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Exploring opioid prescription trends in chronic cough treatment

Chronic cough, with symptoms lasting more than eight weeks, affects approximately one in 10 adults. Cough is among the most common reasons for seeking medical care in the United States, yet chronic cough is difficult to treat. One of the largest studies of chronic cough and one of the first to explore the use of opioids, which are known to suppress cough, to treat these patients, has found that 20 percent of patients with chronic cough received a prescription for a cough suppressant containing an opioid.

23 Aug 2024

Novel screening method for blood-brain barrier penetration

Scientists at Southwest Research Institute have developed a new screening method to identify drug formulations that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), to facilitate treatment of brain diseases and conditions.

23 Aug 2024

Olaparib effective against BRCA2-mutated prostate cancer

The anti-cancer drug olaparib may be effective in treating biochemically recurrent prostate cancer without accompanying hormone therapy for men who have mutations in genes such as BRCA2, according to results of a phase II clinical trial of 51 patients conducted at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and three other sites.

23 Aug 2024

The impact of stem cells on the epigenetic clock

How old are you, really? Your chronological age is the number of years you have been alive. Your biological age is how old your cells are which scientists believe may better assess one's age-related health and disease risk. People biologically age at different rates, depending on genetic and environmental factors, so that a person's chronological age does not necessarily match their biological age. In recent years, direct-to-consumer biological age tests have become increasingly accessible and popular as interest has increased in this nascent science.

23 Aug 2024

FDA-approved drug could revolutionize organ transplantation

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University report that they were able to successfully put tadpoles of Xenopus laevis frogs into a hibernation-like torpor state using donepezil (DNP), a drug approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer's. The team had previously used another drug, SNC80, to achieve similar results in tadpoles and enhance the survival of whole mammalian hearts for transplants, but SNC80 is not approved for clinical use in humans because it can cause seizures. By contrast, DNP is already being used in the clinic, meaning it potentially could be rapidly repurposed for use in emergency situations to prevent irreversible organ injury while a person is being transported to a hospital.

23 Aug 2024

Immune cells' two-pronged approach to maintaining acetyl-CoA reserves

Immune cells use two different routes to produce acetyl-CoA, an essential metabolite required to fight infection and cancer, reports a study led by Van Andel Institute scientists.

23 Aug 2024

Ingenza announces partnership with Cellugy to investigate the potential of biofabricated cellulose

Industrial biotech specialist Ingenza is delighted to announce that it is collaborating with Cellugy to accelerate the development of its innovative platform for producing biofabricated cellulose.

From Ingenza Ltd 23 Aug 2024

Virginia Tech leads national initiative to predict and prevent future pandemics

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 don't respect boundaries, moving between species and continents and leaving destruction as they go. Beating the next pathogen with pandemic potential means getting good at crossing borders ourselves - between fields of study, between research universities, and between scientists and the wider community.

23 Aug 2024

T cells influence memory of innate immune cells, research shows

Research from Radboud University Medical Center reveals that T cells from the adaptive immune system can manipulate the memory of innate immune cells.

22 Aug 2024

Study sheds light on the dual nature of cellular senescence

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology have revealed a new secret regarding senescence, a cellular state similar to sleep that is more likely to affect aged cells.

22 Aug 2024

Study shows frequent mitochondrial DNA insertion in the brain cells

As direct descendants of ancient bacteria, mitochondria have always been a little alien.

22 Aug 2024

New technique speeds up screening of DNA molecules

Studying how single DNA molecules behave helps us to better understand genetic disorders and design better drugs.

22 Aug 2024

Study reveals RAD51D variant enrichment in Chinese ovarian cancer patients

Researchers from BGI Genomics and Fudan University published new findings on OV among Chinese patients in JCO Global Oncology.

22 Aug 2024

Asgard archaea's role in eukaryotic immunity revealed

When you get infected with a virus, some of the first weapons your body deploys to fight it were passed down to us from our microbial ancestors billions of years ago.

22 Aug 2024

Research shows predation drives evolution of virulence in bacteria

Opportunistic pathogens are typically benign microbes that can sometimes cause infections in individuals with weakened immune systems or when they gain access to sterile areas of the body.

22 Aug 2024

Research unveils how HMGA2 regulates stress responses in stem cells

Kumamoto University researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery that sheds light on how the HMGA2 gene - an essential transcriptional activator involved in chromatin modification - regulates stress responses in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), thereby enhancing blood cell production recovery.

22 Aug 2024

DNA scavengers break down antibiotic-resistant genes

For nearly a century, scientists have waged war on antibiotic-resistant microbes. Michigan State University researchers say they've found a new way to prevent it – by unleashing "DNA scavengers" in wastewater treatment plants.

22 Aug 2024

mRNA therapy shows promise for maple syrup urine disease

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Gene Therapy Program, and Moderna, have shown that repeated administration of lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA therapy significantly extended survival and reduced serum leucine levels in a mouse model of maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).

22 Aug 2024

The surprising role of RNA in immune interactions

In a groundbreaking exploration of cell surface biology, Ryan Flynn has uncovered a surprising role for RNA outside the confines of the cell. Flynn's research, which focuses on the biology of cell surface RNA, led to the discovery that certain RNAs are chemically linked to glycans - complex carbohydrate polymers found on the cell surface.

22 Aug 2024

The critical role of PGK1 in Parkinson's disease

An enzyme called PGK1 has an unexpectedly critical role in the production of chemical energy in brain cells, according to a preclinical study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine. The investigators found that boosting its activity may help the brain resist the energy deficits that can lead to Parkinson's disease.

21 Aug 2024