Alzheimer disease is a progressive Neurodegenerative disorders which affects memory and cognitive functions by gradually destroying the brain cells. AD does not cause death directly, but significantly it increases the risk of complications that may eventually lead to death.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) AD was classified as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2022, while COVID-19 ranked fourth. (1) There is no cure for AD at this time, but various treatments are there to reduce and control some of its symptoms.

In terms of anatomical pathology AD is defined by two key points:

 1. Senile plaques which are extracellular deposits of Beta amyloid protein.

 2. Neurofibrillary tangles made up of phosphorylated tau proteins that are present in neurons. (2)

Majority of the cases of AD are commonly seen in people of age 65 or older and the chances of developing the disease rises with increase in age.

STAGES OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE:

STAGE 1: The early symptomatic phase, which lasts for several year.

STAGE 2: The middle stage includes forgetting personal care and family names.

STAGE 3: The late stage is characterized by difficulty walking, lack of awareness of place and time, etc.

SYMPTOMS

1. Memory loss that affects daily activities and tasks.
2. Difficulty in recognizing familiar faces or places.
3. Disorientation to time and place is common
4. Trouble in planning or solving problems.
5. Difficulty in completing familiar tasks.
6. Impaired judgement.

Fig. Accumulation of Beta Amyloid in Brain Neurons.

RISK FACTORS OF AD

• GENETIC INHERITANCE
• AGEING
• EXPOSURE TO ALUMINIUM
• TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
• VASCULAR DISEASE
• MUTATION IN AMYLOID PRECURSOR PROTEIN

DIAGNOSIS

Nowadays, biofluid markers such as (amyloid beta, phosphorylated tau protein, neurofilament tangles (NFT) and amyloid precursor protein (App)) are performed in the brain to diagnose AD.

Various others tests are performed to diagnose AD like:

• CSF Test: This test is recommended to measure the levels of  amyloid and tau proteins in fluid.
• Blood sampling.
• MRI and PET SCAN: MRI is done to generate the detailed image of brain.
• CT SCAN

TREATMENT

Due to the complicated nature of AD there is no specific treatment and the available drugs are designed to manage the symptoms and slow the progression of disease

• FDA approved medications to manage symptoms:
• Brexpiprazole: Molecular formula: C₂₅H₂₇N₃O₂S
• Donepezil: Molecular formula: C₂₄H₂₉NO₃
•  Galantamine: Molecular formula: C₁₇H₂₁NO₃
• Memantine:  Molecular formula:C₁₂H₂₁N
• Rivastigmine: Molecular formula:C₁₄H₂₂N₂O₂

REFERENCE

1. Ahmad FB, Cisewski JA, Xu J, Anderson RN. Provisional Mortality Data – United States, 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023 May 05;72(18):488-492. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

2. Shinohara M, Sato N, Shimamura M, Kurinami H, Hamasaki T, Chatterjee A, et al. Possible modification of Alzheimer’s disease by statins in midlife: interactions with genetic and non-genetic risk factors. Front Aging Neurosci. 2014;6:71.Article PubMed PubMed

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Starting a blog in 2024 to encourage writing skills in undergraduate students is a great initiative! Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Choose a Niche and Audience

Since your goal is to encourage writing among undergraduate students, focus the blog on:

• Creative writing (essays, stories, poems)
• Academic writing tips
• Writing competitions and prompts
• Peer reviews and feedback
• Writing career opportunities

Encourage engagement by making the blog a platform for student work submissions, writing challenges, and discussions.

2. Select a Blogging Platform

Pick a user-friendly platform to create and host the blog. Popular options include:

• WordPress (offers customizable templates and plugins)
• Wix (drag-and-drop builder, good for beginners)
• Medium (easy to use and can help you reach a wider audience)
• Pharmanewz.pedatrix.co(Just write your blog post and send to us! No cost on you!)

For students, having an interactive platform is essential, so look for a platform that allows comments, discussions, and content submission.

3. Domain and Hosting

• Choose a relevant domain name (e.g., studentwriters.com or writewithus.org).
• Select a hosting provider if you’re using platforms like WordPress.org. Some reliable options are:
  • Bluehost
  • SiteGround
  • Hostinger
  • Pedatrix.com

4. Design the Blog

• Simple and clean design: Make navigation easy with clear categories like Student Submissions, Writing Tips, Competitions, etc.
• Use a responsive theme to make sure it works well on mobile devices.

5. Content Strategy

• Writing Prompts: Create weekly or monthly writing prompts to inspire students to submit content.
• Guest Posts: Allow students to write guest posts on different topics related to writing and literature.
• Tutorials: Write blog posts on how to improve writing skills, covering grammar, structure, creativity, etc.
• Peer Feedback Section: Allow peer-to-peer reviews where students can offer constructive criticism on each other’s work.

6. Engage Your Audience

• Create a community by encouraging students to comment, share, and provide feedback.
• Organize writing challenges and competitions to motivate participation.
• Feature “Writer of the Month” or “Best Submission” sections to highlight talented students.

7. Promote the Blog

• Use social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn) to reach more students and writers.
• Collaborate with universities and student writing clubs to promote the blog among undergraduates.
• Start a newsletter to keep your audience updated on new blog posts, challenges, and events.

8. Monetize the Blog (Optional)

• Use Google AdSense or affiliate marketing to generate revenue if the blog gains traction.
• Consider offering writing courses or workshops for advanced learners, which can be a paid service.

9. Maintain Consistency

• Post content regularly and keep the blog updated with new writing tips, writing challenges, and students’ submissions.
• Encourage interaction by responding to comments and offering feedback on submissions.

Tools and Resources for Writers:

• Grammarly (for grammar checking)
• Hemingway App (to improve readability)
• Google Docs (collaborative writing)
• Trello (for content planning)
• Turnitin(for plagiarism check)

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The findings could improve cancer treatment and drug delivery to treat tumours

Researchers from King’s College London’s (KCL) School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging sciences, along with partners at the University of Michigan, the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale in Paris, Norway and Germany, are using shear waves to map blood vessel structures to improve treatments for tumours and other medical conditions.

Findings published in Science Advances could improve cancer treatment and potentially improve drug delivery while helping researchers better understand tumours.

Michigan and KCL experts developed a new theory using MRI-based elastography imaging to study how shear waves travel through tissue. By analysing them, researchers are able to measure the architecture of blood vessels non-invasively using readily available clinical imaging devices.

Shear waves store information about the materials they pass through, including tissue stiffness, which can help diagnose diseases.

The method allows researchers to see tiny blood vessels that are usually too small to detect and their experiments demonstrated that blood vessels leave distinct signatures in the wave patterns that can be detected and analysed.

Ralph Sinkus, professor of biomedical engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, KCL, explained the concept of the method: “Imagine trying to kick a football through a forest. If the trees are randomly scattered, the football will bounce around unpredictably. Similarly, waves travelling through tissue will be affected by the arrangement of blood vessels.”

Researchers believe that their research could impact cancer treatment as tumours often cause abnormal blood vessel growth, which is more chaotic than in healthy tissue and could be measured to better understand tumours.

In addition, the research could improve drug delivery as the method could help determine whether they reach the tumour cells or whether they do not have an effect, providing crucial insights into which drugs are best suited for different types of tumours and improving treatment outcomes.

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The new test takes an average of 13 hours to identify the correct treatment compared to several days with current methods

Press release: QuantaMatrix, a clinical microbiology diagnostics company in Seoul, South Korea, has developed an all-in-one antimicrobial testing technology, ‘uRAST (Ultra-Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing), and the findings have been published in the scientific journal Nature.

Sepsis, a life-threatening condition where timely treatment is critical, has a ‘golden hour’ for intervention. Every hour of delay in administering the correct antimicrobial treatment decreases patient survival by 9%, leading to a 30% mortality rate within 30 days.

Traditional antimicrobial testing methods can take days, often too long for effective sepsis treatment. The uRAST technology eliminates the need for the initial blood culture process, providing accurate results within just 13 hours after blood sampling. This enables doctors to prescribe the right antibiotic more quickly and potentially save lives.

“The Nature publication on uRAST highlights its potential to become the new standard in clinical microbiology,” said Sunghoon Kwon, CEO of QuantaMatrix.

uRAST has a 94.9% accuracy rate, aligning closely with existing methods and is also able to detect small quantities of bacteria in the early stages of infection. When tested at Seoul National University Hospital, uRAST reduced the time from positive blood culture results to optimal antimicrobial prescription to an average of 13 hours, compared to current methods that typically take 48-72 hours. This time reduction includes both testing and the often-overlooked waiting periods between different steps in traditional processes.

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New study highlights potential benefits of menopausal hormone therapy

A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that menopausal hormone therapy (HRT) may reduce the risk of psychosis relapse in menopausal women.

The research, led by Bodyl Brand from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with experts from universities in the Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden, supports the protective effects of oestrogen on the brain.

The study analysed medical records of 3,488 Finnish women diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SSD). Researchers compared hospitalisation rates for psychosis during periods when the women were using HRT to periods when they were not.

The findings revealed that HRT use was associated with a 16% lower risk of psychosis relapse in women aged 40-62.

“We found that the use of menopausal hormone therapy was associated with a lower relapse risk for psychosis as compared to non-use and was specifically effective in preventing relapse when started before the age of 56,” said Brand.

Existing evidence indicates that women with SSD experience worsening outcomes as they age, particularly after 45, with increased relapse rates and reduced effectiveness of antipsychotic medications.

Brand emphasised, “Women with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder of menopausal age form an exceptional group which is susceptible to psychosis relapse, but also to side effects of antipsychotic medication. Therefore, it is important to ensure there are appropriate systems, services and support in place to support women in the event of relapse. But, given its potential and safety, continued efforts are also needed to make menopausal hormone therapy more accessible and acceptable in this vulnerable group of women.”

Oestrogen, known for its antioxidant properties, helps the brain adapt and function effectively. Its levels naturally decline during the perimenopause, highlighting the potential benefits of HRT in mitigating psychosis relapse risks.

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Promising results for novel orexin agonist in sleep-deprived volunteers

Nxera Pharma, formerly known as Sosei Group, has announced that its partner, Centessa Pharmaceuticals, has reported encouraging interim results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of ORX750.

The novel orexin receptor 2 (OX2R) agonist was tested in acutely sleep-deprived healthy volunteers.

The trial revealed that ORX750 significantly improved mean sleep latency at doses of 1.0 mg and 2.5 mg, as measured by the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT), compared to a placebo. Notably, the 2.5 mg dose restored normative wakefulness with a mean sleep latency of 32 minutes.

Safety and tolerability were also strong points for ORX750, with no frequently reported adverse events typically associated with other OX2R agonists. Additionally, there were no cases of hepatotoxicity or visual disturbances across all tested doses (1.0 mg, 2.0 mg, and 2.5 mg).

Given these promising results, Centessa plans to advance ORX750 into Phase 2 studies targeting patients with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1), narcolepsy type 2 (NT2), and idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) starting in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Nxera will update stakeholders on any milestone events that trigger material payments from Centessa.

This development represents a significant advancement in the treatment of sleep-wake disorders, potentially improving the quality of life for those affected by narcolepsy and related conditions.

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The partnership will improve care for patients with pancreatic cancer

myTomorrows, a global health technology company connecting patients with all possible treatment options, has announced a new partnership with Pancreatic Cancer Europe, a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together experts from all over Europe to improve care for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Through the new partnership, Pancreatic Cancer Europe (PCE) will utilise myTomorrows’ database of ongoing clinical trials to equip patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) with up-to-date, accessible information about pre-approval treatments that may be relevant to them.

The partnership with the European patient advocacy group and myTomorrows will help to expand access to all possible treatment options for patients suffering from a variety of life-threatening illnesses. For pancreatic cancer patients and HCPs, the partnership will help make the process of identifying and understanding the existing clinical trial options easier.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths, with a life expectancy of only 6-12 months at time of diagnosis and a five-year survival rate of only 10%. The many challenges associated with pancreatic cancer include a lack of awareness about the disease among the public, difficulty in diagnosis, which is late, treatment resistance to chemo and radiation therapy, poor survival rates, and limited treatments. Therefore, it is crucial for patients to be as accurately and thoroughly informed as possible about their treatment options – especially clinical trials, which are often difficult to find, understand and navigate.

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The spread of multiple bacteria could be tracked simultaneously through sequencing method

Using a genomic approach, researchers have developed a way to simultaneously track the spread of multiple common antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals.

Current methods culture and sequence all pathogens separately so the new sequencing technique could help to prevent and manage hospital infections more quickly and effectively.

Published in the Lancet Microbe, the proof-of-concept study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo in Italy and collaborators captured the whole population of pathogenic bacteria found in the gut, upper airways and lungs of patients in multiple hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and ordinary wards during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The team found that, with most ICU patients colonised by several treatment-resistant bacteria and all patients colonised by at least one, they were able to determine which type of bacteria each patient had.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are able to adapt and change over time to find ways to resist the effects of antimicrobial drugs. This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of serious complications and death.

AMR is classified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten threats to global public health and resulted in around 1.27 million deaths globally in 2019.

It is hoped that the new approach could be used alongside existing hospital clinical surveillance systems to identify, track and limit the spread of common multiple treatment-resistant bacteria in an effort to reduce drug resistance in hospitals and other clinical settings.

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New treatment could simplify diabetes management for millions

Eli Lilly and Company has announced promising results from two phase 3 clinical trials, QWINT-1 and QWINT-3, evaluating the efficacy of once-weekly insulin efsitora alfa (efsitora) in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The trials demonstrated that efsitora provides a similar reduction in HbA1C levels compared to daily insulin injections.

“Once weekly basal insulins, like efsitora, have the potential to transform diabetes care,” reflected Jeff Emmick, Senior Vice President, Product Development at Lilly. “Many type 2 diabetes patients are reluctant to start insulin because of the burden it places on them. Once-weekly efsitora could potentially make it easier for people with type 2 diabetes to start and manage insulin therapy, while reducing the impact it has on their day-to-day lives.”

In the QWINT-1 study, efsitora was administered via four fixed doses once weekly in a single-use autoinjector to insulin-naïve adults.

The trial met its primary endpoint, showing non-inferior HbA1C reduction compared to daily insulin glargine over 52 weeks. Efsitora reduced HbA1C by 1.31%, resulting in an HbA1C of 6.92%, compared to a 1.27% reduction and an HbA1C of 6.96% for insulin glargine.

The QWINT-3 study evaluated efsitora in adults switching from daily basal insulin injections. Over 78 weeks, efsitora demonstrated non-inferior HbA1C reduction compared to daily insulin degludec, further supporting its potential as a convenient alternative for diabetes management.

These findings suggest that once-weekly efsitora could simplify insulin therapy for people with type 2 diabetes, potentially improving adherence and overall quality of life.

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Molecular imaging agent 99mTc-maraciclatide to aid in disease prognostication

Serac Healthcare, a clinical radiopharmaceutical company, and the University of Exeter have announced the commencement of a Phase II study involving a novel molecular SPECT imaging agent, 99mTc-maraciclatide.

This study, named ‘PRospective Evaluation of Interstitial Lung Disease progression with quantitative CT (PREDICT-ILD)’, has successfully scanned its first patient.

The main study aims to assess the effectiveness of quantitative computed tomography (CT) in detecting the progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD).

Additionally, a sub-study has started to evaluate 99mTc-maraciclatide as an imaging marker for disease prognostication in a subset of participants. Recruitment for PREDICT-ILD is ongoing at three NHS sites in the south-west: North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT), Royal United Hospitals (RUH) NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Leading the study are co-chief investigators Professor Chris Scotton, Associate Professor in Respiratory Biomedicine, and Dr. Giles Dixon, Senior Clinical Research Fellow, both from the University of Exeter. The study is primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust GW4-CAT HP PhD Programme for Health Professionals.

The sub-study will compare the uptake of 99mTc-maraciclatide between participants with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and non-IPF fibrosing-ILD, alongside age, sex, and ethnicity-matched healthy controls.

Secondary goals include assessing the imaging agent’s ability to identify αvβ3 activity and predict disease progression in fibrosing ILD patients. A total of sixty-nine participants will be recruited, with 15 involved in the sub-study.

Interstitial lung diseases encompass over 200 irreversible conditions that cause lung scarring (fibrosis) without treatment.

Affecting more than 150,000 people in the UK, ILD leads to significant morbidity and mortality, accounting for 1% of deaths in the UK. Research into the mechanisms driving ILD progression remains a critical priority.

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