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Novel MRI contrast agent offers hope for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease

Hong Kong Baptist University scientists have invented a novel contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging, which enables real-time visualization and detection of the size and number of amyloid-beta in the brain, a main hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

2 Nov 2020

Ethacridine blocks SARS-CoV-2 with a distinct mode of action

Now, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and Stanford University, California, USA, reported a safe and potent antiseptic for use in humans named ethacridine, which effectively inhibits SARS-CoV-2 even at very low concentrations of EC50 ~ 0.08 µM. Their work has is published on the preprint server bioRxiv*.

1 Nov 2020

5-amino levulinic acid inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro

Researchers tested 5-amino levulinic acid in vitro in human-derived cells and found it prevents severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Because it is safe and ubiquitous in plants and animals, it could be a potential drug against SARS-CoV-2.

1 Nov 2020

Drug used to control blood pressure may improve cancer patients’ response to immunotherapy

The same biochemical triggers that spur a "fight or flight" response when we encounter threats may help tumor cells to thrive.

30 Oct 2020

Potential treatment might make tumors more responsive to immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapies, which empower patients' immune systems to eliminate tumors, are revolutionizing cancer treatment. Many patients respond well to these treatments, sometimes experiencing long-lasting remissions.

30 Oct 2020

Glucose-lowering drugs have neutral effect on mortality, adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients with type 2 diabetes

In a preprint paper, "Impact of Glucose-Lowering Drugs on Mortality and Other Adverse Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Admitted for COVID-19," researchers conclude a neutral effect on mortality and other adverse outcomes.

30 Oct 2020

Princeton professor selected to receive new award recognizing faculty innovation

Robert Prud'homme, professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University, has been selected to receive the inaugural Dean for Research Award for Distinguished Innovation for the invention of flash nanoprecipitation, a method for creating nanoparticles that promises to improve the delivery of drugs throughout the body.

30 Oct 2020

Study identifies new cause of inflammation in people living with HIV

While current antiretroviral treatments for HIV are highly effective, data has shown that people living with HIV appear to experience accelerated aging and have shorter lifespans - by up to five to 10 years - compared to people without HIV.

30 Oct 2020

Collaborative effort will enable efficient oversight to prevent illegal, harmful products from entering the U.S.

Recently, leadership from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to stop harmful products that pose a threat to public health and attempt to enter the U.S. through International Mail Facilities.

30 Oct 2020

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor wins $4.5 million for breast cancer research and therapy

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology Erik Nelson has won a $4.5M Era of Hope Scholar Award from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP).

30 Oct 2020

A $200 debit card won’t do much for seniors’ drug costs

If they've been listening to President Donald Trump, seniors may be expecting a $200 debit card in the mail any day now to help them pay for prescription drugs.

30 Oct 2020

Researchers develop new, improved human-skin equivalent

Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) have developed an improved human-skin equivalent that reproduces traction-force balance in the lateral direction, a property that controls the structure and physiological function of skin.

30 Oct 2020

Study reveals molecular mechanism that increases the invasiveness of radioresistant cancer cells

Scientists have revealed the molecular mechanism regulating the trafficking of lysosomes that increases the invasiveness of radioresistant cancer cells following radiotherapy.

30 Oct 2020

Addictive drug displays different acute pharmacology and synaptic plasticity

Nucleus accumbens in the brain play a central role in the risk-reward circuit. Their operation is based chiefly on three essential neurotransmitters: dopamine, which promotes desire; serotonin, whose effects include satiety and inhibition; and glutamate, which drives goal-directed behaviors and responses to reward-associated cues and contexts.

30 Oct 2020

Study shows statins can have adverse effects on certain organs

600,000 Danes take medicine containing statins. Statins lower the cholesterol level and thus helps prevent cardiovascular disease and blood clots.

30 Oct 2020

Researchers identify distinct link between autism and brain cell abnormalities

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report that new experiments with genetically engineered mice have found clear connections among a range of autism types and abnormalities in brain cells whose chemical output forges platonic (non-sexual) feelings of love and sociability.

30 Oct 2020

Study: Toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones have pharmacological potential

Researchers based in Brazil and the United States have completed the first-ever mapping exercise to profile the toxins produced by tube-dwelling anemones, or cerianthids, a family of marine animals belonging to the same phylum (Cnidaria) as sea anemones, jellyfish and corals.

30 Oct 2020

Penn State and Stanford University collaborate to develop two-hour sepsis test

One in three people who die in U.S. hospitals have sepsis, the body's extreme response to infection that can lead to multiple organ failure. Diagnosis can take up to five days, but death may take only hours from the initial onset of sepsis.

30 Oct 2020

"Training" the immune system with β-glucan compound may improve immune recovery

Immunotherapies, such as checkpoint inhibitor drugs, have made worlds of difference for the treatment of cancer.Most clinicians and scientists understand these drugs to act on what's known as the adaptive immune system, the T cells and B cells that respond to specific threats to the body.

30 Oct 2020

Research projects receive BTCA grants to develop novel drugs for various diseases

Five research projects with exceptional promise to deliver new life-changing and health-altering therapies have received the inaugural Blavatnik Therapeutics Challenge Awards (BTCA) at Harvard Medical School.

30 Oct 2020