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Category: biotech/medical – Page 1,046

Exclusive: Synchron, a rival to Musk’s Neuralink, readies large-scale brain implant trial

Synchron on Monday plans to launch an online…

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) — Synchron Inc, a rival to Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain implant startup, is preparing to recruit patients for a large-scale clinical trial required to seek commercial approval for its device, the company’s chief executive told Reuters.

Synchron on Monday plans to launch an online registry for patients interested in joining the trial meant to include dozens of participants, and has received interest from about 120 clinical trial centers to help run the study, CEO Thomas Oxley said in an interview.

“Part of this registry is to start to enable local physicians to speak to patients with motor impairment,” he said. “There’s a lot of interest so we don’t want it to come in a big bottleneck right before the study we’ll be doing.”

Geneos vaccine shows efficacy in reducing liver tumors in trial

Personalized vaccine + immunotherapy cuts advanced liver cancer in small trial.

There were no serious adverse reactions. The most common was mild injection site reactions.

This Geneos treatment is a DNA vaccine that delivers the genetic code of mutated proteins into cells through a small electrical impulse. Each vaccine can target up to 40 mutated genes.

Niranjan Sardesai, the president of Geneos said that despite the small size of this study, their results are important for the advancement of the field. “Our mechanism confirms every step, from vaccination to tumor reduction, required to explain the immunological basis for the observed clinical responses,” he said in the statement.

Parkinson’s Patient Fights Disease at ‘Drumboxing’ Workout Class

“It’s not much you can do about it. Other than fight it and if you fight and you quit, then you are not gonna make it,” he said.

The founders of this Malibu-based class say it challenges the mind and body to work together, getting stronger in the process.

John Wakefield, the creator and co-founder of drumboxing in California, told KCBS, “The connection with rhythm, tying it in with motor skills, really training the brain like you train the body putting it in a situation where it has to react.”

Old drug appears to halt progression of Parkinson’s motor symptoms

A medication used to treat diabetes appeared to halt the progression of Parkinson’s symptoms in a phase 2 trial of people in the early stages of the disease. While more research is needed to see how large the effect is and how long it might last, the news is encouraging in the hunt for new Parkinson’s treatments.

The challenge: More than 8.5 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s, a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine, which helps neurons communicate.

Common Parkinson’s symptoms include tremors, stiffness, and impaired cognition. Meds that replace dopamine can help alleviate those, but they don’t address the underlying cause — the loss of dopamine neurons — and so the disease progresses.

A Case Report of Chronic Epipharyngitis With Chronic Fatigue Treated With Epipharyngeal Abrasive Therapy (EAT)

A case of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) with chronic epipharyngitis was treated with epipharyngeal abrasive therapy (EAT). The symptoms of ME/CFS improved along with the improvement of chronic epipharyngitis. The patient was followed up with endocrine and autonomic function tests. Endocrine function tests included salivary cortisol and salivary α-amylase activity. Salivary α-amylase activity was stimulated by EAT improved the diurnal variability of salivary cortisol secretion. Autonomic function tests included heart rate variability analysis by orthostatic stress test. EAT normalized parasympathetic and sympathetic reflexes over time and regulated autonomic balance. Based on the improvement of symptoms and test results, EAT was considered effective for ME/CFS. A literature review was conducted on the mechanism of the therapeutic effect of EAT on ME/CFS.

Harvard and MIT Scientists Discover Cholesterol-Busting Microbes in the Gut

Alterations in the gut microbiome are associated with a range of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Now, a team of researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard along with Massachusetts General Hospital has found that microbes in the gut may affect cardiovascular disease as well. In a study published in Cell, the team has identified specific species of bacteria that consume cholesterol in the gut and may help lower cholesterol and heart disease risk in people.

Members of Ramnik Xavier’s lab, Broad’s Metabolomics Platform, and collaborators analyzed metabolites and microbial genomes from more than 1,400 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, a decades-long project focused on risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

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