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Archive for the ‘biotech/medical’ category: Page 398

Oct 27, 2023

Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Psychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer Disease and Parkinson Disease

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

A meta-analysis showed improvement of neuropsychiatric symptoms with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease, although effect sizes were small.


Neuropsychiatric symptoms are challenging to treat in patients with neurodegenerative conditions. In this meta-analysis, researchers investigated the effect of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) on neuropsychiatric symptoms in those with Alzheimer disease (AD) or Parkinson disease (PD). Studies in the analysis included placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trials that included at least one ChEI — i.e., donepezil, rivastigmine, or galantamine — and applied at least one validated neuropsychiatric measure, with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) being the most used measure studied. The primary outcomes were hallucinations and delusions. Secondary outcomes included all other neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Original participant data for 6,649 individuals with AD or PD from 17 trials were available for analysis out of 34 eligible trials. In patients with AD, ChEI use was associated with significantly fewer delusions (effect size, −0.08) and hallucinations (−0.09) compared with placebo. In the PD subgroup, ChEIs also were associated with significantly fewer delusions (−0.14) and hallucinations (−0.08). These effects did not differ among ChEI types. ChEIs were associated with lower appetite scores in the AD group and with significantly improved total neuropsychiatric scores in the PD group (−0.18). Increases in baseline neuropsychiatric scores were associated with greater effect size favoring ChEIs in those with PD. Lower baseline cognitive score was associated with increased effect size favoring ChEIs in both AD and PD.

Based on this meta-analysis, ChEIs could be considered in appropriate patients, since ChEIs may reduce hallucinations and delusions in people with AD or PD. Greater effects may be possible if neuropsychiatric symptoms or lower cognitive scores are present at the time of initiation. ChEIs decreased appetite scores in AD, which should be considered in those who are underweight. Whether ChEIs also improve neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies requires further study, since data were insufficient to assess that population in this analysis.

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Oct 27, 2023

Alzheimer’s Research Offers Doctors ‘Rightful Optimism’ on Care

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Neurologists at the biggest Alzheimer’s research meeting in the US experienced something this week they hadn’t in years: optimism.

Oct 27, 2023

Breakthrough in treatment of cervical cancer

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government

A breakthrough in treating cervical cancer is reported, with participants in a recent trial achieving a five-year survival rate of 80% – up from the previous average of 70%. The study used a combination of existing, cheap drugs ahead of usual radiotherapy treatment.

Cervical cancer cell illustration. Credit: PRB ARTS

Phase III of the INTERLACE trial, funded by Cancer Research UK and University College London (UCL) Cancer Trials Centre, assessed whether a short course of induction chemotherapy (IC) prior to chemoradiation (CRT) could reduce the rate of relapse and death among patients with cervical cancer. Researchers involved in the study presented the preliminary results at the recent European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress.

Oct 27, 2023

DNA Origami nanoturbine sets new horizon for nanomotors

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

A collaborative team of researchers led by prof. Cees Dekker at TU Delft, in partnership with international colleagues, introduces a pioneering breakthrough in the world of nanomotors – the DNA origami nanoturbine. This nanoscale device could represent a paradigm shift, harnessing power from ion gradients or electrical potential across a solid-state nanopore to drive the turbine into mechanical rotations.

  • A 25-nanometer DNA nanoturbine, driven by water flow, spins up to 20 revolutions per second.
  • Ion-sensitive rotation offers unique applications like targeted drug delivery.
  • Oct 27, 2023

    ‘We could see it happening before our eyes’: research shows how cancer cells resist chemotherapy

    Posted by in category: biotech/medical

    A study in human cell lines reveals cancer cells can activate a force-generating mechanism to survive a cancer therapy.

    Oct 27, 2023

    New software tool provides a way for safer design of genome editing

    Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, food, genetics

    A team of researchers has developed a software tool called DANGER (Deleterious and ANticipatable Guides Evaluated by RNA-sequencing) analysis that provides a way for the safer design of genome editing in all organisms with a transcriptome. For about a decade, researchers have used the CRISPR technology for genome editing. However, there are some challenges in the use of CRISPR. The DANGER analysis overcomes these challenges and allows researchers to perform safer on-and off-target assessments without a reference genome. It holds the potential for applications in medicine, agriculture, and biological research.

    Their work is published in the journal Bioinformatics Advances on August 23, 2023.

    Genome editing, or gene editing, refers to technologies that allow researchers to change the genomic DNA of an organism. With these technologies, researchers can add, remove or alter genetic material in the genome.

    Oct 27, 2023

    Lactobacillus iners in tumors: Driving chemoradiation resistance via lactate-induced metabolic rewiring

    Posted by in category: biotech/medical

    Cell Press


    In a recent study published in Cancer Cell, researchers combined deep microbial sequencing and targeted culturing of bacteria with in vitro assessments to investigate tumor and gut microbiome traits that impact chemoradiation therapy in patients with cervical cancer.

    Study: Tumor-resident Lactobacillus iners confer chemoradiation resistance through lactate-induced metabolic rewiring. Image Credit: Prrrettty/Shutterstock.com.

    Continue reading “Lactobacillus iners in tumors: Driving chemoradiation resistance via lactate-induced metabolic rewiring” »

    Oct 27, 2023

    Crack vaccine research on rats could help babies of mothers who use cocaine—and reduce addiction

    Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

    UFMG-V4N2 proved effective in producing antibodies and making them block the passage of cocaine into the brain, which means that the vaccinated animals have a reduced perception of the drug’s effect: a very important advantage in a treatment.

    This blockage occurs in the following way: we have a “protective shield” called the blood-brain barrier, which prevents toxic elements, viruses or bacteria from entering the brain, but because the cocaine molecule is very small, it manages to pass through this barrier.

    The vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies, which bind to the drug molecules, increasing their weight and size and thus preventing them from getting past the protective shield. The cocaine is retained in the blood, but as it is bound to the antibody, it doesn’t act on the heart or arteries either, which means the risk of overdoses is reduced.

    Continue reading “Crack vaccine research on rats could help babies of mothers who use cocaine—and reduce addiction” »

    Oct 27, 2023

    Adapting Ritalin to tackle cocaine abuse

    Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, health, neuroscience

    Cocaine use continues to be a public health problem, yet despite concerted efforts, no drugs have been approved to resolve cocaine addiction. Research suggests that the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin) could serve as a cocaine-replacement therapy, but clinical results have been mixed. Although several labs have produced MPH derivatives for testing, parts of the molecule remained chemically inaccessible. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have cleared that hurdle.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 5 million Americans reported actively using cocaine in 2020, and almost 25,000 Americans died of a cocaine-related overdose in 2021. Although small-molecule drugs have proven effective in treating other drug addictions—for example, methadone as a therapy for heroin abuse—no such medication exists for cocaine abuse.

    MPH has been considered a potential treatment because it behaves similarly to the illicit drug, increasing dopamine levels in the brain by blocking dopamine reuptake. Additionally, have shown that MPH has a lower risk of abuse than cocaine.

    Oct 26, 2023

    Link between fruits, veggies & microbiome confirmed for the first time

    Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

    Bacterial diversity in the gut plays an important role in health. The human microbiome has featured prominently in research, with links being made between it and cancer, personality, memory, and diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

    While it’s understood that a mother’s microbiome is transferred to their baby at birth and boosted by breastfeeding, what other sources of gut bacteria are there? A new study by researchers at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria has confirmed, for the first time, that one source is fruits and vegetables.

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