Medical Breakthroughs, Research, and News

[SubGod22]

Interesting study that I'm sure some of you will find valuable...

A Beer a Day Keeps the Doctor Away - Even a Non-Alcoholic One

In a pilot study, researchers report that compared to their pre-trial microbiome, men who drank either one alcoholic or non-alcoholic lager daily had a more diverse set of gut microbes, which can reduce the risk for some diseases.

Trillions of microorganisms line human gastrointestinal tracts, directly impacting their host’s well-being.

Studies have shown that when more types of bacteria are present, people tend to have a lower chance of developing chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. And beer contains compounds, such as polyphenols, as well as microorganisms from its fermentation, that could impact the variety of microbes in the human gut.

A previously published “cross-over” study showed that when both men and women consumed non-alcoholic lager beer for 30 days, their gut microbiome diversity increased. Many of those same people were also in a second group that drank an alcoholic version of the beer, and it didn’t have the same effect.

[WstateU]

Interesting study that I'm sure some of you will find valuable...

A Beer a Day Keeps the Doctor Away - Even a Non-Alcoholic One

[SubGod22]

FDA Approves First Alopecia Drug That Restores Hair Growth in Many Patients

It is the first approved treatment for alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that affects about 7 million people in the United States. The often-disfiguring disease, in which the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles, is marked by patchy or complete loss of scalp hair and sometimes eyebrows, eyelashes, facial hair, and body hair.

Dr. Brett King, an associate professor of dermatology at Yale Medical School, worked with the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company to conduct a series of clinical trials with the new medicine, a once-daily pill which goes by the product name Olumiant.

In the trials, Olumiant helped one in three patients with severe alopecia areata regrow their hair—almost half of the patients had no scalp hair at the start of the trials—resulting in 80% or more scalp coverage. Improvements were also achieved for patients with significant eyebrow or eyelash hair loss.

[SubGod22]

Sunshine Could Ward Off Dementia and Strokes: First-Ever Direct Link to Vitamin D Found

I find this to be interesting. I think we've always known that spending time in the sun is a positive when it comes to both physical and mental health. This may just escalate that importance a bit.

A new study based on British people said that cases of dementia could drop by nearly a fifth if people who were deficient in the vitamin took supplements to bring them up to healthy levels,

It is known as the sunshine vitamin because the skin makes it when exposed to light.

The team from the University of South Australia looked at nearly 300,000 people from the UK Biobank examining the impact of low levels of vitamin D and the risk of dementia and stroke.

They found that low levels of vitamin D were associated with lower brain volumes and an increased risk of dementia and stroke.

Further genetic analyses supported a causal effect of vitamin D deficiency and dementia.

It's obviously not a guarantee, but with more and more people seemingly staying inside more, I'm guilty even though I don't want to be, that cases very well may rise because of it.

[SubGod22]

Science is weird and great.

Light Therapy is Harnessed to Target and Kill Cancer Cells in World First

Glioblastoma multiforme, also known as GBM, is one of the most common and aggressive types of brain cancer. New ways to improve surgery could help patients live for longer.

MORE: Bone Loss Meds May be Lowering Ovarian Cancer Risk, Scientists Find

Surgeons often use a technique called Fluorescence Guided Surgery to treat diseases like glioblastoma and other brain cancers, which uses dyes to help identify the tumor mass to be removed during surgery.

But due to these tumors growing in sensitive areas of the brain like the motor cortex, which is involved in the planning and control of voluntary movements, glioblastoma surgery can leave behind residual tumor cells that can be very hard to treat—and which mean the disease can come back more aggressively later.

The new research builds on Fluorescence Guided Surgery using a novel technique called photoimmunotherapy (PIT).

This treatment uses synthetic molecules called ‘affibodies’—small proteins engineered in the lab to bind with a specific target with high precision.

In this study, the researchers combined an ‘affibody’ created to recognise a protein called EGFR—which is mutated in many cases of glioblastoma—with a fluorescent molecule called IR700, which is used in surgery.

Shining light on these compounds causes the fluorescent dye to glow, highlighting microscopic regions of tumors left in the brain, while switching to near-infrared light triggers anti-tumor activity that kills tumor cells.

[SubGod22]

Near-Perfect Results Three Years On Puts CRISPR Treatment on the Verge of FDA Approval for Blood Diseases

Initial results were extremely promising, with the first two patients becoming essentially cured. The 18-month follow-up, as GNN reported, was even more exciting, with a dozen patients treated for sickle cell disease (SCD) and transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) all showing no signs of either symptoms or serious side effects.

SCD can cause a variety of health problems including episodes of severe pain, called vaso-occlusive crises, as well as organ damage and strokes, while patients with TDT are dependent on blood transfusions from early childhood.

The only available cure for both diseases is a bone marrow transplant from a closely-related donor, an option that is not available for the vast majority of patients because of difficulty locating matched donors, the cost, and the risk of complications.

These new findings, presented at the European Hematology Association Congress, found that from 75 patients, just two remain uncured of their respective diseases, in this case TDT. However their transfusion requirements have both radically declined, estimated at 75% and 89% less than previous needs.

New Atlas reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given this treatment, called “exa-cel,” a Fast Track designation.

Could have FDA approval by the end of the year.

[SubGod22]

Movement in Paralyzed Arms is Restored by 'Zapping' Spinal Cords With Electrical Stimulation

Intriguing.

“Instead of stimulating muscles, we simplified the technology by designing a system that uses surviving neurons to restore the connection between the brain and the arm via specific stimulation pulses to the spinal cord, potentially enabling a person with paralysis to perform tasks of daily living.”

Currently, for victims of spinal cord injury or stroke, there are no therapies or medical technologies that provide dexterity—skills that set primates and humans apart from other mammals.

“Instead of stimulating muscles, we simplified the technology by designing a system that uses surviving neurons to restore the connection between the brain and the arm via specific stimulation pulses to the spinal cord, potentially enabling a person with paralysis to perform tasks of daily living.”

Currently, for victims of spinal cord injury or stroke, there are no therapies or medical technologies that provide dexterity—skills that set primates and humans apart from other mammals.

Not a cure all for paralysis, but sounds like something that would at least potentially allow people to have a little more control over their world and to be a little more dependent.

[SubGod22]

A potential new pain management option for post-op.

Dissolvable Implant Relieves Pain On Demand Without the Use of Drugs or Opioids

A new study unveiled a small, soft, flexible implant that relieves pain on demand and without the use of drugs. The first-of-its-kind device could provide a much-needed alternative to opioids and other highly addictive medications.

The biocompatible, water-soluble device works by softly wrapping around nerves to deliver precise, targeted cooling, which numbs nerves and blocks pain signals to the brain. An external pump enables the user to remotely activate the device and then increase or decrease its intensity. After the device is no longer needed, it naturally absorbs into the body—bypassing the need for surgical extraction.

The Northwestern University-led team of researchers believe the device will be most valuable for patients who undergo routine surgeries or even amputations that commonly require post-operative medications. Surgeons could implant the device during the procedure to help manage the patient’s post-operative pain.

“Although opioids are extremely effective, they also are extremely addictive,” said Northwestern’s John A. Rogers, who led the device’s development. “As engineers, we are motivated by the idea of treating pain without drugs — in ways that can be turned on and off instantly, with user control over the intensity of relief.”

The article does go on to give you a little more detail into how it all works and it's rather interesting.

[SubGod22]

Vitamin D Could Help Protect Women Against and Even Reverse Ovarian Cancer - Study

Ovarian cancer often undergoes a process called peritoneal metastasis, whereby its cells detach from their primary site in the ovary and travel to a secondary site such as the peritoneal wall or diaphragm.

The peritoneum defends itself a barrier consisting of mesothelial cells, which prevent the adhesion of cancer cells and limit their spread. However, ovarian cancer gets around this defense by transforming the protective mesothelial cells into cancer-associated mesothelial cells. This creates an environment that helps metastasis, assisting the spread of cancer around the body.

For this reason, ovarian cancer has been dubbed ‘a silent killer’ as it often causes few distinct symptoms until it is advanced. Nine-in-ten women with an early-stage diagnosis survive. If it’s picked up late just one-in-ten live more than five years.
.....
“This study’s most interesting point is that in situations where early detection of ovarian cancer is still extremely difficult, we showed that the peritoneal environment can be restored to its normal state where it prevents the adhesion and growth of cancer cells.”

The sunshine vitamin accomplishes this by interrupting the pathway for a tumor growth-factor protein called TGF-B1 to produce changes in gene expression that specialize in the process of peritoneal metastasis mentioned earlier.

It’s another reason why women should seriously consider a vitamin D supplement of between 2,000-4,000 IUs unless they spend time outside for work. Some estimations put 42% of Americans at deficiency for vitamin D, though deficiency depends on what a given researcher decides to use as the minimum level, and that’s often not agreed upon.

**** cancer

[Kung Wu]

Changed the title on this thread to be a bit more broad.

[SubGod22]

That's much appreciated. I wish I'd thought about that before starting the first thread as I should have known. And it never made sense to start a new thread for every little thing.

[SubGod22]

Microscopic Robots Made from White Blood Cells Could Treat and Prevent Life-Threatening Illness

The tiny, laser-guided machines are made from white blood cells called neutrophils—and are set, the scientists think, to revolutionize medicine.

Named ‘neutrobots’, they can deliver drugs to precise locations in the body after being directed by laser beams. Other devices developed to perform similar tasks contain synthetic materials which in several instances have triggered serious immune responses and biological rejection.

“The neutrophil microcrafts can be remotely activated by light and then navigated to the target position along a designated route,” said project leader Dr. Xianchuang Zheng, of the Institute of Nanophotonics at Jinan University, China.

In experiments on the tails of zebrafish, the Chinese team used an incredibly impressive and precise laser called a scanning optical tweezers (SOTs) to perform three potential applications with the neutrobots.

SOTs point a highly focused beam to hold and move microscopic and sub-microscopic particles in a manner similar to tweezers, and were used with the help of the neutrobots for cell therapy, targeted nanomedicine, and removal of debris or organic waste that can trigger disease.

There's been a lot of research in different areas that have focused on the direct targeting of illness/cancer and this is another one. It makes sense that being able to direct the medicine or whatever else directly to a place of concern would be beneficial and increase the odds of eliminating the threat with less potential harm to the person. We all know that chemo and radiation basically become a race to see what's destroyed first, the cancer or the immune system and I'm hopeful that we continue to improve ways to eliminate that race as there's a lot of potential progress being made by a lot of different researchers in different ways. Surely, at least one of them will pan out in the not too distant future and we start seeing fewer families ripped apart by illness.

[SubGod22]

This one is interesting.

Psilocybin Microdosing Study Finds Improved Mental Health and Psychomotor Performance in Those 55 or Older

Microdosing is a term used to describe the repeat consumption of nearly-negligible amounts of psychedelics in order to (theoretically) enhance cognitive performance in a variety of ways.

It’s not so theoretical anymore however, as the findings, now peer-reviewed and published in Nature, show how psilocybin microdosing is associated with general improvements in mood and mental health.

Additionally, a finding specific to individuals over the age of 55 indicated that microdosing was associated with greater improvements in psychomotor performance relative to non-microdosers. Yet further, adults over 55 exhibited an even larger improvement in psychomotor performance when psilocybin is stacked with lion’s mane mushroom and niacin compared to psilocybin alone.

[AndShock]

This one is interesting.

Psilocybin Microdosing Study Finds Improved Mental Health and Psychomotor Performance in Those 55 or Older

Marijuana, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA will completely change mental health treatment if those in power allow it.

[SubGod22]

Large Dose of Iron Could be Used to Kill Off Drug-Resistant Prostate Cancer, Scientists Believe

Iron is important for red blood cells carrying oxygen around the body but large amounts of it can be lethal to cells.

It produces a lot of toxic free radicals, or reactive oxygen species (ROS) which damage the fat component of the cellular membrane.

Lipids, or fats, are important for energy storage and for internal cell signaling. Free radicals cause them to lose their flexibility and efficiency until the cell dies, though exactly why is unclear.

Prostate cancer cells are unusually resistant to this destruction because their lipids are already changed to have the energy they need to grow and spread.

But Dr. Yan’s team has found a gene called ATF3 that can lower the stress threshold of prostate cancer cells and make them more vulnerable to a new iron compound called JKE-1674 which induces ferroptosis.