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Music therapy has long been used to help people recover from physical and emotional trauma, but now it may also be a breakthrough in assessing consciousness levels in children who have suffered significant brain injuries. Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University, The Children’s Trust, and Temple University have developed a new tool called MuSICCA (Music therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness, and Awareness) to help doctors and caregivers determine the level of consciousness in children aged 2-18.

Currently, there is a lack of tools to assess consciousness in children, making it difficult for medical staff to provide proper care. As children grow and develop, their brains undergo significant changes that can make it even harder to determine their level of awareness. MuSICCA aims to change this by using specially selected music to stimulate the patient and encourage them to respond.

A qualified music therapist performs live music stimulation for the patient, manipulating different aspects of the music depending on how they respond. The music therapist observes the child’s behaviors and records these observations against a set of scales, which then produces a diagnosis of the level of consciousness.

In a recent study, researchers invited participants including music therapists, family members of children affected by brain injuries, and healthcare professionals to evaluate MuSICCA. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 85% of participants strongly agreeing that MuSICCA is an assessment of consciousness and awareness, and 85% also strongly agreeing that it is suitable for use with children and young people.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Jonathan Pool, said: “Children with disorders of consciousness are often almost completely dependent on others to meet their needs. Their therapists, nurses, and caregivers must interpret very subtle behaviors to help them understand their needs. MuSICCA allows us to conduct a rigorous assessment of the patient’s response to various musical stimuli, giving us a picture of their level of consciousness and the strengths and weaknesses of their responses.”

The researchers believe that MuSICCA has the potential to revolutionize the way we assess consciousness in children with brain injuries, providing a more accurate and reliable method for doctors and caregivers to determine the best course of treatment.

The fight against deadly tropical diseases has taken a significant step forward with the discovery of a promising target for new treatments. Researchers from Bochum and Würzburg have made a groundbreaking find in their study on the African sleeping sickness pathogen Trypanosoma brucei, which also causes Chagas disease and leishmaniasis.

In a breakthrough study published in Cell Reports, the researchers compiled a high-precision inventory of the membrane proteins of the glycosomes, unique cell organelles essential for the survival of the parasites. “Some of these proteins contain components that are specific to parasites and differ significantly from those of the host cells,” explains Professor Ralf Erdmann.

The team’s success in identifying 28 glycosome membrane proteins with a high degree of reliability opens up new avenues for targeted treatment strategies against these poorly understood tropical diseases. A particular highlight was the discovery of TbPEX15, a membrane anchor for an essential protein import complex that differs significantly from its counterpart in humans.

This finding provides a valuable resource for biomedical research into glycosome biology and deepens our understanding of parasite biology. The researchers’ work gives hope for new treatment approaches for diseases that affect over 12 million people worldwide.

The study’s findings are a significant step forward in the fight against deadly tropical diseases, and further research could lead to the development of new therapies and treatments.

The consumption of ultra-processed foods has been linked to various adverse health outcomes, including hypertension, cardiovascular events, cancer, digestive diseases, and mortality. Research presented at the ACC Asia 2025 Together with SCS 36th Annual Scientific Meeting suggests that for every 100 grams of ultra-processed food consumed daily, the risk for these health issues increases.

Ultra-processed foods are characterized by high sugar, salt, and non-nutritive components, exhibiting low nutritional density yet high caloric content. These products may contribute to adverse health outcomes through mechanisms such as dysregulation of blood lipid profiles, alterations in gut microbiota composition, promotion of obesity, induction of systemic inflammation, exacerbation of oxidative stress, and impairment of insulin sensitivity.

A systematic review of 41 prospective cohort studies, spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, found that ultra-processed food consumption was associated with increased risks for:

* Hypertension: 14.5% higher risk per 100g/day consumed
* Cardiovascular events: 5.9% higher risk per 100g/day consumed
* Cancer: 1.2% higher risk per 100g/day consumed
* Digestive diseases: 19.5% higher risk per 100g/day consumed
* All-cause mortality: 2.6% higher risk per 100g/day consumed

Researchers observed increased risks for obesity/overweight, metabolic syndromes/diabetes, and depression/anxiety.

The study’s findings suggest that clinicians should inform patients about the nutritional imbalance in ultra-processed foods and encourage them to reduce their consumption. Governments may consider implementing measures to mitigate the associated health impacts, such as establishing stringent food labeling regulations and requiring manufacturers to provide explicit ingredient disclosures.

Emerging evidence has linked health benefits to whole foods, simple ingredients, and culturally appropriate healthy eating patterns like the Mediterranean or DASH diet. Further high-quality studies on this topic are needed to inform public health recommendations and promote healthier eating habits.