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Steroidal drugs subvert SARS-CoV-2 interaction with ACE2 receptors

A new study by Italian researchers and published online on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020 reports the ability of several existing steroidal drugs to reduce the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 to the ACE2 receptor. This could help define newer strategies using viral entry blockers to reduce viral load.

14 Jun 2020

Chemotherapy and cancer join together to cause neuropathy

Contrary to common medical guidance, chemotherapy does not appear to be the only culprit in neuropathy, a neurological side effect of cancer treatment, a new study says. Cancer itself contributes heavily, too, and the stresses on neurons appear far worse than the sum of the two causes.

8 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes specific kidney proximal tubular injury

SARS-CoV-2-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the more frequently encountered organ involvements in COVID-19 - in as many as 80% of critically ill patients, according to a recent study.

8 Jun 2020

Researchers use optical mapping system to observe the effect of hydroxychloroquine

The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been promoted as a potential treatment for Covid-19, is known to have potentially serious effects on heart rhythms.

1 Jun 2020

Study solves the longstanding mystery of anesthesia

Surgery would be inconceivable without general anesthesia, so it may come as a surprise that despite its 175-year history of medical use, doctors and scientists have been unable to explain how anesthetics temporarily render patients unconscious.

30 May 2020

Biophysicists reveal molecular mechanism behind light-driven sodium pumping

An international research team has for the first time obtained the structure of the light-sensitive sodium-pumping KR2 protein in its active state.

28 May 2020

Using electric current to directly control gene expression

A team of researchers led by ETH professor Martin Fussenegger has succeeded in using an electric current to directly control gene expression for the first time.

28 May 2020

Study pinpoints electrophysiological mechanism behind upper motor neuron disease

Scientists from Northwestern Medicine and the University of Belgrade have pinpointed the electrophysiological mechanism behind upper motor neuron disease, unlocking the door to potential treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia and Primary Lateral Sclerosis.

21 May 2020

Researchers develop new method to study the effect of long-term oxygen deficiency

Researchers at Luleå University of Technology have developed a method to study how muscle cells in the blood vessels of the lung, permanently contract because of long-term oxygen deficiency.

15 May 2020

Using supercomputers to screen drugs for deadly heart arrhythmias

Death from sudden cardiac arrest makes headlines when it strikes athletes. But it also causes the most deaths by natural causes in the U.S. estimated at 325,000 per year.

14 May 2020

Study explores whether senicapoc drug can mitigate lung damage in COVID-19 patients

Scientists around the globe are working to identify approved and investigational drugs that can be repurposed to treat COVID-19.

13 May 2020

Hydroxychloroquine combined with azithromycin and abnormal heart rhythms in COVID-19 patients

A new study shows that the initially lauded combination of drugs against COVID-19 - Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine combined with azithromycin, could lead to abnormal and life-threatening heart rhythms. In patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus infection or SARS CoV-2, this combination can lead to prolonged QT interval as can be detected on ECG.

3 May 2020

Salt substitution could prevent nearly half a million cardiovascular deaths in China

A nationwide intervention to replace regular household salt with potassium-enriched salt substitutes in China could prevent nearly half a million cardiovascular deaths per year, according to a new modelling study published in the British Medical Journal.

22 Apr 2020

Do ACE inhibitors increase SARS-CoV-2 binding to ACE2?

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced clinicians and academicians to intensive research to find evidence for many conventional therapies. A new round-up editorial published in the journal Cardiovascular Research in April 2020 summarizes the current clinical grounds for and against the use of the commonly used angiotensin axis inhibitors in patients with COVID-19.

20 Apr 2020

Study describes unconventional mechanism of ionic channel traffic in cardiac cells

Ionic channels -integral proteins in the cell membrane- are essential in several processes such as cardiac activity, nervous transmission, cell proliferation and the regulation of blood pressure.

18 Apr 2020

Screening blood samples for COVID-19 using artificial intelligence

A promising new study published in the preprint online journal medRxiv in April 2020 shows the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for developing a patient classifier that can separate patients likely to be negative for COVID-19 from among a pool of suspected patients visiting an emergency room (ER).

15 Apr 2020

New technique for imaging proteins in 3D

A team of scientists including researchers at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)--a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory--have demonstrated a new technique for imaging proteins in 3-D with nanoscale resolution.

13 Apr 2020