Category Health/Medical

Ebselen affects the phosphoinositide cycle and has CNS effects on surrogate markers that may be relevant to the treatment of bipolar disorder, which can be tested in future clinical trials.

A drug destined for the scrap heap has been rescued by Oxford scientists. They used a database of ‘failed’ drugs, found to be safe but ineffective for their proposed use, to identify ebselen as a possible alternative to lithium, the main treatment for people who are bipolar.

Ebselen was under development as a treatment for stroke, but was abandoned by its manufacturer in the final phase of clinical trials. However, those trials proved that the drug was safe for use in humans. Initial tests of ebselen as a treatment for bipolar disorder were carried out in mice...

As far as healthy foods go, berries make the top of the list. They contain potent antioxidants, which decrease or reverse the effects of free radicals. Unsurprisingly, the benefits of berries are extoled in one study after another. It is usually the exotic Goji, Acerola or Acai berries that make the headlines as Superfoods, but for the health-savvy European consumer the native homegrown species could be even more alluring.The research suggests that black raspberries grown in Central Europe show greater health benefits than their better known cousins – raspberries or blackberries.

A group of researchers led by Anna Małgorzata Kostecka-Gugała measured the content of phenolics and anthocyanins in black raspberries, red raspberries and blackberries, assessing their antioxidant potential ...

Bexarotene prodrug in nanobubble form is inserted directly into the tumor using a flexible catheter. Ultrasound ablation therapy to ‘pop’ the bubbles to release the agent. Credit: University of Illinois

A novel method for repositioning an FDA-approved anti-cancer compound has been discovered, which allows it to specifically target liver cancer tumors. A ‘triple attack’ technique combining chemotherapy, thermal ablation, and hyperthermia provided a highly targeted, yet minimally invasive approach.

“In this study, we re-purposed the topical agent bexarotene (Targretin®) – currently in limited use for cutaneous manifestations of T-cell lymphomas – and re-engineered it for use in solid tumor applications by forming self-assembling nanobubbles,” explained Assistant Prof. Dipanjan Pan...

Father feeding child (stock image). Credit: © YakobchukOlena / Fotolia

A new study sheds light on how. Researchers in Associate Professor Romain Barrès’ laboratory compared sperm cells from 13 lean men and 10 obese men and discovered that the sperm cells in lean and obese men, respectively, possess different epigenetic marks that could alter the next generation’s appetite, as reported in the medical journal Cell Metabolism.

A second major discovery was made as researchers followed 6 men before and 1 year after gastric-bypass surgery to find out how the surgery affected the epigenetic information contained in their sperm cells. The researchers observed an average of 4,000 structural changes to sperm cell DNA from the time before surgery, directly after, and 1 year later.

“We certainly nee...