The blood-brain barrier is a crucial protection mechanism: It is a highly selective physical barrier that prevents pathogens and toxins in the circulatory system from entering the central nervous system where they could create havoc. At the same time, however, it prevents many therapeutic drugs from reaching the brain, making it much more difficult to...
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: New clues to the cause and how future drugs might reverse disease
Scientists have long known that a protein called TDP-43 clumps together in brain cells of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and is associated with neuron death. This same protein is thought to cause muscle degeneration in patients with sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM), leading many researchers to think...
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Using omega 3 fatty acids to treat Alzheimer’s and other diseases?
Understanding how dietary essential fatty acids work may lead to effective treatments for diseases and conditions such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, age-related macular degeneration, Parkinson’s disease and other retinal and neurodegenerative diseases. The key is to be able to intervene during the early stages of the disease. That is the conclusion of a Minireview by...
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Vitamins could help treat cystic fibrosis, research finds
Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have discovered why antibiotics for treating people with cystic fibrosis are becoming less effective and how fat soluble vitamins might offer a viable solution. A team of researchers led by Professor Miguel Valvano, from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast, has discovered why some particularly harmful...
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Scientists develop new supplement that can repair, rejuvenate muscles in older adults
Whey protein supplements aren’t just for gym buffs according to new research from McMaster university. When taken on a regular basis, a combination of these and other ingredients in a ready-to-drink formula have been found to greatly improve the physical strength of a growing cohort: senior citizens. The deterioration of muscle mass and strength that is a...
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Novel class of antibiotics shows promise against plague, drug-resistant bacteria
Pathogenic bacteria are rapidly developing resistance to the arsenal of microbial therapies—and driving researchers to identify families of therapeutics with new modes of action. Recently, those include antibiotics that inhibit LpxC, an enzyme critical to forming the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. This week in mBio, an international group of scientists report on laboratory experiments suggesting...
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Injection taken every 2 months to control HIV is the ‘next revolution’ in treating the killer virus – scrapping the need for daily drugs
Currently HIV patients have to take antiretroviral drugs each day to prevent Aids But a Phase II trial proved 2 such drugs in an injection offers as much protection The jabs taken every two months slowly release the medication into the blood A team of international scientists found them to work just as well as...
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Ketamine has ‘truly remarkable’ effect on depression and is effective in elderly patients, scientists say
Ketamine can have a “truly remarkable” effect on people with depression, researchers have said after a new study showed promising results among elderly patients. Colleen Loo, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, led the world’s first randomised control trial into the drug’s effect on people over 60 with treatment-resistant depression. “This...
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New drug target could change chronic pain medication
New research has uncovered a target for chronic and pathologic pain, which could lead to better drugs for those affected by pain in the future. A new study has identified a new drug target that could change chronic pain medication going forward. Chronic pain is “the most common cause of long-term disability,” according to the National...
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HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO FINDING A TREATMENT FOR ALZHEIMER’S?
Countries around the world set a goal to find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. But that objective seems increasingly less attainable. There are about 30 drugs for Alzheimer’s disease now in Phase III clinical trials—the last set of experiments drug companies must run to prove their product is safe and effective before obtaining...