Day: November 20, 2020

Categories : UncategorizedTags :

Electromagnetic fields treat diabetes in animal models

On By ModernMedia

According to Medial Express, electromagnetic fields (EMF) may be a new way to modulate blood glucose levels. Scientists found that when drawing blood from mice borrowed from an experiment which had them to low level EMF, the typical high blood sugar in these animals was found to be lowered. 

Carter and Huang are energized by the possibility of translating the findings to human patients with type 2 diabetes. In terms of safety, the World Health Organization considers low energy EMFs safe for human health. The UI study also found no evidence of any adverse side effects in mice.

The team is now working on a larger animal model to see if the EMFs produce similar effects in an animal that has a more similar size and physiology to humans. They also plan to conduct studies to understand the redox mechanism underlying the effects of EMFs. Their ultimate goal is to move into clinical trials with patients to translate the technology into a new class of therapies. With that goal in mind, Carter, Huang, and Carter’s twin brother, Walter, have created a startup company called Geminii Health, with help from the UI Office for the Vice President of Research.

“Our dream is to create a new class of non-invasive medicines that remotely take control of cells to fight disease,” Carter says.

The multidisciplinary research team also included scientists from the UI Departments of Radiology, Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Physics and Astronomy, as well as colleagues from Vanderbilt University.

Categories : COVIDTags :

Researchers calling for loss of smell to be recognised globally as Covid-19 symptom

On By ModernMedia

Health 24 reports that scientists are calling for loss of smell to be recognised as a main COVID symptom, based on studies which showed that a majority of people who listed loss of sense of smell as a symptom would test positive for COVID antibodies. This could have important ramifications for policymaking, which they go on to discuss:

Currently, many guidelines still urge members of the public to only self-isolate or test when they display flu-like symptoms.


Although the study has limitations, it strongly suggests that an acute loss of smell should be considered as a sign to isolate or test. It also suggests that there is an over-reliance on coughing and fever as the main Covid-19 symptoms.

Prof Batterham said, “Early self-recognition of Covid-19 symptoms by the members of the public, together with rapid self-isolation and PCR testing are vital in order to limit the spread of the disease. Currently, most countries around the world do not recognise a sudden loss of smell as a symptom of Covid-19.”

Categories : COVIDTags :

Global COVID study, fewer people are willing to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

On By ModernMedia

The Daily Mail reports on a global study has found that, as a result of COVID, significantly fewer people are willing to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) than before:

Compared to before the Covid-19 era, 20 per cent fewer people would give mouth-to-mouth to a stranger, if they weren’t breathing. And 14 per cent fewer claimed they would give chest compressions, which could be the difference between life and death.   


The findings are concerning because it is already known that Britons are reluctant to carry out CPR, with around three in ten claiming that they would not assist in saving a dying stranger.

Survival rates for cardiac arrests — which are different to heart attacks — stand at less than 10 per cent. But CPR can more than double a person’s chance of survival outside hospital, according to the British Heart Foundation.

Scientists urged people not to be put off giving first aid due to Covid-19 and insisted the odds of getting the infection this way was tiny.

Chest compressions can still be done with a towel, while wearing a face covering to avoid catching the disease. But health regulators have already urged Britons not to carry out mouth-to-mouth over Covid-19 fears.

Categories : Antibiotics Diseases, Syndromes and ConditionsTags :

A Common Antibiotic Shows Promise for Zika Protection

On By ModernMedia

A huge search through known drug compounds showed that a common antibiotic has been shown to be effective against Zika in vitro. Zika, which causes foetal microcephaly, preferentially attacks brain stem cells. 

In order to find a compound that confers Zika protection, the researchers searched for drugs that prevent virus reproduction by blocking the activity of a protein called NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease. This protease acts to assemble the components of new Zika viruses from protein produced by the virus’ RNA injection into a cell.

“Proteases act like scissors. Blocking protease activity is an effective strategy for counteracting many viruses,” said study leader Rachel Abrams, PhD. “We wanted to look as far and wide as possible for drugs that could prevent the protease from snipping the Zika virus polyprotein into its active pieces.”

To find out which compounds blocked the protease, hundreds of assays were conducted against three different libraries.

An initial screen of 2 000 compounds showed that common tetracycline-based antibiotic drugs, such as methacycline were able to block the protease.

A larger screen of 10 000 compounds found potential candidates in an investigational anti-inflammatory medicine, MK-591, and a failed anti-Alzheimer’s disease drug, JNJ-404.  

Finally, 130 000 compounds were screened virtually, with machine learning being used to investigate what made a good candidate.

The candidate compounds were shown to reduce Zika infections of brain stem cells in vitro.

As methacycline is known to cross the placental barrier, this emerged as a promising candidate to treat pregnant women infected with the virus. However in mouse models, treatment with methacycline only partially protected the brains of newborn mice.

“These results suggest that tetracycline-based antibiotics may at least be effective at preventing the neurological problems associated with Zika virus infections,” said Dr Abrams. “Given that they are widely used, we hope that we can rapidly test their potential in clinical trials.”

Source: News-Medical.Net

Categories : GeneticsTags :

“Elegant Chemo” Uses CRISPR Tools to Target Tumours

On By ModernMedia

New research from Tel Aviv University led by Prof Dan Peer, has developed a new system to directly slice DNA in cancer cells, effectively “deleting” them with molecular “scissors”, leaving no side effects, it is claimed. 

“This is the first study in the world to prove that the CRISPR genome editing system, which works by cutting DNA, can effectively be used to treat cancer in an animal,” said Peer.

The treatment increased survival by 30% for mice with gliboglioblastoma, one of the deadliest cancers, and 80% in disseminated ovarian tumours. 

When adapted for humans, the treatment would have to be customised for each individual based on a biopsy and then injected, either into the tumour or generally.

Peer explained that the injection consists of three components: a nanoparticle made from lipids, messenger RNA which “encodes” the “tiny scissor function” for cutting the DNA, and a system which “recognises” cancerous cells.   

Peer said, “When we first spoke of treatments with messenger RNA twelve years ago, people thought it was science fiction. I believe that in the near future, we will see many personalized treatments based on genetic messengers, for cancer and various genetic diseases.”

Source: Times of Israel

Categories : COVIDTags :

COVID and Vaping Lung Injuries can be Confused

On By ModernMedia

Three recent case studies show that breathing problems in teens could be a result of vaping or COVID, according to a UC Davis Health paediatric team.

Known as e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI), it is present in large numbers. As of February 2020, 2758 cases of EVALI were hospitalised, with 64 deaths in the United States, and over half of those hospitalised were under 25 years old.

“EVALI and COVID-19 share many symptoms but have very different treatment plans,” said lead author Kiran Nandalike, associate professor of paediatrics. “For this reason, providers caring for pediatric patients with unexplained respiratory failure should consider EVALI and ask for relevant smoking/vaping history.”

EVALI and COVID patients often present with fever, cough, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Bilateral ground glass opacities are seen in chest imaging in both conditions.

Adolescents often use vaping with marijuana obtained through friends, family and unlicenced dealers, with products often containing vitamin E acetate, an additive which is strongly associated with lung injury. Isolation and stress as a result of the COVID pandemic increased usage.

In the case studies, all of the patients had fever, nausea and cough, as well as a high heart rate, rapid breathing and low blood oxygen levels. Laboratory results showed higher white blood cells (WBC) count and elevated inflammation, pointing to COVID inflammation. Chest imaging revealed nonspecific ground glass opacities. Despite all other findings indicating COVID, SARS-CoV-2 testing was negative. The patients were successfully treated with steroids, a potentially life-saving treatment for EVALI.

“To help reduce risk of EVALI recurrence, providers would recommend vaping cessation counseling to patients and close outpatient monitoring,” advised Nandalike.

Source: Medical Xpress

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and Conditions Gastrointestinal LungTags :

Gut Microbiome is Linked to Pulmonary Disease

On By ModernMedia

A link has been shown between the gut microbiome and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease with an often poor prognosis.

Senior author Prof Phil Hansbro, Director of the Centenary University of Technology Sydney Centre for Inflammation, said, “It’s already known that the lung microbiome is a contributing factor in COPD. We wanted to see if the gut environment was also somehow involved–to determine whether the gut could act as a reliable indicator of COPD or if it was connected in some way to the development of the disease.”

Stool samples of COPD patients showed elevated levels of the bacteria Streptococcus and Lachnospiraceae. Additionally a unique metabolite signature was identified in individuals with COPD, created by the chemical by-products of the metabolic process.

First author Dr Kate Bowerman from the University of Queensland said, “Our research indicates that the gut of COPD patients is notably different from healthy individuals. This suggests that stool sampling and analysis could be used to non-invasively diagnose and monitor for COPD,” she said.
“The ‘gut-lung axis’ describes the common immune system of the lung and gastrointestinal tract. This means that activity in the gut can impact activity in the lung. Our COPD findings suggest that the gut microbiome should now also be considered when looking for new therapeutic targets to help treat lung disease,” Prof Hansbro said.

Source: Medical Xpress

Categories : Genetics HIV T-cellsTags :

Long-term HIV Immunisation in Mice with Gene Technology

On By ModernMedia

While some COVID vaccines are entering the final phases of approval less than a year before the disease was first identified, HIV still has no vaccine after decades of research.

Now, engineered immune cells have elicited a response against HIV in mice, presenting an important first step forward in the quest for a vaccine. These broadly neutralising antibodies (bnabs) are effective against a variety of viruses and neutralise the glycan protecting HIV’s proteins.

Previous research had engineered B cells that produced the same antibodies as seen in rare HIV patients who are able to produce bnabs against HIV after many years. Now, this research has shown that it was possible to mature these into memory and plasma cells, conferring long-lasting protection and even showing improved antibodies can be produced, as in the immunisation process.

Principal investigator James Voss, PhD, of Scripps Research said, “This is the first time it has been shown that modified B cells can create a durable engineered antibody response in a relevant animal model.”

Currently it appears it would be an expensive therapy and a great barrier to many of the 38 million living with HIV around the world. A blood draw would be taken to the lab to engineer a vaccine for the patient, but Voss says that his team is looking to make the procedure inexpensive.

“People think of cell therapies as being very expensive,” Voss said. “We’re doing a lot of work towards trying to make the technology affordable as a preventative HIV vaccine or functional cure that would replace daily antiviral therapy.”

Source: Science Daily

Categories : COVIDTags :

COVID Most Infectious Early On, Says New Review

On By ModernMedia

According to a meta-analysis of COVID research published in The Lancet, individuals with COVID are most infectious early on.

In a meta-analysis of 79 studies from around the world, they examined viral load dynamics, duration of viral RNA shedding, and viable virus shedding for SARS-CoV-2, and for comparison, 8 studies on MERS-CoV and 11 on SARS-CoV. The study only looked at symptomatic individuals.

For SARS-CoV-2, the average duration of viral RNA shedding was 17 days in the upper respiratory tract and 14.6 days in the lower respiratory tract. Similar durations were found for stool (17.2 days) and serum samples (16.6 days). 

The maximum duration of viral RNA shedding was 83 days in the upper respiratory tract, 59 days in the lower respiratory tract and 126 days in stools.  No role could be discerned for faecal shedding. Average shedding duration was positively correlated with age. No studies detected live virus after 9 days.

The viral load in the upper respiratory tract reached a peak in the first week of illness, which was shorter than SARS-CoV (peaking at days 10-14) and MERS-CoV (days 7-10). Most studies indicated faster viral load clearing in asymptomatic versus symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers.

In view of these findings, the researchers suggest that repeat testing may not be necessary for patients no longer deemed infectious, and that isolation could be set for 10 days after the onset of symptoms.

The researchers concluded that early containment was key in fighting the spread of COVID, especially with regard to acting on atypical symptoms that might appear before other symptoms. Still, this could prove challenging to effect in practice. 

Source: The Lancet

Categories : HIV T-cellsTags :

T-cells can detect HIV-1

On By ModernMedia

A new study reported by News 24 shows that T-cells can detect HIV-1 in patients years after commencing antiretroviral therapy (ART): 

In the HIV-1 proteome (the entire set of proteins expressed by the virus) for each participant, the team identified T-cell epitopes (regions of proteins that trigger an immune response). They sequenced HIV-1 ‘outgrowth’ viruses from resting CD4+ T cells and tested mutations in T-cell epitopes for their effect on the size of the T-cell response.

These strategies revealed that the majority (68%) of T-cell epitopes did not harbour any detectable escape mutations, meaning they could be recognised by circulating T cells.

“Our findings show that the majority of HIV-1-specific T cells in people on ART can detect HIV viruses that have the capacity to rebound following treatment interruption,” concludes senior author Nilu Goonetilleke, a faculty member at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.