From a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to an infusion that slowed down Alzheimer’s for some people with the disease, here are three momentous advances from 2022.
An RSV vaccine showed promise for the first time in 50-years
Two vaccines are poised to be approved for RSV by the end of 2023, according to their makers, after almost 50-years without any meaningful progress.
In a study examining the link between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and brain dysfunction, scientists at the Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology, affiliated to King’s College London and the University of Lausanne, found an accumulation of fat in the liver causes a decrease in oxygen to the brain and inflammation to brain tissue—both of which have been proven to lead to the onset of severe brain diseases.
The paper appears in the Journal of Hepatology.
NAFLD affects approximately 25% of the population and more than 80% of morbidly obese people. Several studies have reported the negative effects of an unhealthy diet and obesity can have on brain function however this is believed to be the first study that clearly links NAFLD with brain deterioration and identifies a potential therapeutic target.
Summary: Researchers have developed a new specialized MRI sensor that detects light deep within brain tissue.
Source: MIT
Using a specialized MRI sensor, MIT researchers have shown that they can detect light deep within tissues such as the brain.
Severing the lower part of the vagus nerve that connects the brain and gut led to less myelin loss in a mouse model used to study MS.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Now you see them, now you don’t.
Some frogs found in South and Central America have the rare ability to turn on and off their nearly transparent appearance, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science.
During the day, these nocturnal frogs sleep by hanging underneath tree leaves. Their delicate, greenish transparent forms don’t cast shadows, rendering them almost invisible to birds and other predators passing overhead or underneath.
The technology has significantly progressed in the past 50 years.
Earlier this month, we reported that Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed foundations (Gates Frontier and Bezos Expeditions) joined other companies.
A fifty year history.
1, 2, 3
Finally, Peter Thiel, a billionaire cofounder of PayPal, invested last year in an older BCI startup called Utah’s Blackrock Neurotech that has announced it hopes to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval soon. What is behind this popular rush to support BCI firms?
The deadly brain cancer is no longer a mystery.
Glioblastoma is one of the most dangerous cancer types affecting the human brain and spinal cord. Over 240,000 people lose their lives because of nervous system cancer annually, and in most of these cases, the leading cause of death is glioblastoma.
Its tumors spread fast and induce highly painful seizures and headaches. What’s worse is that there is no known 100 percent effective cure for this disease. US president Joe Biden’s eldest son Beau Biden and late American actor Robert Forster were also among the many victims of glioblastoma.
Compounds in final-stage trials at Eli Lilly and Eisai may halt brain protein buildup linked to cognitive decline.
𝐀𝐥𝐳𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞
One of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease is that the β-amyloid peptide, a molecule found inside neurons that has many diverse functions, begins to fold incorrectly and accumulates. This process, which ends up causing neuronal death, is linked to a series of other cellular alterations, making it difficult to determine whether they are the cause or the consequence. An example is the case of the deregulation of a type of dynorphin.
Dynorphins are the body’s own opioid peptides, which play a key role in many brain pathways. They are located in different areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, amygdala or hypothalamus, and are involved in memory processes, emotion control, stress and pain, and among other processes. In addition, several studies have shown their involvement in epilepsy, stroke, addictions, depression and schizophrenia.
Now, in a study published in the Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, a research group led by Àlex Perálvarez-Marín, researcher in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the UAB Institut de Neurociències, has studied from computer models and cell cultures which interactions may exist between β-amyloid peptide and big dynorphin, to determine its role in β-amyloid accumulation.
𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨. 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙖, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚.
Studies exploring the neural processes involved in cell regeneration are of crucial importance, as they could pave the way towards the development of more effective treatments for many pathologies associated with the mutations or deterioration of cells. Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, become active in response to pathologies, sometimes leading to chronic inflammation and the scarring of tissue.
Cell regeneration mechanisms thus regulate the reactivity of different glial cells, including microglia, preventing further damage and promoting recovery. While many past studies have explored the processes involved in inflammation, many questions about how the brain can successfully recover after injuries or pathologies remain unanswered.
Researchers at LMU Munich, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität (JGU), and other institutes in Germany have recently carried out a study on zebrafish aimed at better understanding the processes underpinning brain regeneration in both animals and humans. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, unveiled a microglial state characterized by the accumulation of lipid droplets and TDP-43+, a RNA-binding protein, which delayed or prevented post-injury brain regeneration.
