Category Health/Medical

Cancer Chemotherapy Drug Reverses Alzheimer’s Symptoms in Mice

Cancer chemotherapy drug reverses Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice
Since cancerous tumours also rely on new blood vessel growth to survive and thrive, the researchers reasoned that a proven anti-cancer drug might halt the process in Alzheimer’s. Credit: Jesse Orrico/Unsplash

A drug commonly used to treat cancer can restore memory and cognitive function in mice that display symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, new UBC research has found.

The drug, Axitinib, inhibits the growth of new blood vessels in the brain — a feature shared by both cancer tumours and Alzheimer’s disease, but this hallmark represents a new target for Alzheimer’s therapies.

Mice with Alzheimer’s disease that underwent the therapy not only exhibited a reduction in blood vessels and other Alzheimer’s markers in their brains, they also performed remarkably well in tests designed to...

Read More

Natural compound in basil may protect against Alzheimer’s disease pathology

Alzheimer’s disease model of the worm C. elegans treated with the plant-derived compound fenchol (Left) and with a DMSO placebo (Right). Fenchol reduced accumulation of amyloid-β (green dots) in the organism’s head, compared to the placebo. | Images courtesy of Hariom Yadav, PhD, of the University of South Florida, first appeared as Fig. 4d in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, DIO: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.735933

Fenchol, a natural compound abundant in some plants including basil, can help protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease pathology, a preclinical study led by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) researchers suggests.

The new study published Oct...

Read More

Link between Crohn’s disease and Fatty Tissue in the Gut revealed

Illustration of intestine with creeping fat

New research led by University of Limerick in Ireland has revealed a direct link between fatty tissue and Crohn’s disease. The study, carried out by researchers at UL along with a team from University Hospital Limerick, is suggesting for the first time that Crohn’s disease, which is an inflammatory bowel condition, may in fact be a fatty intestine condition.

The research, published in leading journal Scientific Reports, has been described as “an exciting starting point” for the further exploration of Crohn’s disease, which affects thousands of people every year in Ireland and internationally.

The study involved body composition analysis of patients with Crohn’s disease using equipment hosted on the UL campus, with the UL team collaborating with gastroenterology and surgical spec...

Read More

Glycerin is Safe, Effective in Psoriasis Model

Patients with psoriasis have reported that glycerin, an inexpensive, harmless, slightly sweet liquid high on the list of ingredients in many skin lotions, is effective at combatting their psoriasis and now scientists have objective evidence to support their reports.

They found that whether applied topically or ingested in drinking water, glycerin, or glycerol, helps calm the classic scaly, red, raised and itchy patches in their psoriasis model, Dr. Wendy Bollag, cell physiologist and skin researcher at the Medical College of Georgia and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and her colleagues report in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

The studies also provide more evidence of the different ways glycerin enables the healthy maturation of skin cells through four stages...

Read More