Therapeutics News and Research

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Can amodiaquine short circuit this pandemic?

A recent study by the US researchers highlights the value of the human organ chip technology as a more robust and physiologically relevant platform for rapid drug repurposing, and suggest that amodiaquine may be used to prevent the infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

15 Sep 2020

RNA nanoparticles show great promise for targeted delivery of anticancer drugs

A new study by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) shows that RNA nanoparticles have elastic and rubbery properties that help explain why these particles target tumors so efficiently and why they possess lower toxicity in animal studies.

15 Sep 2020

RCas9 gene therapy clears toxic RNA buildup in mouse model of myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy type I is the most common type of adult-onset muscular dystrophy. People with the condition inherit repeated DNA segments that lead to the toxic buildup of repetitive RNA, the messenger that carries a gene's recipe to the cell's protein-making machinery.

14 Sep 2020

Tiny antibody component shows high potency in SARS-CoV-2 animal models

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists have isolated the smallest biological molecule to date that completely and specifically neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the cause of COVID-19.

14 Sep 2020

Earlier treatment with steroids reduces adverse outcomes in patients with septic shock

Some critically ill patients with septic shock need medications called vasopressors to correct dangerously low blood pressure.

14 Sep 2020

Cell signaling research rings warning bells over an emerging cancer drug target

Researchers at the Babraham Institute have used their understanding of cellular signalling to highlight a pitfall in an emerging treatment for cancer and inflammation.

14 Sep 2020

International trial of blood thinners for COVID-19 treatment begins

These trials, known as ACTIV-4 Antithrombotics, are part of the three planned adaptive trials in this area of clinical research, included in the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) initiative. They are expected to yield new data on the safety and efficacy of these drugs in the treatment of active and convalescent COVID-19 treatment.

13 Sep 2020

New insights into structural stability of SARS-CoV-2 main protease

In a recent bioRxiv preprint paper, researchers from the US and Italy utilized molecular dynamics simulations and revealed that the conformational stability of the SARS-CoV-2 binding site, bound inhibitors, and the hydrogen bond networks of the viral main protease (Mpro) are highly sensitive to protonation assignments.

13 Sep 2020

A map of SARS-CoV-2 escape mutations enables the development of therapeutic antibody cocktails

A recent tour-de-force study by the US researchers describes a comprehensive approach to completely map mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) that escape antibody binding – enabling, in turn, rational design of antibody therapeutics and appraisal of the antigenic consequences of viral evolution. The results are currently available in a bioRxiv preprint paper.

13 Sep 2020

National Eye Institute grant supports research initiatives in major vision- robbing conditions

A $3 million National Eye Institute grant is enabling the critical infrastructure necessary to grow research initiatives in major vision-robbing conditions at the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta University.

11 Sep 2020

Study highlights the importance of considering strain differences when designing therapies

Interferon (IFN) responses are one of the first defenses the body mounts against viral infections, and research has shown that it plays a role controlling viral replication.

11 Sep 2020

New book gives overview of viruses and how they emerge to cause pandemics

Since the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 emerged late last year, it has been virtually impossible to consume any news without encountering stories about the virus and how it spreads, potential treatments, and the development of new vaccines.

11 Sep 2020

Researchers identify proinflammatory lipids that precede onset of Type 1 diabetes in mouse model, children

Type 1 diabetes, or T1D, is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune cells - led by inflammatory macrophages - attack and destroy the beta cells of the pancreas that produce insulin.

10 Sep 2020

Dotmatics launches eln.online to help new research companies

Dotmatics Ltd, a scientific informatics software and services company that is driving the automation of laboratory data workflows for scientific discovery and innovation research, today announced the introduction of eln.online, a quick start version of its Electronic Laboratory Notebook.

10 Sep 2020

Computer-designed proteins can protect lab-grown human cells from SARS-CoV-2

Computer-designed small proteins have now been shown to protect lab-grown human cells from SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

10 Sep 2020

Study: Small proteins block interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and human cell receptor

Using innovative computer-based approaches, researchers have developed protein inhibitors that block the interaction between the SARS-CoV-2 virus and human cell receptor ACE2.

10 Sep 2020

Common diabetes drug controls aspects of inflammation in mice

The diabetes drug metformin--derived from a lilac plant that's been used medicinally for more than a thousand years--has been prescribed to hundreds of millions of people worldwide as the frontline treatment for type 2 diabetes.

9 Sep 2020

Convalescent plasma could be an effective treatment for children with COVID-19

Early findings from researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) show that convalescent plasma appears to be a safe and possibly effective treatment for children with life-threatening cases of COVID-19.

9 Sep 2020

Environmental and biomedical applications of enzyme inhibitors

Enzyme inhibitors play a pivotal role in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The primary understanding of the action of inhibitors helps pharmacologists during the design process for developing new therapeutic drugs.

8 Sep 2020

The T cell responses in COVID-19 recovered individuals

A recent study demonstrates that functional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells specifically targeting the entire proteome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain active in individuals who have recovered from severe or mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Moreover, the magnitude of T cell response is correlated with the antibody response. The study is published in the journal Nature Immunology.

8 Sep 2020