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Category: biotech/medical – Page 508

Hyaluronic Acid Lip Fillers Safe for Patients with Systemic Sclerosis

Thin lips are a common cosmetic concern for people with scleroderma – and can impact a patient’s ability to chew, swallow, and sleep.

Writing in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, a YSM team finds hyaluronic acid lip fillers are a safe and effective option.

Hyaluronic acid lip fillers are safe and effective for patients with systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma, a new Yale study finds.

Thin lips are not only a common cosmetic concern in patients with scleroderma, a condition that involves tightening and hardening of the skin among other effects on internal organs, but also can impact a person’s ability to chew, swallow, and sleep. In addition, the condition can be stigmatizing and have significant psychosocial impacts. Although hyaluronic acid fillers are commonly used in the restoration of lip volume, they have not been used routinely in patients with the disease due to concerns of worsening the autoimmune condition.

Researchers in Yale’s Department of Dermatology and Internal Medicine’s Section of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology published their findings in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. They conducted a prospective study of seven patients with systemic sclerosis and perioral involvement to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these fillers in this patient population. Among the various types of cosmetic lip filler, the team chose Restylane® Silk (Galderma) a hyaluronic acid filler with low cross-linking, hypothesized to have lower immunogenicity.

Bioelectric regulation of innate immune system function in regenerating and intact Xenopus laevis

Bioelectrical signaling in the African clawed frog modulates both resistance to infection and tail regeneration. Michael Levin at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA, and colleagues have used genetic technologies and drug treatments to manipulate the bioelectrical properties of tissues in frog embryos. Reducing the electric gradient between the inside and outside of cells (depolarization) increased the embryos’ survival rate to bacterial infection, whereas increasing the resting potential (hyperpolarization) had the opposite effect. The authors found that serotonergic signaling and an increase in the number of myeloid cells underpin depolarization-induced immunity. Interestingly, embryos undergoing tail regeneration, which triggers depolarization, also showed increased resistance to infection.

A microscopic factory for small runners: New method uses magnetic loops for growth control

Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have developed a new method for controlling the growth of physical micro-runners. They used an external magnetic field to assemble paramagnetic colloidal spheres—i.e. only magnetic due to external influences—into rods of a certain length. Colloidal particles are tiny particles in the micro-or nanometer range that can be used in medicine as carriers of biochemicals.

Beyond CRISPR: seekRNA delivers a New Pathway for Accurate Gene Editing

Scientists at the University of Sydney have developed a gene-editing tool with greater accuracy and flexibility than the industry standard, CRISPR, which has revolutionized genetic engineering in medicine, agriculture and biotechnology.

SeekRNA uses a programmable ribonucleic acid (RNA) strand that can directly identify sites for insertion in genetic sequences, simplifying the editing process and reducing errors.

The new gene-editing tool is being developed by a team led by Dr. Sandro Ataide in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. Their findings have been published in Nature Communications.

Scientists Intrigued by Drug That Extended Lifespans of Mice While Keeping Them Young-Looking

In a new study, lab mice given an experimental drug were jokingly referred to as “supermodel grannies” because they looked so youthful even while aging beyond their expected lifespan.

As the BBC reports, the trials for a drug believed to flush out a protein known as interleukin-11 — which in early development helps build our bones but later in life causes the kinds of inflammation that triggers much of the illness of aging — have already had intriguing success in mice.

Published in the journal Nature, a paper about the research undertaken by scientists at Imperial College London, Duke-NUS in Singapore, and the MRC Lab of Medical Sciences found that when given a drug that purges interleukin-11, the mice became more lean, had healthier fur, and had significantly lower levels of cancer than their counterparts of the same age.

Brain implant patient says OpenAI’s tech helps him communicate with family

A 64-year-old named Mark has spent the last year learning how to control devices like his laptop and phone using a brain implant. And thanks to OpenAI, it’s gotten a whole lot easier to do.

The neurotech startup Synchron said Thursday it’s using OpenAI’s latest artificial intelligence models to build a new generative chat feature for patients with its brain-computer interface, or BCI.

A BCI system decodes brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies. Synchron’s model is designed to help people with paralysis communicate and maintain some independence by controlling smartphones, computers and other devices with their thoughts.