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Category: biotech/medical – Page 291

Rewiring Hope: How Nerve Stimulation Transforms Severe Depression

A groundbreaking clinical trial has revealed that nerve-stimulating therapy can bring significant improvements to people with severe, treatment-resistant depression.

Nearly 500 participants, many unable to work due to their condition, received devices that stimulate the vagus nerve—a critical connection between the brain and body. After a year, those with activated devices reported measurable improvements in symptoms, quality of life, and daily functioning.

Breakthrough in Treatment-Resistant Depression.

Using AI to repurpose existing drugs for treatment of rare diseases

Although each condition occurs in a small number of individuals, collectively these diseases exert a staggering human and economic toll because they affect some 300 million people worldwide. Yet, with a mere 5 to 7 percent of these conditions having an FDA-approved drug, they remain largely untreated or undertreated.

Developing new medicines represents a daunting challenge, but a new artificial intelligence tool can propel the discovery of new therapies from existing medicines, offering hope for patients with rare and neglected conditions and for the clinicians who treat them.

The AI model, called TxGNN, is the first one developed specifically to identify drug candidates for rare diseases and conditions with no treatments.

Identifies possible therapies for thousands of diseases, including ones with no current treatments.

Why are we seeing more pandemics? Our impact on the planet has a lot to do with it

Healthy, stable ecosystems provide services that keep us healthy, such as supplying food and clean water, producing oxygen, and making green spaces available for our recreation and wellbeing.

Another key service ecosystems provide is disease regulation. When nature is in balance – with predators controlling herbivore populations, and herbivores controlling plant growth – it’s more difficult for pathogens to emerge in a way that causes pandemics.

But when human activities disrupt and unbalance ecosystems – such as by way of climate change and biodiversity loss – things go wrong.

Smart materials, discover the materials with which we will shape the future

Human evolution is linked to the manipulation of the environment. Since the first hominid to use a stone as a tool — or a bone according to the iconic scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey —, we have come to recognise this as materials science. This discipline uses physics, chemistry and engineering to study how materials are formed and what their physical properties are, as well as to discover and develop new materials, such as smart materials in order to find new uses applicable to any sector.

Smart materials are materials that are manipulated to respond in a controllable and reversible way, modifying some of their properties as a result of external stimuli such as certain mechanical stress or a certain temperature, among others. Because of their responsiveness, smart materials are also known as responsive materials. These are usually translated as “active” materials although it would be more accurate to say “reactive” materials.

For example, we can talk about sportswear with ventilation valves that react to temperature and humidity by opening when the wearer breaks out in a sweat and closing when the body cools down, about buildings that adapt to atmospheric conditions such as wind, heat or rain, or about drugs that are released into the bloodstream as soon as a viral infection is detected.

A Common Sleeping Pill May Reduce The Buildup of Alzheimer’s Proteins, Study Finds

There’s still so much we don’t know about Alzheimer’s disease, but the link between poor sleep and worsening disease is one that researchers are exploring with gusto.

In a study published in 2023, scientists found that using sleeping pills to get some shut-eye could reduce the build-up of toxic clumps of proteins in fluid that washes the brain clean every night.

Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found people who took suvorexant, a common treatment for insomnia, for two nights at a sleep clinic experienced a slight drop in two proteins, amyloid-beta and tau, that pile up in Alzheimer’s disease.

Whooping cough cases reach highest level in a decade

“They don’t have time in between those coughs to take a breath,” said Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at University of California, Davis, Children’s Hospital. “Sometimes, if it’s so severe, the kids end up being intubated or on a ventilator so that they can get oxygen.”

Infants are the most vulnerable to whooping cough, with the highest risk of getting infected and of serious complications.

Diabetes Reversal: A New Hope for Millions Battling the Disease

Diabetes has long been regarded as a chronic condition, a lifelong sentence requiring constant management. However, recent advancements in science and personalized healthcare are challenging this narrative. The concept of “diabetes reversal” is gaining traction, providing hope to millions who believed their diagnosis was a permanent condition.

Diabetes reversal doesn’t imply a cure. Instead, it refers to achieving and maintaining normal blood sugar levels without the need for diabetes medications for a predefined period of time – generally for 3 months. For individuals with type 2 diabetes, this means significant lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medical interventions that reduce or eliminate dependency on drugs like insulin or metformin.

Recent studies have highlighted that sustained weight loss, especially in the early stages of diagnosis, can help you achieve diabetes reversal or remission in many patients. According to research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, individuals who lost 15% or more of their body weight within a year of diagnosis had a remission rate of nearly 86%.

Patients Warned Not To Rely on AI Chatbots For Safe And Accurate Drug Information

“However, chatbot answers were largely difficult to read and answers repeatedly lacked information or showed inaccuracies, possibly threatening patient and medication safety,” they add.

The researchers also noted that a major drawback was the chatbot’s inability to understand the underlying intent of a patient question.

“Despite their potential, it is still crucial for patients to consult their healthcare professionals, as chatbots may not always generate error-free information. Caution is advised in recommending AI-powered search engines until citation engines with higher accuracy rates are available,” the researchers concluded.