Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: biotech/medical

World-first: therapy to make cells young again trialled in a person

Boston-based biotechnology company Life Biosciences has launched the first-in-human clinical trials of a pioneering “partial cellular reprogramming” technique designed to treat optic nerve damage caused by glaucoma and NAION. Based on previous genetic research, the therapy utilizes a modified virus to deliver three youth-restoring genes to retinal cells, aiming to reverse cellular aging while preserving their specialized functions. Addressing the critical risk of inducing cancer through uncontrolled cell division, the protocol incorporates a vital safety switch: the rejuvenating genes are only activated in the presence of the antibiotic doxycycline. The eye was strategically selected for these initial trials because its relative isolation minimizes the risk of systemic, life-threatening side effects. Involving up to 12 patients, this groundbreaking study serves as a crucial test not only for the potential restoration of vision but for the safety, viability, and future reputation of partial reprogramming as a broader anti-aging and regenerative medicine therapy.

A participant in a landmark clinical trial has been given a cellular-reprogramming treatment that aims to rejuvenate damaged cells in the eye.

The AI tools shaping patient care may be operating outside regulatory oversight. MIT researchers say it’s time to change that

Every day, across thousands of American hospitals, artificial intelligence quietly shapes decisions that determine patient outcomes. An algorithm flags a patient as high risk for sepsis; a risk score informs whether a woman receives additional cancer screening; a deterioration model triggers an alert that sends a care team to a bedside. These tools are embedded in the workflows of nearly two-thirds of US hospitals, integrated into the electronic health record systems clinicians rely on daily. But many have never been reviewed by the FDA.

A new viewpoint in The Lancet Digital Health, co-authored by researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Jameel Clinic, traces how this problem took root, why it carries serious consequences, and what genuine transparency would require to fix it.

The argument, the scientists say, is not that AI has no place in clinical decision-making. It is that a $4 billion market of clinical decision support tools operates largely beyond public accountability, leaving patients and providers often unable to know whether the tools influencing their care have been validated, by whom, or for which populations they work as intended.

Long-read DNA test lifts rare disease diagnoses and could replace 15 other tests

A new test provides a much more complete picture of DNA than current standard diagnostics and leads to a diagnosis more often. The test can replace 15 other tests, making it faster and more efficient. Researchers from Radboud university medical center recommend in the New England Journal of Medicine that this test be adopted everywhere as the first choice for rare genetic disorders.

A condition is considered rare if it affects fewer than 1 in 2000 people. Nevertheless, up to 400 million people worldwide have a rare disease, as there are more than 7,000 different types. Eighty percent of these have a genetic cause. A diagnosis often takes years to obtain. Yet a diagnosis is important: It provides clarity, insight into the future, contact with others in similar situations, and the possibility to assess risks when planning to have children.

Researchers from Radboudumc and Maastricht UMC+ are working together to increase the chances of diagnosing genetic disorders. They compared current standard diagnostics—often involving multiple tests to reach a diagnosis—with a new DNA test in 1000 patients.

Scientists May Have Found a Protein That Spreads Aging

Ok so, the parabiosis was a temporary effect, but the answer turned out to be having a blood transfusion with yourself instead. So if this video is right there is a molecule called HMGB1 which can be blocked rather than having said transfusion.

Scientists may have identified one of the molecules that helps aging spread through the body.
Block HMGB1 in mice → less inflammation, better muscle regeneration, improved tissue repair.
The next wave of longevity therapies may focus on stopping aging signals, not just repairing the damage.

Prevalence and Modes of Transmission of Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Historical Worldwide Review

Hepatitis C virus infection affects over 58 million individuals and is responsible for 290,000 annual deaths. The infection spread in the past via blood transfusion and iatrogenic transmission due to the use of non-sterilized glass syringes mostly in developing countries (Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Egypt) but even in Italy. High-income countries have achieved successful results in preventing certain modes of transmission, particularly in ensuring the safety of blood and blood products, and to a lesser extent, reducing iatrogenic exposure. Conversely, in low-income countries, unscreened blood transfusions and non-sterile injection practices continue to play major roles, highlighting the stark inequalities between these regions. Currently, injection drug use is a major worldwide risk factor, with a growing trend even in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Emerging high-risk groups include men who have sex with men (MSM), individuals exposed to tattoo practices, and newborns of HCV-infected pregnant women. The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy as a tool to eliminate infection by interrupting viral transmission from infected to susceptible individuals. However, the feasibility of this ambitious and overly optimistic program generates concern about the need for universal screening, diagnosis, linkage to care, and access to affordable DAA regimens. These goals are very hard to reach, especially in LMICs, due to the cost and availability of drugs, as well as the logistical complexities involved. Globally, only a small proportion of individuals infected with HCV have been tested, and an even smaller fraction of those have initiated DAA therapy. The absence of an effective vaccine is a major barrier to controlling HCV infection. Without a vaccine, the WHO project may remain merely an illusion.

Scientists Revived Activity in a Disembodied Human Brain

Further Reading.

Thumbnail image credit: Not alive, but not dead… FEATURED SCIENCE ARTICLE.
MRI image: Britannica: brain.
anatomy.

Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing.
https://www.science.org/content/artic…

Restoration of brain circulation and cellular functions hours.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30996…

Science #explained #brains #organoid #sciencenews

Sleep and exercise may curb heart risk from mutant white blood cells

Healthy sleep and regular exercise can work to counteract genetic mutations in white blood cells that are associated with cardiovascular disease and are most common among older people, Mount Sinai researchers have found. In a study published in Nature, the team reported for the first time that sufficient sleep and exercise can help reduce the cancer-like cell expansion and atherosclerotic risk linked to mutations that spontaneously occur in white blood cells.

These mutations accumulate over our lifetimes and occur most often in hematopoietic stem cells, which are the cells in bone marrow that make blood cells, including macrophages and monocytes, immune cells that help defend the body. When these cells develop mutations, they start to proliferate, multiplying faster than they should, and become more inflammatory, irritating or damaging tissues in the body.

This condition, known as clonal hematopoiesis (CH), is detectable in a quarter of people over age 70 and half of people over 80, the researchers say, though it is infrequent in young, healthy people.

/* */