Drugs approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis block cytokines, the molecules responsible for severe side effects from the immunotherapy, and reduce symptoms in mice. Chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T-cell therapy has proven itself to benefit some patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other cancers when traditional treatments have failed to save them—even producing some long-term remissions...
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Electronic cigarettes: many questions, limited research
Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are booming in popularity—but there’s still only limited evidence on their potential health risks, or their advertised benefits in helping people to quit smoking, according to a research review in the July/August Journal of AddictionMedicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Based on their review, Alison B. Breland, PhD,...
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We are never alone – microbiome is our friend
There is a joke that you’re never lonely just think of the many organisms with whom you share your own body. While the human organism itself is said to contain about 37 trillion human cells, the microbiome – and the bulk of bacteria making it up – means an additional 30-50 trillion cells. That means that every...
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“Mind-boggling” Stanford research turns human blood cells into functional neurons
In breakthrough new research described as “somewhat mind-boggling,” a team at Stanford University has developed a technique than can transform human immune cells found in a regular blood sample into functional neurons in just three weeks. Transforming human immune cells found in a regular blood sample into functional neurons will allow for clearer laboratory study into...
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The bacteria that could lead to a probiotic-based immunization for stress, anxiety and depression
Science has only just started to tease out a fascinating relationship between bacteria, inflammation and mood over the last few years. Not only are some conditions, such as depression, being hypothesized to be caused by brain inflammation, but it’s possible brain inflammation could be modulated by bacteria in our microbiome. Ambitious new research suggests a...
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Repeated stimulation enlarges dendritic spines
Even in adult brains, new neurons are generated throughout a lifetime. In a publication in the scientific journal PNAS, a research group led by Goethe University describes plastic changes of adult-born neurons in the hippocampus, a critical region for learning: frequent nerve signals enlarge the spines on neuronal dendrites, which in turn enables contact with the...
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New hope from the ‘seven year switch’ in type 1 diabetes
New research has shown that the rapid decline in insulin production that causes Type 1 diabetes continues to fall over seven years and then stabilises. A team at the University of Exeter Medical School found evidence that the amount of insulin produced declines by almost 50 percent each year for seven years. At that point, the insulin levels stabilise....
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Scientists show that a key Parkinson’s biomarker can be identified in the retina
A study involving scientists from the University of Alicante and the United States notes that the accumulation of a protein known as alpha-synuclein in the retina is a key Parkinson’s biomarker that could help detect the degree of severity of the disease. The work has been published this month in Movement Disorders, a journal in the...
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First photoactive drug to fight Parkinson’s disease
An international team has designed the first potentially therapeutic photoactive drug, MRS7145, to fight Parkinson’s disease, according to the new article in Journal of Controlled Release. This compound, which proved effective in laboratory animals in vivo, has been carried out by a team led by Francisco Ciruela, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of...
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Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to kidney disease
Scientists found a previously unknown link between mitochondria and kidney disease, identifying a receptor that causes kidney dysfunction when suppressed, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The receptor—estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ)—regulates mitochondrial metabolism, and was also found in unusually low levels in patients with chronic kidney disease, pointing to its...