This randomized clinical trial examines the efficacy and safety of zilebesiran vs placebo when added to a standard antihypertensive medication in adult patients with uncontrolled hypertension.
Category: biotech/medical – Page 370
Protective genetic variants against Alzheimer’s disease
Genetic studies can offer powerful insights for the development of disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. Protective genetic variants that delay the onset of cognitive impairment have been found in people with sporadic Alzheimer’s disease and in carriers of mutations that usually cause autosomal-dominant Alzheimer’s disease in mid-life. The study of families who carry autosomal dominant mutations provides a unique opportunity to uncover genetic modifiers of disease progression, including rare variants in genes such as APOE and RELN.
Scientists test real-time view of brain’s waste removal with new monitoring device
A new device that monitors the waste-removal system of the brain may help to prevent Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases, according to a study published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
In the study, participants were asleep when they wore the device: a head cap embedded with electrodes that measures shifts in fluid within brain tissue, the neural activity from sleep to wakefulness and changes in the brain’s blood vessels.
By measuring these three features, the researchers found they could monitor the brain’s glymphatic system, which acts as a waste-removal and nutrient-delivery system.
Long working hours may alter brain structure, preliminary findings suggest
Long working hours may alter the structure of the brain, particularly the areas associated with emotional regulation and executive function, such as working memory and problem solving, suggest the findings of preliminary research, published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
Ultimately, overwork may induce neuroadaptive changes that might affect cognitive and emotional health, say the researchers.
Long working hours have been linked to heightened risks of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and mental health issues. And the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that overwork kills more than 800,000 people every year, note the researchers.
Study reveals intricate molecular detail of human DNA repair process
Researchers have revealed the structural mechanisms of a major DNA repair pathway in human cells.
The research, published today as a Reviewed Preprint in eLife, is described by the editors as a landmark study with compelling evidence on how an important player in DNA repair—the RAD51 filament—promotes the exchange of strands between DNA molecules that contain homologous (identical or similar) sequences. They added that the findings will be very valuable for research communities studying DNA repair and genome stability.
Homologous recombination (HR) is one of the key DNA repair pathways in cells. It is essential for repairing double-stranded breaks in DNA and for DNA crossover events during sexual reproduction. Moreover, cells deficient in HR are more prone to cancer, and targeting the cells’ HR machinery—together with other DNA repair pathways—can be used to kill cancer cells (an approach called synthetic lethality).
New compound could supercharge naloxone in fight against opioid overdoses
By Nina Bai
In a Stanford Medicine-led study, researchers combed through billions of compounds to find one that could enhance naloxone’s ability to fend off more potent opioids, with promising results in mice.
FMRI analysis method designed for children finds unexpected brain health improvements in aging women
A research team led by the Borzage Laboratory at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles tested a new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis method to measure cerebrovascular health in aging adults. What they found was unexpected and validated the usefulness of this method for measuring neurovascular aging in childhood diseases.
The researchers measured the cerebrovascular reactivity of the brains of 53 men and women between the ages of 51 to 83. Cerebrovascular reactivity is the ability of the blood vessels in the brain to dilate in response to a stimulus. The fMRI method they used—known as blood oxygen level dependent-cerebrovascular reactivity (BOLD-CVR)—measures the ability of the brain’s vessels to flexibly regulate blood flow in response to changes in carbon dioxide levels.
“How well the vessels react reveals a lot about your brain health,” says lead author Bethany Sussman, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Neonatology, at CHLA. “If a certain part of the brain can’t perform that function very well, that area is likely more susceptible to stroke.
New technique turns ‘noisy’ lasers into quantum light
Scientists have discovered a way to convert fluctuating lasers into remarkably stable beams that defy classical physics, opening new doors for photonic technologies that rely on both high power and high precision.
Lasers are essential tools in science, industry and medicine, but increasing their power often results in “noise”—unpredictable fluctuations in intensity that disrupt applications requiring consistent, stable light.
Researchers led by Cornell and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have demonstrated how noisy, amplified lasers can be transformed into ultra-stable beams through the clever use of optical fibers and filters. The technique was detailed in Nature Photonics.