Some investigational Alzheimer’s disease therapies are more effective when paired with a treatment geared toward improving drainage of fluid and debris from the brain, according to a study in mice.
Experimental Alzheimer’s drugs have shown little success in slowing declines in memory and thinking, leaving scientists searching for explanations.
The new findings in the journal
Nature, however, suggest that the brain’s drainage system known as the meningeal lymphatics plays a pivotal but underappreciated role in neurodegenerative disease, and that repairing faulty drains could be a key to unlocking the potential of certain Alzheimer’s therapies.
“The lymphatic system is how the garbage is cleaned out of the brain. If it’s not working, everything gets gummed up.
Friendly gut bacteria emerged as an invaluable ally in the battle against malnutrition
Treating malnutrition by boosting gut microbes produces better results than traditional nutritional supplements.
Friendly gut bacteria have emerged as an invaluable ally in the war against malnutrition after a research study in Bangladesh showed that bacteria-targeting food supplements were more effective than standard nutritional supplements in improving the health of undernourished children.
The supplement - made from ingredients such as chickpeas, soy, bananas, and peanuts and developed to boost normal gut microbes - helped Bangladeshi children with malnutrition gain more weight than those receiving a standard nutritional supplement, the study found.
The next generation of COVID-19 vaccines may no longer need a syringe. A nasal spray offers a number of benefits over traditional approaches to vaccine administration, and is more preferred by parents for their children, according to researchers.
So a squirt in the nose instead of a shot in the arm could be a godsend for several reasons. For one, they would help ward off coronavirus and help beef up the approved regime of intramuscular vaccines, which are in short supply globally due to production shortfalls.
Currently the supply of COVID-19 vaccines is extremely limited, and the majority of doses are going to high-income nations that only account for 16% of the global population. Here’s the lowdown on nasal COVID shots and how they may change the game:
Elliot Elson, of Washington University School of Medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be awarded to a U.S. scientist or engineer.
Elliot L. Elson, professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis,.