The quantum race is on, and the stakes are high. The winner will gain a military and intelligence edge, as well as a first mover advantage in what is guaranteed to be a massive industry for decades to come. How will the United States fare?
Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Adam Segal.
A new open access paper takes a look at the potential of regenerative medicine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease [1]. The review covers approaches such as spurring the production of new neurons and transplanting new neurons while taking a look at the disease-modeling approaches and techniques that science is now using to refine approaches to treating Alzheimer’s.
The authors here investigate how induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are contributing to the growing knowledge in the field by allowing researchers to create increasingly refined models of Alzheimer’s disease. A current problem we have is that animal models do not emulate the disease closely enough to lead to translational therapies that work in humans; this is why so many new medicines that work in mice fail in clinical trials. The review takes a look at the challenges and how science is working to develop better models.
Introduction
Continue reading “A Review of Stem Cell Therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease” »
A man in Paris has become the world’s first to successfully receive two facial transplants.
Jérôme Hamon, 43, underwent his first face transplantation procedure in 2010 to treat neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of tumors along nerves in the skin, brain and other parts of the body. Yet Hamon’s body rejected the original transplant.
In January, a team of surgeons and paramedics at Georges Pompidou European Hospital AP-HP, led by surgeon Dr. Laurent Lantieri, performed Hamon’s second transplant.
Continue reading “Man’s second face transplant is a world first” »
Important — “The researchers found that sedentary behavior is a significant predictor of thinning of the MTL and that physical activity, even at high levels, is insufficient to offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods”
— In the study, both (A) Total medial temporal lobe (MTL) and (B) parahippocampal thickness correlated inversely with hours of sitting/day, controlling for age. Reference: Siddarth P et al (2018), Sedentary behavior associated with reduced medial temporal lobe thickness in middle-aged and older adults. PLOS ONE.
Researchers at Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco report that a gene variant associated with Alzheimer’s works differently in mice and humans, and they also demonstrate how modifying this gene could potentially prevent the plaques associated with Alzheimer’s from forming and damaging the brain.
An ApoE3 gene variant is associated with Alzheimer’s disease
The gene apolipoprotein E3 (ApoE3) has a variant known as ApoE4, which is associated with the development and progress of Alzheimer’s disease. People with just one copy of the ApoE4 gene are at twice the risk as people without this gene variant. Some people even have two copies of the ApoE4 gene, which makes their risk of Alzheimer’s a staggering twelve times greater.
Continue reading “Alzheimers Reversed by Editing a Single Gene” »
Farts may stink to high heaven, but a new study suggests that the gas responsible for that foul odor may actually extend a person’s time on earth.
Scientists in the UK claim that hydrogen sulfide, the stinky compound that smells like rotten eggs which contributes to the flatulence stench, could have amazing health benefits.
Hydrogen sulfide can be toxic, but tiny amounts have been shown to help protect the mitochondria, which are known as the “powerhouses” of cells.
Continue reading “Fart gas may help prevent dementia, heart disease: study” »
