A potential new cancer drug delivery method — through the gut’s lymphatic system rather than blood vessels — could improve treatment outcomes and reduce side effects while decreasing drug resistance. Researchers from the University of Michigan demonstrated the strategy in mice, using LP-182 – a drug designed to simultaneously inhibit phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated …
Could Bear Serum Help the Bedridden?
Prolonged periods of rest are essential for the sick and those recovering from surgery, but bed rest takes its toll on human bodies. Animal muscle tissues express a fair degree of plasticity, and they respond negatively to inactivity. Prolonged periods of rest cause an organism to lose muscle mass simply due to disuse. This phenomenon …
Saudi Royal Family Sponsors Effort to Slow Aging
Earlier this year, the world’s oldest person shared the secret to a long life: a glass of wine every day, with a bit of chocolate for dessert. The 118-year-old French nun certainly knows the secret to a good life – but the Saudi Arabian royal family may soon have her beat. Per an article published …
Changing Our Perspective on “Mind-Altering” Drugs – Part II
Developing an effective and safe medicine is a labor of love in any therapeutic area, but perhaps none so much as the central nervous system (CNS). CNS medicines must cross the blood-brain barrier, a network of blood vessels and tissue comprised of closely spaced cells that protects the brain from toxins and pathogens, and in …
Changing Our Perspective on “Mind-Altering” Drugs – Part I
For a generation that grew up with “Just Say No” as a recurring theme, the idea of taking psychedelics with nicknames such as acid (LSD), magic mushrooms (psilocybin), Special K (ketamine) and ecstasy (MDMA) suggests uncontrolled hallucinations and all the danger that might go with them, but that predisposition is changing. As a mental health …
New Obesity Drug Shows Great Promise in Phase III Trials
Infographics Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk changed the game last year, presenting data that suggested one of the company’s diabetes drugs was also highly effective at treating obesity as a medical issue. With that, Novo Nordisk sent a message to pharmaceutical companies everywhere: Obesity drugs could be the next frontier of life-changing medical innovations. Now, …
Stem Cells May Be at the Root of Baldness – As Well As the Cure
Infographics Within every hair follicle are the stem cells programmed to grow hair. These cells inhabit and grow in a region of the follicle called the bulge and follow a cycle: hair is generated from the stem cells, the follicle becomes inactive, the hair stops growing, falls out, and then the cells start growing a …
Can LSD Be a Valuable Therapeutic Agent for Anxiety and Depression?
Infographics The World Health Organization has estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 25% increase in cases of anxiety disorder worldwide in 2020. As the prevalence of mental and behavioral health disorders is increasing around the world, new treatment modalities are emerging to address the growing need for mental health care. Among them is …
Novel Approaches to Treating Depression
Infographics Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 10 and 34, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That alarming statistic is enough to classify suicide as a major public health concern, even with the ubiquity of anti-depression drugs in today’s pharmaceutical market. Fortunately, clinical researchers …
How Can Guidelines Keep Pace with Science? “Living Evidence” May Help
Traditionally, the review and updating of medical guidelines have relied on a “systematic review” – a publication following a formal synthesis of data from multiple studies to establish a clear picture of current research findings. This process often took more than 200 person-hours to find the relevant research and synthesize the evidence, which didn’t seem …
