In a recent study published in the journal Vascular Health and Risk Management, researchers discuss the various non-traditional and traditional practices, as well as the socioeconomic and food insecurity-related limitations associated with adopting diets for heart health. Background Despite considerable progress in medicine and dietary interventions that have improved cardiovascular health, cardiovascular disease remains one of the most prevalent causes of mortality in the United States. Early studies on the association between diet and cardiovascular health reported that a diet rich in fish, vegetables, grains, fruits, and beans was linked to a lower rate of myocardial infarctions. Moreover, the consumption of vegetables and fruits, along with regular exercise, was associated with 40% lower rates of myocardial infarction. Hypertension, excess abdominal fat, dyslipidemia, and type 2 diabetes are some of the risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases that can be modified through changes in the diet. In the U.S., ...
Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Center for Behavioral Health, Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio have authored a case report on the positive effects of psilocybin on color blindness. Published in the journal Drug Science, Policy and Law, the researchers highlight some implications surrounding a single reported vision improvement self-study by a colleague and cite other previous reports, illustrating a need to understand better how these psychedelics could be used in therapeutic settings. Past reports have indicated that people with color vision deficiency (CVD), usually referred to as color blindness, experience better color vision after using lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or psilocybin (magic mushrooms). There is a lack of scientific evidence for these claims, as researching the effects of these drugs has been highly restricted. Color vision depends on a cluster of three types of photoreceptors known as cones—red, green, ...
This wearable ultrasound device for monitoring tissue stiffness measures 23 mm x 20 mm x 0.8 mm. [Photo courtesy of University of California San Diego] Wearable ultrasound researchers have developed a stretchable ultrasonic array for serial, noninvasive, 3-D tissue imaging with a penetration depth of up to 4 cm. The latest device out of Sheng Xu’s lab at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) is able to frequently evaluate the stiffness of human tissue. It could be used to measure the progression of cancer, to monitor muscles, tendons and ligaments, and assess the effectiveness of liver and cardiovascular treatments. Xu is commercializing the technology through a UCSD spinoff called Softsonics. “We integrated an array of ultrasound elements into a soft elastomer matrix and used wavy serpentine stretchable electrodes to connect these elements, enabling the device to conform to human ...
In a recent article published in the journal Nature, researchers used a classical concept in computational linguistics to design a new algorithm, LinearDesign, which optimized the structural stability and codon usage of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) sequences. For instance, using this algorithm, researchers could optimize mRNA sequences encoding the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein and use it in mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Background All vaccines based on the relatively new mRNA technology suffer from common limitations, such as mRNA instability and rapid degeneration, which, in turn, lead to poor protein expression and, subsequently, compromised immunogenicity and druggability of all mRNA vaccine products. It also critically hinders the storage, distribution, and efficacy of all mRNA vaccines, including COVID-19 and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccines. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a principled mRNA design algorithm that simultaneously optimizes stability and codon usage of encoding mRNA sequences to ...
The agreement is aimed at developing differentiated ADCs for solid tumours Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Tubulis have announced an agreement aimed at developing differentiated antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for solid tumours. ADCs are a class of potent cancer therapies combining the selectivity of antibodies with the potent cell-killing properties of chemotherapy or other anti-cancer agents. Unlike chemotherapy, which works by attacking lots of different cells as well as the cancer, ADCs are designed to target and kill tumour cells while sparing healthy ones. Under the terms of the licensing agreement, the German biotech will receive an upfront payment of $22.75m from BMS and will be eligible for future payments of over $1bn plus royalties. In exchange, BMS will gain exclusive rights to Tubulis’ Tubutecan payloads and P5 conjugation platform for the development of a selected number of highly differentiated ADCs to treat solid tumours. ...
By Neha Mathur In a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers evaluated the ability of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot assistant, to respond to patient questions posted on a publically accessible social media forum. Background Owing to the quick expansion of digital health care, more and more patients have begun to raise queries on social media forums. Answering these questions is not just time-consuming but tedious for healthcare professionals. AI assistants, like ChatGPT, could help address this additional work and help draft quality responses, which later clinicians could review. About the study In the present cross-sectional study, researchers randomly drew 195 exchanges in response to a patient question asked over Reddit’s r/AskDocs, a publically accessible social media forum, in October 2022. Then, a team of licensed healthcare professionals generated a new chatbot session using the original full text of the question to which a physician responded and then evaluated the ...
The maker of the mpox vaccine is looking at ways to dramatically scale up its production capacity to prepare for a potential threat from smallpox. Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin said the rapid spread of mpox last year was a wake-up call for the company, which is based in Denmark. “If it wasn’t mpox but it was smallpox, we are completely at the wrong scale,” Chaplin told CNBC in an interview. “We’re looking at ways we can dramatically change the way we manufacture to increase our scale,” he said. Mpox is in the same virus family as smallpox. Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to protect against both pathogens. Previously known as monkeypox, the World Health Organization changed the name to mpox last year to reduce stigma. Bavarian Nordic plans to simplify its production process so ...
Scientists have developed two new drug candidates for potentially treating addiction and depression, modeled on the pharmacology of a traditional African psychedelic plant medicine called ibogaine. At very low doses, these new compounds were able to blunt symptoms of both conditions in mice. The findings, published on May 2 in Cell, took inspiration from ibogaine’s impact on the serotonin transporter (SERT), which is also the target of SSRI antidepressants like fluoxetine (Prozac). A team of scientists from UCSF, Yale and Duke universities virtually screened 200 million molecular structures to find ones that blocked SERT in the same way as ibogaine. “Some people swear by ibogaine for treating addiction, but it isn’t a very good drug. It has bad side effects, and it’s not approved for use in the U.S. Our compounds mimic just one of ibogaine’s many pharmacological effects, and still replicate its most desirable effects on behavior, ...
By LabMedica International staff writers Pfizer Inc. (New York, NY, USA) has acquired Lucira Health, Inc. (Emeryville, CA, USA) for USD 36.4 million in a bankruptcy auction. Lucira filed for bankruptcy in February 2023, just two days before receiving FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) at-home diagnostic test capable of differentiating and detecting influenza A and B. The COVID-19 & Flu Home Test is a single-use at-home test kit that delivers results from self-collected nasal swab samples in about 30 minutes. Lucira had previously received the first FDA EUA for an at-home rapid self-test, the Lucira COVID-19 All-in-One Test Kit, in November 2020, and the company announced in April 2021 that it had secured OTC EUA for its Lucira Check It test kit for SARS-CoV-2. The company’s tests use a handheld battery-powered real-time testing instrument with nasal swab samples and loop-mediated isothermal amplification to provide ...
In the United States, almost 74% of adults age 20 and older have overweight or obesity, and of that number almost 42% have obesity. Not only are overweight and obesity complex and serious diseases, but clinicians and researchers are continuing to learn how they can impact health outcomes – from heart and musculoskeletal health to risk for disease, including cancer. New research published in the journal SURGERY shows that obesity is also associated with increased risk of complications following surgery, including infection, blood clots, and kidney complications. “We need to continue to recognize that overweight and obesity can have medical impacts that aren’t limited to heart disease and diabetes and liver failure. They can also make recovery from surgery harder, and these data can inform the conversation happening at a broader public health level addressing obesity.” Robert Meguid, MD, MPH, researcher, professor of cardiothoracic surgery in the ...
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