Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

weatheriscool
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Scientists develop gel made from spider silk proteins for biomedical applications
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-scientist ... teins.html
by Karolinska Institutet
Researchers at KI and SLU have discovered that spider silk proteins can be fused to biologically active proteins and be converted into a gel at body temperature. One of the goals is to develop an injectable protein solution that forms a gel inside the body, which could be used in tissue engineering and for drug release, but also make gels that can streamline chemical processes where enzymes are used. The study is published in Nature Communications.

"We have developed a completely new method for creating a three-dimensional gel from spider silk that can be designed to deliver different functional proteins," says Anna Rising, research group leader at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet (KI) and professor at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). "The proteins in the gel are very close together and the method is so mild that it can be used even for sensitive proteins."
weatheriscool
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Calorie reduction lowers protein linked to the aging process
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08- ... inked.html
by Yale University

Reduced calorie intake has been shown to improve health and lifespan in laboratory animals, and recent research shows these benefits may extend to humans as well.

In a new study, Yale researchers show that moderate calorie restriction in people reduces the production of a protein called SPARC, which then reins in harmful inflammation and improves health in the aged. It could be a target for extending human health span, they report Aug. 12 in the journal Immunity.

The study, led by Vishwa Deep Dixit, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology, professor of immunobiology and comparative medicine, and director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, follows a study published earlier this year that identified key health benefits of moderate calorie reduction in humans.

In the new study, Dixit and his co-authors further analyzed data from a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. In the trial, known as Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE), some participants reduced their calorie intake by 14% for two years, while others ate as usual; researchers then tracked the long-term health effects.
weatheriscool
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F.D.A. Clears Path for Hearing Aids to be Sold Over the Counter
Source: New York Times
The Food and Drug Administration moved on Tuesday to make hearing aids available over the counter and without a prescription to adults, a long-sought wish of consumers frustrated by expensive exams and devices. As soon as mid-October, people with mild to moderate hearing loss should be able to buy hearing aids online and in retail stores, without being required to see a doctor for an exam to get a prescription.

The F.D.A. cited studies estimating that about 30 million Americans experience hearing loss, but only about one-fifth of them get help. The changes could upend the market, which is dominated by a relatively small number of manufacturers, and make it a broader field with less costly, and perhaps, more innovative designs. Current costs for hearing aids, which tend to include visits with an audiologist, range from about $1,400 at Costco to roughly $4,700 elsewhere.

“This could fundamentally change technology,” said Nicholas Reed, an audiologist at the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “We don’t know what these companies might come up with. We may literally see new ways hearing aids work, how they look.” The F.D.A.’s final rule takes effect in 60 days. Industry representatives say device makers are largely ready to launch new products, though some may need time to update labeling and packaging or to comply with technical details in the rule.

Dr. Robert Califf, the F.D.A. commissioner, tweeted Tuesday that the rule tackles a “critical public health issue” that affects millions. Establishing this new regulatory category will allow people with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss to have convenient access to an array of safe, effective and affordable hearing aids from their neighborhood store or online,” he said. Hearing loss is associated with cognitive decline, depression, isolation and other health problems in older adults. Yet the barriers to getting hearing help have included costs that are not covered by Medicare. There is also stigma — such as appearing “old” — that comes with use.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/16/heal ... -aids.html
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Ken_J
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Ultrasound stickers, currently trying to make it completely wireless.

weatheriscool
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Food allergies can be reversed in mice by targeting the microbiome
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08- ... biome.html
by American Chemical Society

Although many people with dietary allergies experience mild symptoms when exposed to triggering foods, some face potentially fatal consequences. A bacterial compound called butyrate that's made by healthy microbiomes has shown promise against allergic reactions in lab tests, but it's nasty to take orally. Today, scientists describe a more palatable way to deliver this compound and report that their "polymeric micelles" are effective against peanut allergies in mice. The treatment could someday counteract many types of food allergies and inflammatory diseases.

The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Some of the bacteria in the gut microbiome produce metabolites, such as butyrate, that foster the growth of beneficial bacteria and maintain the lining of the gut. If a person's microbiome is unhealthy and lacks these butyrate-producing bacteria, fragments of partially digested food can leak out of the gut and produce an immune reaction that results in an allergic response.
weatheriscool
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Lupus pill shows promise in mice; clinical trial underway
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08- ... trial.html
by American Chemical Society
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that attacks organs and can be fatal. There's no cure, so current treatments aim to limit damage and ameliorate symptoms. Some of these therapies have to be injected, some have serious side effects, and many aren't very effective. But today, scientists report they have begun phase 2 clinical trials with a pill containing a compound that, in mice, not only prevents lupus-like symptoms, but also reverses signs of organ damage caused by the disease and prevents death.

The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
weatheriscool
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Researchers identify the target of immune attacks on liver cells in metabolic disorders
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08- ... rders.html
by Weill Cornell Medical College

When fat accumulates in the liver, the immune system may assault the organ. A new study from Weill Cornell Medicine researchers identifies the molecule that trips these defenses, a discovery that helps to explain the dynamics underlying liver damage that can accompany type 2 diabetes and obesity.

In a study published Aug. 19 in Science Immunology, researchers mimicked these human metabolic diseases by genetically altering mice or feeding them a high-fat, high-sugar diet. They then examined changes within the arm of the rodent's immune system that mounts defenses tailored to specific threats. When misdirected back on the body, this immune response, which involves B and T cells, damages the organs and tissues it is meant to protect.

"For the longest time, people have been wondering how T and B cells learn to attack liver cells, which are under increased metabolic stress due to a high fat high sugar diet," said lead investigator Dr. Laura Santambrogio, who is a professor of radiation oncology and of physiology and biophysics, and associate director for precision immunology at the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. "We have identified one protein—probably the first of many—that is produced by stressed liver cells and then recognized by both B and T cells as a target."
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New strategy for delivery of therapeutic proteins could help treat degenerative eye diseases
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-strategy- ... ative.html
by Tyler Irving, University of Toronto

A University of Toronto Engineering research team has created a new platform that delivers multiple therapeutic proteins to the body, each at its own independently controlled rate. The innovation could help treat degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss for people over 50.

Unlike traditional drugs made of small molecules, therapeutic proteins are synthetic versions of larger biomolecules naturally present in the body. One example is the synthetic insulin used to treat diabetes. There are other proteins that can modulate the body's own repair processes in ways that small-molecule drugs cannot.

"Proteins have great therapeutic potential, but they are notoriously difficult to deliver," says Professor Molly Shoichet (ChemE, BME, Donnelly), who led the team. "For more than a decade, our group has been coming up with different ways to solve that fundamental problem."

One challenge is that proteins are less chemically stable than small molecules, making them vulnerable to damage from physical forces or interactions with solvents and other chemicals. Another challenge is getting them to the location where they are needed.
weatheriscool
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RSV prevention finally in reach after 20 years of research

by Telethon Kids Institute
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-rsv-years.html
World-first immunizations providing protection against deadly respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) could be just months away thanks to global research efforts spanning multiple decades.

The latest research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases has revealed a long-lasting monoclonal antibody treatment for babies is likely to be accessible on the market within 12 months, followed closely by the approval of a maternal vaccine given in pregnancy to provide newborns with protection against the virus.

Responsible for more than 100,000 deaths and 3.6 million hospitalizations in children each year, RSV infects the airways and lungs and is a key contributor to the global mortality burden due to life-threatening complications such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

Professor Peter Richmond, Head of the Vaccine Trials Group at the Wesfarmers Center of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at the Telethon Kids Institute, Head of Pediatrics at The University of Western Australia and Perth Children's Hospital Pediatrician, said researchers are now completing the final stages of development for numerous preventative antibody treatments and RSV vaccines.
weatheriscool
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Light‐activated molecular machines target antibiotic resistance
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-lightacti ... tance.html
by Mike Williams, Rice University
A new class of motorized molecules that kill specific bacteria shows promise to curb the threat of antibiotic resistance to human health.

Rice University scientists led a team developing light-activated hemithioindigo (HTI) molecules that destroy Gram-positive bacteria and the biofilms they form. The molecules do so by enhancing the local generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that chemically attack and destroy drug-resistant cells.

The new molecules differ from, and are complementary to, others created at Rice that are also activated by light but drill into cell membranes to kill them.

Like the drills based on Nobel Prize-winning work by Bernard Feringa, the HTI-based molecules are activated by visible light rather than harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Both are products of Rice chemist James Tour and his colleagues. Rice alumni Ana Santos, a postdoctoral global fellow at the Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands in Palma, Spain, and Alexis van Venrooy, now a senior scientist at Genesis Therapeutics, San Diego, are co-lead authors of the new study in Advanced Science.
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