New Glioblastoma Treatment, Cranberry Juice to Prevent UTIs, "Stuck Stem Cells" Cause Grey Hair, New Pain Management Targets.
The Full Panel meets your TLDR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) needs by delivering the latest medicine & health news in a nutshell. 🥜
Recent Advances for Brain Cancer Treatment 🧠
Gist: Northwestern Medicine scientists have conducted the first in-human clinical trial using a skull-implantable ultrasound device to open the blood-brain barrier and deliver chemotherapy to treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Currently, GBM is the most common malignant brain tumour and is challenging to treat.
Nitty-Gritty: The 4-minute procedure, which has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated, allows powerful chemotherapy drugs like paclitaxel and carboplatin to reach the brain tumor, increasing drug concentrations four to six-fold. The blood-brain barrier, which usually shields the brain from circulating drugs, reopens within an hour after the procedure.
Big Picture: The success of this procedure could potentially pave the way for novel drug-based treatments for millions of patients with various brain diseases, including brain cancer. Phase 2 of this trial is currently in progress.
Original source: here.
Turns out, cranberry juice really can help prevent UTIs 🥤
Gist: According to a newly published systematic review in the Cochrane review, cranberry products actually reduced the risk of UTIs in women with recurrent UTIs, children, and certain populations susceptible to UTIs.
Nitty-Gritty: Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins (PACs). PACs are the chemical compounds which give fruit and plants their red, blue or purple colouring. PACs can also prevent the adherence of E. coli to the bladder wall, making cranberry products a popular option for preventing UTIs. This review is the fifth update, and includes 50 studies with 8,857 participants.
It is important to note, no significant benefit was observed in elderly institutionalized individuals, pregnant women, or adults with neuromuscular bladder dysfunction. These categories of patients are generally considered differently when treated for UTI.
It is unclear whether efficacy differs between cranberry juice and tablets or between different doses of PACs as the certainty of the evidence was very low.
Big Picture: Of note, the systematic review did not specifically point to which types of cranberry products, such as juices, were used in the studies. That being said, cranberry products not from concentrate and without added sugars are likely good options if you are considering adding such things to your routine. Always talk to a health care professional if you have any health concerns (i.e., don’t self-treat, please).
Original source: here.
“Stuck stem cells” the reason for grey hair?👩🏼🦳
Gist: A study published by the NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that as people age, certain stem cells, called melanocyte stem cells (McSCs), responsible for hair color lose their ability to move between growth compartments in hair follicles.
Nitty-Gritty: McSCs control hair color by maturing into pigment-producing cells when they receive a signal. The study discovered that McSCs are remarkably plastic, moving back and forth on the maturity axis during normal hair growth. However, as hair ages, more McSCs get stuck in the hair follicle bulge, losing the ability to mature and produce pigments.
Big Picture: Neat to know! 🤓 This team of researchers plans to investigate methods of restoring McSC motility or moving them back to their germ compartment, which may present a potential pathway for reversing or preventing graying hair.
Original source: here.
Kappa receptors: The answer for safer pain management?
Gist: Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a potential route to pain relief that doesn't trigger addiction or hallucinations. Traditional painkillers like morphine and oxycodone target mu opioid receptors, providing pain relief but also causing euphoria and addiction.
Nitty-Gritty: An alternative strategy involves targeting kappa opioid receptors, which can relieve pain but may cause hallucinations. The research team identified the mechanisms behind these hallucinations and found other binding sites on the kappa receptor that don't lead to hallucinations. By developing new drugs that target these other kappa receptor binding sites, scientists may create painkillers without addictive problems or hallucinations.
Big Picture: This is crucial, as opioids interacting with the mu opioid receptor have led to a devastating and ongoing opioid crisis.
Original source: here.
A brief overview of how opioid drugs (“painkillers”) work in our body:
Run time: 2 mins.
Neat to Know! 🧐
Run time: 5 mins.
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