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Category: biotech/medical – Page 64

Plasma-based strategies for systemic rejuvenation: critical perspectives on clinical translation

Experimental models such as heterochronic parabiosis and heterochronic plasma transfer have profoundly advanced our understanding of systemic aging, demonstrating that circulating factors can influence brain, vascular, and immune aging through cell nonautonomous mechanisms. These preclinical models have revealed that both pro-geronic and anti-geronic signals in blood can modulate neuroinflammation, neurovascular health, and cognitive resilience. However, despite their experimental promise, the clinical translation of these findings, particularly through plasma-based interventions in humans, remains fraught with uncertainty.

Scientists Grew Mini Brains, Then Trained Them to Solve an Engineering Problem

A few blobs of lab-grown brain tissue have demonstrated a striking proof of concept: living neural circuits can be nudged toward solving a classic control problem through carefully structured feedback.

In a closed-loop system that delivered electrical feedback based on performance, cortical organoids could steadily improve their control of a classic engineering benchmark: balancing an unstable virtual pole.

The improvement is far from a functioning hybrid biocomputer. But as a proof of concept, it shows that neural tissue in a dish can be adaptively tuned through structured feedback – a result that could help researchers probe how neurological disease alters the brain’s capacity for plasticity.

Is Ketogenesis Required For Metabolic Improvements On A Calorie-Restricted Diet?

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Engineered nanoparticles could deliver better targeted cancer treatment to lymph nodes

Scientists at McGill University and the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute have developed a new way to deliver cancer immunotherapy that caused fewer side effects compared to standard treatment in a preclinical study. The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The experimental approach is designed to treat cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, a difficult-to-treat stage of the disease. Today, most immunotherapies are delivered by intravenous (IV) infusion and circulate throughout the body. This can trigger immune responses in healthy tissues, leading to serious side effects.

“Some immunotherapies cause such severe side effects that clinicians are forced to lower the dose, making treatment less effective,” said senior author Guojun Chen, Assistant Professor in McGill’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and member of the Goodman Cancer Institute. “Our approach could allow for higher, more effective doses while limiting toxicity, which is a major goal in cancer treatment.”

Nanotubes unlock new wavelengths for smarter sensing

Sensors made of carbon nanotubes that can measure infrared and terahertz radiation are being tested for uses ranging from detecting damaged cables after earthquakes, to collecting health data via ultrathin wearable devices, and assisting with pharmaceutical quality control, say researchers in Japan.

“Accurately visualizing the internal structures of organisms and objects is integral to our daily lives, from medical imaging to security scanning in airports,” and terahertz sensors built from carbon nanotubes are uniquely suited to this purpose, says Yukio Kawano is a professor of engineering at Chuo University in Tokyo, and project leader at the Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (KISTEC) in Japan.

Compared with many sensor technologies that can only detect one part of the electromagnetic spectrum, Kawano’s team is working to create sensors that can detect terahertz and a broader range of radiation, and use them to produce high-resolution images.

Tailored COX-2 Inhibition for Precision Adjuvant Therapy of Localized Metastatic Colon Cancer

💬 Editorial: Precision adjuvant therapy for stage III ColonCancer may be enhanced through molecular profiling for ctDNA status and PIK3CA mutation, informing use of celecoxib or aspirin alongside standard treatment.

CALGB/SWOG 80,702 Alliance was a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) of daily celecoxib (400 mg/d vs placebo) as an adjuvant therapy to fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) toward improving disease-free survival (DFS) of minimal residual localized (stage III) metastatic colon cancer.1 The rationale for the trial was a preponderance of evidence from RCTs and observational studies showing that selective cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2 or prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 [PTGS2]) inhibitors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as celecoxib and rofecoxib, reduce the incidence of premalignant colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer (CRC). Although the primary trial results did not show daily celecoxib to be statistically significantly associated with improvement in DFS or overall survival (OS),1 the results raised the possibility that yet-to-be-determined subgroups may experience a significant benefit. Indeed, Nowak et al2 reported in 2024 that a significant protective effect was observed among patients with tumors harboring mutations to exons 9 or 20 of the PIK3CA gene within the subset of the Alliance trial population with available whole-exome tumor sequencing data.

The possibility for molecular selection for NSAID adjuvant therapy of CRC, specifically on the basis of PIK3CA mutation was first raised in a prospective observational study by Liao and colleagues3 in 2012 for aspirin—a less selective COX-2 inhibitor. This finding for aspirin was later corroborated with post hoc observational follow-up of the VICTOR RCT of daily rofecoxib (20 mg vs placebo),4 which, like the Alliance trial, did not demonstrate a significant protective benefit for rofecoxib among unselected patients.5 Most recently, 2 RCTs of daily low-dose aspirin, ALASSCA6 and SAKK41/13,7 showed that aspirin, among patients enrolled using molecular selection for tumor PIK3CA mutation, led to a similar survival benefit of approximately 50% compared to placebo.

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