from the Cleveland Clinic. "By following microglia in real time, we were able to see that they aren't simply responding to damage. They drive the detrimental changes alcohol causes in the brain. "Experiments showing how alcohol use negatively affects the brain's microglia immune cells over time.

Credit: Artur Plawgo / Getty Images / Science Photo Library The physical pressure that cancer cells encounter as tumors grow may do more than impede their movement. New research suggests that prolonged confinement can activate a molecular self-destruct mechanism in invasive cancer cells, potentially limiting their ability to spread to other parts of the body. The findings, published in Developmental Cell, reveal an unexpected connection between the mechanical forces within tumors and a form of programmed cell death called necroptosis. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai say the discovery could eventually lead to biomarkers for predicting metastatic risk and new approaches to preventing cancer spread.

Bioengineer.org news storyFor people living with HIV, modern antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus to levels below what standard laboratory tests can detect. Yet some patients on long-term treatment experience a curious phenomenon: a single test result showing a small, transient amount of virus in the blood, followed by an immediate return to undetectable levels. These events, known as viral blips, have puzzled clinicians and researchers for years, raising questions about whether they represent harmless statistical noise, brief bursts of viral production from hidden reservoirs, or early warnings of impending treatment failure. A new nationwide Swedish study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, offers one of the most comprehensive answers to date. Drawing on the Swedish national InfCareHIV cohort, researchers analyzed data from 4,210 treatment-naïve adults who began antiretroviral therapy from 1 January 2007 onward, with follow-up data extracted through 30 September 2020. The median observation time was 5.5 years, with some individuals followed for as long as 13.7 years.

European Medical Journal news storyPeople living with HIV may experience subtle changes in heart muscle function even when conventional measures of cardiac performance remain normal, according to findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Researchers identified significantly impaired global longitudinal strain (GLS) among people with HIV compared with HIV-uninfected individuals, despite preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in both groups. The findings suggest that speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) could provide additional information about early myocardial dysfunction in this population. Read the full news story here.