iPSC-based drug discovery is a promising technology for developing novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases lacking useful disease models, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Ropinirole, retigabine, and bosutinib were identified as candidate therapeutic agents for ALS by the combination of iPSC-based drug discovery and drug repositioning. The potential anti-ALS mechanism of ropinirole is independent of
Prof Murphy, leading authority on autism research at Kings College Hospital, says he is horrified that such a treatment is being offered. Lesley Curwen investigates the scientific promise of human stem cells, cells with superpowers that can become many different types of cells in our bodies from muscle cells to brain cells. Some can even
New hydrogel made from forestry and fishing waste could help replace petroleum-based products from contact lenses to pill capsules. A new hydrogel material created from materials typically discarded by the forest and fishing industries could be a substitute for petroleum products used in a variety of biomedical applications, from contact lenses to pill capsules. “The
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified a new potential strategy for boosting the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. Studies in gene knockout mice, carried out in collaboration with a team at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, suggested that a protein known as Siah2 is involved in the control of T
Scientists at UCL have identified how a subset of immune cells are activated to kill cancerous cells, a finding in mice which could hold the key to new powerful therapies against cancer. This new study built on previous research*, also led by Professors Sergio Quezada and Karl Peggs (both UCL Cancer Institute), which found that
NIH-funded study focuses on severe forms of relapsing MS. Source NIH A clinical has begun trial testing an experimental stem cell treatment against the best available biologic therapies for severe forms of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of
Scientists have discovered how to switch off a key ‘pain gene’, dramatically raising hopes of a long-term treatment to relieve the agony of serious illness for millions. The revolutionary technique alters a patient’s DNA, silencing a gene that transmits pain signals up the spine. Preliminary studies on mice have already proven successful and US researchers
Researchers are moving closer to a new approach for improving spinal fusion procedures and repairing broken or defective bones that avoids an over-production of bone that commonly occurs in current treatments. In a preclinical study, researchers significantly reduced undesired bone growth outside of targeted repair areas in rat femurs by delivering a potent bone-forming protein
A first-of-its-kind study on molecular interactions by biomedical engineers in the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering will make it easier and more efficient for scientists to develop new medicines and other therapies for diseases such as cancer, HIV and autoimmune diseases. The study resulted in a mathematical framework that simulates the effects
Tau PET Brain Imaging Could Launch Precision Medicine Era for Alzheimer’s Disease Brain imaging of pathological tau-protein “tangles” reliably predicts the location of future brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s patients a year or more in advance, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. In contrast, the location of
