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Category: neuroscience – Page 185

SSRI Antidepressants May Cause Fewer Side Effects When Targeted to the Gut

The use of antidepressants during pregnancy significantly increased the risk of a child experiencing functional constipation—a common DGBI that may be painful—during their first year of life. “After adjusting for covariates, SSRI/SNRI exposure was associated with an over 3-fold increased risk for functional constipation,” the investigators wrote.

“We found that, at the age of one, 63% of children exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy experienced constipation, compared with 31% of children whose mothers did not take medication,” said study co-author Larissa Takser, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Université de Sherbrooke in Québec. “This finding suggests a potential connection between serotonin levels in utero and gut development, and opens new doors to examine SSRI properties not previously studied.”

The investigators’ collective findings point to a promising avenue of future studies: the gut epithelium as a new and potentially safer target for treating mood disorders, particularly for pregnant women. “Together, these data define a novel potential mechanism for gut-brain communication and identify intestinal epithelial 5-HT as a new and potentially safer therapeutic target for mood regulation,” the authors stated.

How Can Quantum Sensors Build Better Health? Report Details Potential, Challenges of Quantum Sensors For Biomedical Applications

Quantum sensors, a cutting-edge technology capable of detecting subtle signals from the human body, could soon transform how diseases are diagnosed and monitored, according to a report from the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C).

The report outlines how quantum sensing tools — ranging from diamond-based detectors to optically pumped magnetometers — offer unprecedented sensitivity compared to traditional medical devices. These sensors could enable earlier diagnoses for diseases like Alzheimer’s, provide better imaging of fetal development, and even analyze the microbiome in real time.

“Improved sensors could impact diverse aspects of biomedicine,” the report states. “For example, quantum sensors offer the possibility of significantly more efficient and accurate medical diagnoses for patients, thanks to their increased sensitivity and novel options for form factor. These attributes could enable quantum sensors to collect vast amounts of data about patients and medical conditions, and thus facilitate drug and treatment development and earlier diagnosis of disease. The advantages of quantum sensors encourage new ideas about solutions, quantum use cases, and business models across the biomedical industry — from prenatal care to cancer detection and treatment.”

Deadly Timekeeping: How Brain Tumors Use Your Body Clock Against You

Research from Washington University shows that glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, has its own internal clock that synchronizes with the host’s circadian rhythms to optimize its growth by responding to daily hormone releases like cortisol.

Targeting these circadian signals in treatment slowed tumor growth significantly in both lab and animal studies. This synchronization could explain the mixed effects of dexamethasone, a common treatment, depending on the timing of its administration. The study highlights the potential of chronotherapy, aligning treatment with the body’s natural rhythms, to improve cancer outcomes.

Circadian Rhythms and Human Biology.

GeroScience: 📢CallForPapers

The Call is still open on senescence in brain aging and Alzheimers disease!

Submit your paper today! 📩

Understanding Senescence in Brain Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease

Guest Editors Drs. Julie Andersen and Darren Baker, Associate Editor Dr. Anna Csiszar and Editor-in-Chief Dr. Zoltan Ungvari, and the editorial team of GeroScience (Journal of the American Aging Association; 2018 Impact Factor: 6.44) invite submission of original research articles, opinion papers and review articles related to research focused on understanding the role of senescence in brain aging and in Alzheimer’s disease. Senescent cells accumulate in aging and pathological conditions associated with accelerated aging. While earlier investigations focused on cellular senescence in tissues and cells outside of the brain (e.g. adipose tissue, dermal fibroblasts, cells of the cardiovascular system), more recent studies started to explore the role of senescent cells in age-related decline of brain function and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease and vascular cognitive impairment. This call-for-papers is aimed at providing a platform for the dissemination of critical novel ideas related to the functional and physiological consequences of senescence in diverse brain cell types (e.g., oligodendrocytes, pericytes, astrocytes, endothelial cells, microglia, neural stem cells), with the ultimate goal to identify novel targets for treatment and prevention Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. We welcome manuscripts focusing on senescent-cell-targeting mouse models, the role of paracrine senescence, senescence pathways in terminally differentiated neurons, the pleiotropic effects of systemic senescence, the role of senescence in neuroinflammation and the protective effects of senolytic therapies. We are especially interested in manuscripts exploring the causal role of molecular mechanisms of aging in induction of cellular senescence as well as links between lifestyle (e.g., diet, exercise, smoking), medical treatments (e.g. cancer treatments), exposure environmental toxicants and cellular senescence in the brain. We encourage submission of manuscripts on developing innovative strategies to identify and target senescent cells for prevention/treatment of age-related diseases of the brain. Authors are also encouraged to submit manuscripts focusing on translational aspects of senescence research.

All manuscripts accepted from this Call for Papers will be included in a unique online article collection to further highlight the importance of this topic. All manuscripts should be submitted online here: https://www.editorialmanager.com/jaaa/default.aspx.

Maternal Microbiome in Mice Impacts Offspring Stem Cell Growth and Development

A study in mice has found that maternal gut microbiome composition during pregnancy has long-term effects on offspring stem cell growth and development. The researchers, headed by Parag Kundu, PhD, at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai-Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that treating pregnant mice with the common gut microbe Akkermansia muciniphila resulted in offspring that had more active stem cells in both the brain and intestinal tract. As a result the offspring were less anxious and recovered quicker from colitis, and these differences were still evident at 10 months of age.

The team showed that Akkermansia muciniphila impacted stem cell growth by altering the abundance of other gut microorganisms and increasing the microbial production of metabolites that cross the placenta and induce stem cell growth and proliferation. Exposing offspring to the bacterium after birth did not result in the same stem cell activation.

“This is a major advancement in developing microbiota-based intervention strategies to improve child health,” said Kundu, who is senior author of the team’s published paper in Cell Stem Cell, titled “Maternal gut microbiota influence stem cell function in offspring.” In their report the team stated, “These results suggest a fundamental role of the maternal microbiome in programming offsprings’ stem cells and represent a promising target for interventions.”

B-Amyloid Protects The Brain Against Herpes Virus Infection: Amy Proal, PhD

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Dissecting the causal role of early inferior frontal activation in reading

Cognitive models of reading assume that speech production occurs after visual and phonological processing of written words. This traditional view is at odds with more recent magnetoencephalography studies showing that the left posterior inferior frontal cortex (pIFC) classically associated with spoken production responds to print at 100–150 ms after word-onset, almost simultaneously with posterior brain regions for visual and phonological processing. Yet the theoretical significance of this fast neural response remains open to date. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate how the left pIFC contributes to the early stage of reading. In Experiment 1, 23 adult participants (14 females) performed three different tasks about written words (oral reading, semantic judgment and perceptual judgment) while single-pulse TMS was delivered to the left pIFC, fusiform gyrus or supramarginal gyrus at different time points (50 to 200 ms after word-onset). A robust double dissociation was found between tasks and stimulation sites — oral reading, but not other control tasks, was disrupted only when TMS was delivered to pIFC at 100 ms. This task-specific impact of pIFC stimulation was further corroborated in Experiment 2, which revealed another double dissociation between oral reading and picture naming. These results demonstrate that the left pIFC specifically and causally mediates rapid computation of speech motor codes at the earliest stage of reading and suggest that this fast sublexical neural pathway for pronunciation, although seemingly dormant, is fully functioning in literate adults. Our results further suggest that these left-hemisphere systems for reading overall act faster than known previously.

Significance Statement Recent neuroimaging data suggest that left posterior inferior frontal cortex, classically associated with spoken production, responds to print simultaneously with left fusiform and supramarginal gyri, each responsible for visual and phonological processing, contrary to traditional serial cascade models of reading. While the region is now known to mediate different aspects of cognitive processing, the functional significance of this fast neural response remains unclear. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation, we show that early inferior frontal activation plays a specific and causal role in speeded oral reading at 100 ms after word-onset. This fast sublexical neural pathway for pronunciation, although seemingly dormant, is fully functioning in literate adults. We also propose that the left-hemisphere reading systems act differently and faster than known previously.

Tumor Model Accurately Predicts Patient Response to Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy has changed the way physicians treat patients and has improved standard of care for many different tumors. Unfortunately, solid tumors are still treated with limited efficacy. In many cases, solid tumors are not recognized by the immune system and progress throughout the body. Tumor growth unnoticed by the immune system is due to immune suppressive mechanisms that the cancer controls. These mechanisms dysregulate immune cells from functioning properly. Various tumors escape immune cell detection and by the time it is clinically detected, the cancer has moved to an advanced stage.

Although there are many solid tumors that rapidly progress, one in particular includes glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that extends into the spinal cord and results in poor prognosis. It arises from glial cells which support nerves and aids in brain damage repair. Unfortunately, scientists are still unsure on how glioblastoma occurs. Symptoms can vary based on location of tumor in the brain, but common features include headaches, nausea, seizures, vision changes, difficulty speaking, and change in personality. Currently, there is no cure for glioblastoma and the treatments are limited based on the aggressive stage at diagnosis. Scientists are working to improve quality of life and prolong survival through different immunotherapies, which redirect immune cells toward the tumor.

There are various ways to study therapy in a laboratory including the use of animal models and cells in a dish. However, a more recent form of model has emerged in the last few decades that can help scientists better mimic a human tumor. This new technology are cells cultured in a dish that are produced to form a 3D tumor. These cell cultures are referred to as ‘organoids’ and they are designed to grow and act like a tumor within the body. A group at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is using this model to test tumor response to novel immunotherapies.