Category Archives: Molecular Medicine

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oncocyte Corporation (NYSE American: OCX), a molecular diagnostics company with a mission to provide actionable answers at critical decision points across the cancer care continuum, today announced the appointment of Jennifer Levin Carter, MD, MPH, MBA to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Carter is a true pioneer in applying precision medicine in the world of oncology, said Cavan Redmond, Chairman of the Board of Oncocyte. Her work at N-of-One was instrumental in advancing a new paradigm in cancer treatment which harnessed the power of molecular panels to correlate, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Dr. Carters deep expertise and understanding in this domain will be invaluable at Oncocyte as we push forward into the world of immunotherapy to leverage targeted response prediction and patient selection in both the clinic and Pharma services opportunities.

Dr. Carter added, Im honored to join the Board of Directors at Oncocyte and believe that their growing suite of molecular tests has the potential to markedly improve patient outcomes through a precision approach that identifies the right treatment for each patient. I look forward to leveraging my experience in developing molecular guided treatment strategies to advance Oncocytes rapid growth and physician adoption. Their strategic approach in identifying critical underserved decision points for patients has led to the development of two important tests for response prediction in NSCLC and now for immunotherapy, and I am thrilled to collaborate with the board and management as we work to broaden the patient population and partners that will benefit from these critically important tests.

Dr. Jennifer Levin Carter is a healthcare executive, board member and entrepreneur and was most recently VP, Head of Precision Health at Integral Health, A Flagship Pioneering company. She has founded and served as CEO at healthcare companies including N-of-One, Inc., where she was CEO from 2008-2012 and Chief Medical Officer from 2012 until its acquisition in 2019. At N-of-One, Dr. Carter led the creation of award-winning solutions that delivered novel treatment strategies to hundreds of thousands of patients with cancer globally.

In addition to her board appointment for Oncocyte, Jennifer serves as a Director of DFP Healthcare Acquisitions Corp.; on the Board of Directors of HouseWorks, LLC., a home healthcare company, eCaring, Inc., a digital health home care platform and Target Cancer Foundation where she has worked closely with the Executive Director on the design and launch of a precision medicine clinical trial for patients with rare cancer. She is a Founding Strategic Board member of XSphera Biosciences, Inc., an Ex Vivo Immuno-oncology diagnostic company and on the Directors Advisory Board at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale University. She is an Advisor and has consulted for numerous healthcare and life sciences startups and venture-backed companies on strategy, product development, business model design and fund raising.

About Oncocyte CorporationOncocyte is a molecular diagnostics company whose mission is to provide actionable answers at critical decision points across the cancer care continuum, with the goal of improving patient outcomes by accelerating and optimizing diagnosis and treatment. The Company recently launched DetermaRx, a treatment stratification test that enables the identification of early-stage lung cancer patients at high risk for recurrence post-resection, allowing them to be treated when their cancer may be more responsive to adjuvant chemotherapy. Oncocyte is also developing DetermaIO, a gene expression test that identifies patients more likely to respond to checkpoint immunotherapies.

DetermaRx and DetermaIO are trademarks of Oncocyte Corporation.

Oncocyte Forward Looking StatementsOncocyte cautions you that this press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not historical fact (including, but not limited to statements that contain words such as will, believes, plans, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, and similar expressions) are forward-looking statements. These statements include those pertaining to the commercial launch of DetermaRx, development of DetermaIO, unexpected expenditures or assumed liabilities or other unanticipated difficulties resulting from acquisitions, implementation and results of research, development, clinical trials and studies, commercialization plans, future financial and/or operating results, and future opportunities for Oncocyte, along with other statements about the future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans, or prospects expressed by management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the potential impact of COVID-19 on our financial and operational results, risks inherent in the development and/or commercialization of potential diagnostic tests or products, uncertainty in the results of clinical trials or regulatory approvals, the capacity of our third-party supplied blood sample analytic system to provide consistent and precise analytic results on a commercial scale, potential interruptions to our supply chain, the need and ability to obtain future capital, maintenance of intellectual property rights, and the need to obtain third party reimbursement for patients use of any diagnostic tests we commercialize, and risks inherent in acquisitions such as failure to realize anticipated benefits, unexpected expenditures or assumed liabilities, unanticipated difficulties in conforming business practices including accounting policies, procedures and internal controls, greater than estimated allocations of resources to develop and commercialize technologies, or failure to maintain any laboratory accreditation or certification. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements and accordingly such statements should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect the business of Oncocyte, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors and other cautionary statements found in Oncocytes Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available from the SECs website. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Oncocyte undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Investor ContactBob YedidLifeSci Advisors, LLC646-597-6989bob@lifesciadvisors.com

Media ContactCait Williamson, Ph.D.LifeSci Communications, LLC656-751-4366cait@lifescicomms.com

Continue reading here:
Oncocyte Announces Addition of Experienced Healthcare Executive, Jennifer Carter, MD, MPH, MBA to Board of Directors - GlobeNewswire

Aug. 27, 2020 11:00 UTC

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 4D Molecular Therapeutics (4DMT), a clinical-stage leader in the development of precision-guided AAV gene medicines based on directed evolution, announced the appointment of Susannah Gray to the Board of Directors. Ms. Gray brings more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical experience specifically in corporate finance and capital markets roles, most recently serving as EVP, Finance & Strategy of Royalty Pharma Management, LLC.

Susannahs extensive knowledge and experience in corporate finance and capital markets brings a valuable perspective to 4DMT. said David Kirn, MD, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of 4DMT. Susannahs appointment reflects our commitment to augmenting the capital markets expertise on the 4DMT board as we contemplate the capital required to support the clinical and preclinical development of our product candidates, two of which have recently entered the clinic. We look forward to benefiting from Susannahs extensive experience as we advance 4DMTs next-generation gene therapy programs.

Prior to joining 4DMT, Ms. Gray spent 14 years as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Royalty Pharma before retiring in 2019 just ahead of the Companys initial public offering. At Royalty Pharma, Ms. Gray led the Companys efforts to maximize its financial capabilities. She spearheaded the Companys successful implementation of a $2.3 billion credit facility in 2007 and has helped raise over $1.4 billion in equity capital for the Company. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma, Ms. Gray had a 14-year career in investment banking. In her most recent role, she was a managing director and the senior analyst covering the healthcare sector for CIBC World Market's high yield group from 2002 to 2004. She worked in a similar capacity at Merrill Lynch prior to joining CIBC World Markets. Ms. Gray joined Merrill Lynch in April 1999 after nine years at Chase Securities (a predecessor of JP Morgan), working in various capacities within the high yield and the structured finance groups. Ms. Gray received a BA with honors from Wesleyan University and holds an MBA degree from Columbia University.

I am excited to be part of this outstanding team at this key moment in the companys trajectory, said Susannah Gray. 4DMTs next-generation Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform enables the development of gene therapies with improved therapeutic profiles, enabling the company to pursue previously untreatable patient populations and to address a broad range of both rare and large market diseases. I look forward to working closely with the 4D team and supporting its mission to bring optimized gene therapies to patients.

About 4DMT

4DMT is a clinical-stage precision gene medicine company harnessing the power of directed evolution to unlock the full potential of gene therapy for rare and large market diseases in lysosomal storage diseases, ophthalmology, neuromuscular diseases, and cystic fibrosis. 4DMTs proprietary Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform enables a disease first approach to product discovery and development, thereby empowering customization of AAV vectors to target specific tissue types associated with the underlying disease. These proprietary and optimized AAV vectors are designed to provide targeted delivery by routine clinical routes of administration, efficient transduction, reduced immunogenicity, and resistance to pre-existing antibodies -- attributes that could enable the development of gene therapies that overcome known limitations of conventional AAV vectors. 4DMT vectors are designed to exhibit improved therapeutic profiles that enable the company to pursue previously untreatable patient populations and to address a broad range of rare and large market diseases.

4D Molecular Therapeutics, 4DMT, Therapeutic Vector Evolution, and the 4DMT logo are trademarks of 4DMT.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200827005202/en/

See the rest here:
4D Molecular Therapeutics Appoints Susannah Gray to Board of Directors - BioSpace

Dublin, Aug. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Molecular Diagnostics Markets in the COVID-19 Era (Markets for Molecular COVID-19 IVD Tests, Respiratory Tests, Blood Screening, Cancer Markers and Other IVD Tests)" report has been added to *ResearchAndMarkets.com's* offering.Now more than ever, molecular diagnostics are the most important part of in vitro diagnostics. The analyst has, for many years, estimated the size of and forecasted the growth of the worldwide market for molecular diagnostics in all major segments, and does so in this edition as a pandemic has reached developed markets including the United States.

2020 was set to be a year of growth and innovations in molecular diagnostics under any circumstances. New products, higher growth than other in vitro diagnostic categories, continued acceptance of next-generation sequencing methods were driving. Liquid biopsy technologies and the increased use of predictive genetic tests were and still are areas of anticipated revenue growth. The sudden onset of SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting disease COVID-19 put the world's focus on molecular diagnostics in an unexpected way.

This will not be universally the case. In non-COVID-19 testing areas, such as cancer and inherited diseases, molecular diagnostics vendors need to continue to persuade. Here volumes may be reduced by social distancing measures. But they are expected to continue to make progress converting laboratory customers. New technologies such as molecular near-patient and next-generation sequencing are increasingly part of the mix. The report details these trends.

*This report provides 2020 market sizing and expected growth to 2025 for the following segments:*

COVID-19 Molecular IVD Test Market (Full Year 2020 Projected and Market 2H 2020)

COVID-19 Molecular IVD Test Market North America COVID-19 Molecular IVD Test Market Europe COVID-19 Molecular IVD Test Market Asia-Pacific COVID-19 Molecular IVD Test Market Rest of World

Infectious Disease Markets, including:

Hepatitis HIV Respiratory HAIs and Sepsis Tests TB Sexually Transmitted Diseases

NAT Blood Testing Molecular Histology Molecular Cancer Testing Molecular Transplantation Testing Inherited Disease Testing

NIPT Inherited Thrombophilia Pharmacogenomics

There has also been a huge influx of product introductions from small, obscure companies. These have mostly targeted the low end of the price range and often had poor performance, while a small number of high-end automated systems are mostly limited to certain segments of the market, such as independent reference laboratories and centralized hospital laboratories. Low-quality products from fly-by-night companies are the predictable result of the shortages and the relatively basic resources needed to produce mediocre antibody test kits with a low level of quality control. A few major companies are seeing the most test runs, particularly in the United States.

COVID-19 testing has also been a bit of a double-edged sword for labs generally, for in vitro diagnostics and for molecular tests. Boosting volumes in infectious disease have been notably paired with drops due to social distancing measures and hospital surgical postponements. What is the result? The report helps to sort out the array of news and reports about the current state of molecular diagnostics, reasonable global estimates for COVID, and the impact of COVID-19 on the rest of molecular testing.

*The report covers the global markets. For All Markets, the analyst provides the following:*

Impacts of COVID-19 on Market Segments Regional Market Distribution Profiles of Top Companies Major Companies with COVID-19 Tests Other Companies with COVID-19 Tests HIV Products on the Market Transplantation Products on the Market The Increasing Role of Next-Generation Sequencing Trends - Lab Automation and Molecular Diagnostics Trends - CRISPR Trends - Artificial Intelligence Company Profiles

The analyst has monitored 2020 secondary sources, trade publications, medical journals, government websites and policy documents, as well as financial statements from vendors to assess the market impact of COVID-19. In addition, the analyst has been tracking lab volumes with a survey since mid-April, and the analyst U.S. MasterFile product was used to keep track of instrument trends.

*Key Topics Covered*

*Chapter One: Executive Summary* COVID-19 Testing Hundreds of Tests on The Market, U.S. Labs Settle on a Few Emerging Trends Influencing the Market Landscape Reimbursement Environment Regulatory Status of Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) The Global Molecular Diagnostics Market in the Era of COVID-19 Next-Generation Sequencing on the Rise Molecular Diagnostics Markets

*Chapter Two: COVID-19*

Hundreds of Tests on The Market, U.S. Labs Settle on a Few Regional Variance in Cases and Testing Other COVID-19 RT-PCR Tests Testing trends, recommendations, consensus taking shape

*Chapter Three: Sequencing, CRISPR, Automation, and Other Trends*

Sequencing COVID and NGS Inherited Disease Companion Diagnostics Outlook For NGS Evolving Informatics Solutions in Clinical Sequencing Sample Preparation and Quality Control Lab Automation and Molecular Diagnostics CRISPR and Molecular Diagnostics CRISPR and COVID-19 Microbiome and Molecular Diagnostics Artificial Intelligence

*Chapter Four: Markets for Molecular Infectious Disease Diagnostics*

Global Market Overview Repiratory Diseases COVID-19 Impact Mycobacteria/Tuberculosis COVID-19 Impact Product Developments Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) COVID-19 Impact COVID as a hospital infection? Product Developments Size and Growth of the Market Sexualty Transmitted Infections: CT/NG, Others COVID-19 Impact HPV Eliminating HPV Threat: Lancet Public Health Study COVID-19 Impact HPV Vaccine and Market Effects Product Developments Size and Growth of Market Hepatitis Hepatitis Types New HCV Screening Guidelines COVID-19 Impact Product Developments Tranisition to Molecular POC Size and Growth of the Market HIV New Guidelines COVID-19 Impact Product Developments Size and Growth of the Market

*Chapter Five: Markets for Molecular Blood Screening Diagnostics*

COVID-19 Impact Other Trends Declining Blood Transfusions in Developed Markets Growing Demand in Developing Nations New Infectious Disease Threats and Assay Introductions Nucleic Acid Testing Markets for Blood Screening Size and Growth of the Market

*Chapter Six: Markets for Molecular Histology and Cytology Diagnostics*

In Situ Hybridization (ISH) Histology Automation Prenatal Testing Moving from FISH to NIPT Size and Growth of the Market

*Chapter Seven: Markets for Molecular Cancer Diagnostics*

COVID-19 Impact Other Trends Predictive Biomarker Tests for Identifying Drug-Gene Match Liquid Biopsy Relevant DNA/RNA Variants Lung Cancer Study Provides Justification for MDx Cancer Rates Product Developments Size and Growth of the Market U.S. Reimbursement Structure Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Markets, Europe Reimbursement Structure, Challenges and Recent Activity Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Markets, APAC Japan China Reimbursement Environment in India ASEAN

*Chapter Eight: Markets for Molecular Transplant Diagnostics*

COVID-19 Impact Other Trends Role of NGS Increasing Competitive Situation in Transplantation Diagnostics Immucor Qiagen CareDX ThermoFisher GeneDX Omixon Biofortuna Size and Growth of the Molecular Transplant Diagnostics Market

*Chapter Nine: Markets for Molecular Inherited Diseases Diagnostics*

COVID-19 Impact Trends in the Market Pilot Program Baby Bear in the United States China India Thrombophilia and Coagulation Markers Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Product Developments Promising NIPT Studies Other Tests Autism Seizures Alzheimer's Disease Cardiovascular Disease Psychiatric Disorders Size and Growth of the Market

*Chapter Ten: Company Profiles*

3B BlackBio Biotech India Ltd ARUP Laboratories Abbott Diagnostics Advanced Cell Diagnostics Agena Bioscience Agendia BV Agilent altona Diagnostics GmbH Amoy Diagnostics Amoy Dx Anitoa AnyGenes Applied DNA Sci Applied Spectral Imaging Asuragen BGI BGI Genomics Co. Ltd Beckman Coulter Becton, Dickinson & Co. Berry Genomics Bio-Rad BioCore Co., Ltd. BioGX BioMerieux Biocartis Biomeme Bioneer Bioperfectus Technologies Co. Ltd Bruker CTK Biotech Care DX Cepheid Chroma Code Coyote Bioscience Credo Dx BioMed DNA XPERTS Danaher DiaCarta, Inc. DiaSorin Molecular LLC Diagnostics for the Real World Ltd Dian Biotechnology Co., Ltd EasyDiagnosis Biomedicine Co., Ltd Eiken Chemical Enzo Biochem Eurobio Euroimmun US Inc. Fluidigm GenMark GenScript, Gencurix, Inc. GeneMatrix, Inc. Genesystems (Pall sub) Genetic PCR Signatures Limited Genomictree, Inc., Genotypic Technology Pvt gerbion GmbH & Co. Gnomegen LLC Greiner Bio-One GmbH Grifols Haitai Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd Hologic Illumina Immucor Leica Biosystems Maccura Biotechnology Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd Meridian Biosciences Mesa Biotech Inc. MobiDiag Molbio Dx Myriad Genetics Nanostring Neogenomics NeuromoDX Osang Healthcare Oxford Nanopore Perkin Elmer PlexBio Co., Ltd. PreciGenome LLC Prescient Medicine Primerdesign Ltd. Promega Promis Qiagen QuantuMDx Quidel Rheonix Rheonix, Inc. Roche Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. (RMS) Sansure Biotech, Inc. Seasun Seegene Seegene, Inc. Shahai GeneoDx Biotechnology Co., Ltd SolGent Co., Ltd Thermo Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. Vela Veracyte Veredus Labs Vircell, S.L. Wuxi Shenrui Bio-pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd Zymo Research

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9eza8i

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.comLaura Wood, Senior Press Manager[emailprotected]For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

See original here:
Global Molecular Diagnostics Industry Analysis (2020-2025) and the Impact of COVID-19 - One News Page

After nearly 150 years, we may finally understand how general anesthesia makes us drift into unconsciousness although some of the specifics remain murky.

These drugs dislodge molecules held in the fatty membrane that surrounds brain cells. Once the drugs reach this fatty shell, the freed molecules bounce around like billiard balls within the membrane and alter the function of proteins embedded in its surface, according to a new study in cultured cells and fruit flies.

The new findings could help resolve a mystery that has lingered for decades.

Related: From dino brains to thought control 10 fascinating brain findings

"People have been seriously hammering on this for at least 100 years," said study author Scott Hansen, an associate professor in the departments of molecular medicine and neuroscience at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

But not everyone thinks the new study can reveal why anesthetics put humans "to sleep."

"Let's just say there's a large difference between the fruit fly brain and the human brain," said Dr. Emery Brown, a professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the study.

Since dental surgeon Dr. William Morton first used the chemical ether as an anesthetic in the 1840s, scientists have sought to understand how the drug and other anesthetics interact with the brain. Nineteenth-century scientists suspected that anesthetics somehow disrupted the fatty membrane surrounding cells, including brain cells, as the drugs repel water while readily mixing with oils and fats, he said. Later research, conducted in the 1980s, suggested that anesthetics bind directly to proteins lodged inside the fatty membrane and directly interfere with the activity of said proteins, driving down the overall activity of brain cells, The Scientist reported. But Hansen and his colleagues suspected this wasn't the whole story.

In experiments in cultured cells and fruit flies, the authors found that anesthetics disrupt specific pockets of fat within the cellular membrane; those disruptions then free molecules and trigger chain reactions elsewhere on the cell surface. The authors posit that these molecular changes, among other mechanisms, caused fruit flies to lose consciousness, as evidenced by the insects becoming immobile for several minutes.

However, experts told Live Science that these animal experiments can only tell us so much about how the drugs work in humans.

While the study reconfirms that anesthetics are "dirty drugs," meaning they target multiple cellular systems at once, it cannot say exactly how disruptions to the fatty membrane alter consciousness, or even how those changes alter activity throughout the brain, Brown told Live Science.

The drugs disrupt the membrane, "okay, but now finish the story," he said. "How does that then drive [activity in] certain parts of the brain?" Understanding how anesthetics work could help doctors use the drugs more precisely in the clinic, Brown said.

This understanding might also hint at how the brain naturally shifts in and out of consciousness, as it does during sleep, Hansen added.

"Back in the day," when anesthetics first entered widespread use, scientists theorized that many of the physiological effects of drugs stemmed from changes to the fatty membrane of cells, a gateway that determines when molecules may enter or exit, said Francisco Flores, a research scientist and instructor in the Anesthesia Department at Massachusetts General Hospital who was not involved in the study. As technology progressed, scientists discovered that many drugs interact with specific proteins anchored in the fatty membrane, and subsequently, research efforts focused more on these membrane-bound proteins than the fats surrounding them, known as lipids, he said.

"However, for anesthetics, the lipid hypothesis survived for longer," Flores said. Anesthetics can cross the blood-brain barrier, a border of cells that separates circulating blood from brain tissue and allows only certain molecules to pass through. All anesthetics, as well as other drugs that pass the blood-brain barrier, repel water and readily interact with lipids, "so there's still a chance that they can do something in the membrane," he said.

But nineteenth-century scientists could not observe how anesthetics warped the lipid membrane; the task required superresolution microscopes that had not been invented at the time, Hansen said. Hansen and his co-authors used such a microscope, called dSTORM, to observe how cells reacted when bathed in the anesthetics chloroform and isoflurane.

Related: 10 facts every parent should know about their teen's brain

They found that different types of fats within the cell membrane reacted differently to the drugs.

One pocket of fats, known as GM1, contains high concentrations of cholesterol molecules, tightly packed together and dotted with specific sugar molecules. Upon exposure to anesthetic, the fats within these GM1 clusters spread out, and in doing so, release various proteins that were enmeshed with them. One such protein, called PLD2, escapes to a different bundle of fats and initiates a series of chemical reactions.

Specifically, the reaction opens a tunnel through the cell called a TREK1 ion channel, which allows positively charged particles to exit the cell. In a brain cell, this mass exodus of positive particles makes the cell more negatively charged and could suppress that cell's electrical and chemical activity. That, theoretically, could push the brain into an unconscious state, Hansen said.

But it may not be that straightforward, Brown noted.

To see if their cell experiments carried over to animals, the authors dissected the brains of fruit flies and found that, after exposure to chloroform, fats within the lipid membranes of the flies' brain cells spread out just as had been observed in cell culture. In addition, mutant fruit flies without the ability to make PLD2 became resistant to the chloroform treatment and required a larger dose to become sedated, researchers reported in the study, which was published May 28 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Because the mutant flies were not completely immune to chloroform, the authors concluded that multiple mechanisms likely allow the drug's anesthetic effect to take hold. Disruptions to cells' lipid membrane may contribute to this overall effect, but at this point, their relative influence remains unclear, Brown noted. "Dirty" anesthetics trigger a number of reactions in the brain through different chemical and metabolic pathways, and scientists don't yet know how membrane disruptions affect the overall activity within that circuitry, he said.

These interactions will be difficult to untangle in the somewhat-simple fly brain, and even more challenging to understand in the human brain, Brown said.

That said, Hansen and his co-authors hypothesize that membrane disruptions may play a broader, unsung role in the effects of anesthetics on humans. Theoretically, anesthetics may indirectly affect many proteins by first disrupting the lipid membrane, Hansen said. Many proteins lodged in the lipid membrane have fatty acids stuck to their structures, for instance, and some of these proteins interact with brain chemicals and help drive activity of brain cells. One hypothesis is that if anesthetics target the fatty acids attached to these proteins, the drugs could conceivably alter their function and sedate the brain, Hansen said.

"Again, this is speculative," and would need to be confirmed with future studies, he added. Similar studies should be done with other drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier, not just anesthetics, to determine whether the effect appears unique or common to many classes of drug, Flores said. Hansen said he wants to see whether chemicals with similar effects already exist in the brain, and perhaps help put us to sleep.

While the new study opens many interesting avenues for future research, for now, the results remain fairly preliminary, Brown said.

"Do I do something different in the operating room now that I've read that paper? No," Brown said.

Originally published on Live Science.

Read the original post:
Anesthesia may work by targeting the fat in our brains - Live Science

TSAILE, Ariz. A research paper authored by two Din College science professors about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact upon Native Americans provides clarification of the transmission and virulence of the virus, the professors say.

The paper, The Medical Basis for Increased Susceptibility of COVID-19 among the Navajo and other Indigenous Tribes: A Survey, was written by Dr. Joseph DeSoto and Dr. Shazia Tabassum Hakim.

The paper concludes, in part, that ethnic and anatomic expression patterns of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and associated pathophysiology suggests that Native Americans and Asians may be particularly susceptible to this disease (Covid-19).

It was submitted April 30 and accepted for publication May 29 in the Journal of Biomedical Research and Reviews. DeSoto and Hakim said the document represents the first comprehensive world-wide scientific understanding of the high rate of infectivity among the Navajo and Indigenous tribes of the SAR-CoV-2 from a molecular medical perspective on Covid-19.

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a type of protein found on the surface of a number of cells in the respiratory, digestive, nervous and reproductive systems. The protein, in general, serves as a door where the virus enters the cells, the team explained.

And the key that the virus has is to open the door is a spike with the protein S, Hakim stated. When this right key S is inserted into the door lock (ACE-2), the magic happens and the virus enters the host cell, hijacks the host cells DNA machinery and starts producing its own proteins, multiplies, increases in number and infects more cells of the host body.

There are four things that aggravate COVID-19 as it pertains to the Navajo Nation, De Soto said. Medically, its the high rate of diabetes, hypertension, genetics and poor protein diets among the Navajo; poor health care infrastructure and technology; poverty, with the associated lack of water access; and dense multi-generational living arrangements.

The two professors work in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) division of the Din College. They said in December they had started talking amongst themselves about the causes of COVID-19, and then started reviewing the literature.

Late in December 2019, we read every single thing that was published out there in the scientific community, DeSoto said. We discussed it and evaluated it long before the virus came over here. Then based on the best medical evidence, we realized that this might soon be a problem. So, we started discussing, evaluating and analyzing and then we wrote and completed the paper.

Two more papers are being published within weeks in major peer reviewed Medical and Scientific Journals by De Soto and Hakim, The Medical Treatment for COVID-19, and with Dr. Fred Boyd, of Din College, a well-known molecular physiologist, The Pathophysiology of COVID-19, both of which have already received international attention via preprints.

The Navajo Nation has the highest COVID-19 rate in the United States which is 450% higher than the national average.

DeSoto, who was senior author and is a medical school graduate of Howard University. His specialty is molecular medicine and pharmacogenetics. Hakim has a background in microbiology and infectious diseases. She is a graduate of the University of Karachi in Pakistan.

Hakim said she and DeSoto are working on another manuscript related to the eating habits, food scarcity and the unavailability of the varieties of fruits and vegetables in Navajo communities.

The Journal of Biomedical Research and Review is an international, peer reviewed, open access, scientific and scholarly journal which publishes research papers, review papers, mini reviews, case reports, case studies, short communications, letters, editorials, books, theses and dissertations from various aspects of medicine, engineering, science and technology to improve and support health care.

Information provided by Din College

More:
Din College researchers believe more reasons behind high Covid-19 Cases on Navajo - Navajo-Hopi Observer

Lab tests and clinical pilot study

In test tubes and 3D-human miniature livers, the researchers showed that the drug inhibited signaling of cytokines, immune system-proteins known to overreact and drive inflammation in severe cases of COVID-19 infection. It also helped reduce the viral load of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and the level of the signal molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6), a predictor of mortality from acute respiratory distress syndrome associated with COVID-19.

In addition to the lab tests, a small pilot study of three men and one woman with bilateral COVID-19 pneumonia was conducted in Milan, Italy. After 10-12 days of treatment with baricitinib, all four patients showed improvements in signs and symptoms such as cough, fever and reductions in viral load and plasma IL-6 levels.

Collectively, these data suggest that baricitinib may lower inflammation and viral load in COVID-19, says Ali Mirazimi, adjunct professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, who led the functional virus studies.

Additional trials of baricitinib are currently underway in 85 hospitalized COVID-19 patients across three hospitals in Northern and Central Italy, with encouraging initial results in patient outcomes, according to the researchers.

We are integrating and carefully analyzing these trial data and providing functional and mechanistic follow-up studies to scrutinize baricitinibs mode of action, says Volker Lauschke, associate professor of personalized medicine and drug development at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, who led the functional testing of baricitinib.

The study was funded by Eli Lilly and Company and the Sacco Baricitinib Study Group. Several of the authors reported potential conflicts of interests, including employment and shareholdings in Eli Lilly and Company, which owns the trademark for the baricitinib drug Olumiant. For a full list of disclosures, please see the full article.

Reference:Stebbing, et al. (2020) Mechanism of Baricitinib Supports Artificial Intelligence-Predicted Testing in COVID-19 Patients. EMBO Molecular MedicineDOI:10.15252/emmm.202012697

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

Original post:
Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Could Be Repurposed To Treat COVID-19 Patients - Technology Networks

NEW YORK While some potential vaccines have emerged in the global race to find a way to stop the spread of COVID-19, many scientists and researchers believe antibody based therapies hold great promise for treating people already infected with the disease.

HOW DO ANTIBODY THERAPIES WORK?

These therapies use antibodies generated by infected humans or animals to fight off the disease in patients. They date back to the late 19th century, when researchers used a serum derived from the blood of infected animals to treat diphtheria.

For COVID-19 treatment, researchers are studying the use of convalescent plasma and other treatments made with blood from recently recovered patients.

More recently, scientists have developed treatments called monoclonal antibodies -- antibodies that can be isolated and manufactured in large quantities to treat diseases like Ebola or cancer. Companies, like Eli Lilly and Co and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in the United States, are trying to use this approach to develop their treatments.

Unlike convalescent plasma, manufacturers do not need a steady supply of antibody-rich blood to produce monoclonal antibodies, so this approach could be easier to scale up.

HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM VACCINES?

In general, the goal of a vaccine is to generate an immune response that can prevent someone from getting ill with a disease, whereas antibody-derived products are generally designed to treat disease.

And while some drugmakers have suggested antibody treatments can be used prophylactically - Regeneron's Chief Scientific Officer George Yancopoulos has said their treatment could be a bridge to a vaccine - it could be expensive.

"You might go into nursing homes or the military and use it because antibodies have a pretty long half life," said Dr. Betty Diamond, Director of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.

"You might decide that you are going to use this as a prevention in this very high risk group, but you wouldn't do that for the whole country."

The amount of protein in antibody drugs makes the treatment more expensive than vaccines in general, Feng Hui, chief operating officer at Shanghai Junshi Biosciences, said.

Designing antibody drugs to treat or protect high risk people, including those with weak immune systems, could require hundreds, or even over a thousand times more protein than found in a vaccine shot, according to Junshi.

WHO IS DEVELOPING ANTIBODY THERAPIES FOR COVID-19?

Eli Lilly is collaborating with Junshi and Canadian biotech firm AbCellera Biologics to develop different antibody treatments, both of which have started early stage testing in humans.

Regeneron plans to start clinical studies later this month to test its antibody cocktail treatment, which was derived from antibodies from genetically-modified mice. It aims to have hundreds of thousands of preventative doses available "by the end of the summer or the fall."

The CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance, which includes Japan's Takeda Pharmaceuticals and CSL Behring, is working on hyperimmune globulin therapy derived from convalescent plasma, which could offer a standardized dose of antibodies and doesn't need to be limited to patients with matching blood types.

The Antibody Therapy Against Coronavirus (ATAC) project, funded by the European Commission and led by Sweden's Karolinska research institute, is looking at a similar approach as well as monoclonal antibodies. Under the project, monoclonal antibodies extracted from convalescent plasma are now being tested on human volunteers in Germany and on animals in Switzerland.

Britain's GlaxoSmithKline is working with Vir Biotechnology Inc to develop potential antibody treatments which select the best antibodies out of the plasma.

AbbVie has also announced a collaboration to develop antibody therapies.

Singapore's state research body A*Star is working with Japan's Chugai Pharmabody Research on an antibody for clinical use.

(Reporting by Michael Erman; Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels, Roxanne Liu in Beijing and John Geddie in Singapore; Editing by Miyoung Kim & Simon Cameron-Moore)

See original here:
Explainer: What Are Antibody Therapies and Who Is Developing Them for COVID-19? - The New York Times

The paper also suggests the likeliness of the gut microbiota being disrupted in severe COVID-19 patients, which may affect disease outcomes, including predisposition to secondary bacterial infections of the lung.

Jose Bengoechea, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Director of Wellcome Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen's University, explains: "The lack of therapies to treat severe COVID-19 patients led clinicians to use a number of treatments to modify the activity of their immune system.

"However, it is important to note that these interventions may also increase the risk of potentially fatal secondary bacterial respiratory infections.

"Therefore, careful consideration should be given whether any potential new therapy may affect the patients' defences against bacterial infections. We believe that there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutics to treat COVID-19 targeting the virus/bacteria co-infection scenario."

The research also raises concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally.

See more here:
COVID-19: Researchers warn of sharp rise in antimicrobial resistance - National Herald

Estonian scientists are developing a DNA-based method of analysis that enables them to identify food components and specify the origin of a foodstuff.

Bioinformatics specialists at the University of Tartu, in cooperation with the Competence Centre on Health Technologies, have published a research paper in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science in which they indicated the possibility to identify components in thermally processed food using DNA analysis even if the quantities were very small. The scientists analysed thermally processed cookies that contained a small amount of lupin flour. The DNA analysis provided reliable identification of lupin even when the lupin flour content in the dough was just 0.02%.

Food always contains the DNA traces of the plants, animals and microorganisms that have been used or that the food or its raw materials have come into contact with in the production process. DNA analysis can provide valuable information on the content, origin, safety and health benefits of food and will make the identification of counterfeit foods and non-compliances in the ingredients specified on the packaging more reliable in the future. For example, certain cases gained attention last year in which the origin of honey and the authenticity of Estonian honey needed verification. The novel DNA analysis would make it possible to solve such issues.

According to Kairi Raime, the lead author of the article, Research Fellow of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and a doctoral student at the University of Tartu, their method is a major step forward in the development of DNA-based methods for food analysis. Our method helps to identify the actual biological contents and origins of food via DNA information and thus ensures the safety and authenticity of the food, she explained. Raime is planning to defend her PhD dissertation on the topic.

The DNA may be significantly degraded in processed food. Scientists extracted DNA from the cookies and analysed it using DNA sequencing technology. For the analysis of a single biscuit, approximately 20 million DNA sequences were obtained. Based on these, and by using bioinformatic analysis, it was possible to specify the DNA of the species found in the sample analysed. The main issue was the preparation of the DNA for sequencing, as the DNA is often degraded in food and even minute amounts of DNA molecules must be identified.

Kaarel Krjutkov, Head of the Precision Medicine Laboratory of the Competence Centre on Health Technologies and Senior Research Fellow of Molecular Medicine at the University of Tartu, whose laboratory was used to prepare the sequencing of the DNA extracted from the biscuits, noted that faking the DNA fingerprint of a food is complicated and expensive, and it is therefore cheaper to offer authentic food. People can see that in medicine, precise DNA analysis is already a reality, but in food industry and in the field of food safety, the golden age of DNA-based analysis is yet to come, Krjutkov remarked.

The research used a method based on short, unique DNA sequences (k-mers) for analysing genomic DNA data, which enables the scientists to quickly identify plant or bacterial DNA present in a food or an environmental sample. The Chair of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Tartu has been developing competence in the bioinformatics of k-mers and DNA analysis over the last five years. The software developed in the Chair of Bioinformatics has been used both in medicine and for providing food safety.

The article authors earlier cooperation resulted in the NIPTIFY foetal chromosomal disorder test, which helps to detect, with almost 100% accuracy, the DNA sequences causing foetal Down syndrome in the mothers blood sample as early as the tenth week of pregnancy. The genome analysis method developed in the Chair of Bioinformatics is used to identify pathogenic bacteria, specify their disease-causing capabilities and predict antibiotic resistance. This enabled Maido Remm, Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Tartu, and his working group to advise the management board of a production company contaminated with a dangerous strain and to help determine the spread of type ST1247 in the company during the listeria outbreak in autumn 2019.

According to Remm, the research article proves that DNA sequencing can also be used for identifying allergenic ingredients in processed food. DNA sequencing is a promising diagnostic method which makes it possible to quickly obtain precise information about food and the microbes around us, he said. The use of sequencing and k-mers makes it possible in a very short time to implement a diverse range of diagnostic tests that meet the needs of researchers and companies.

Read this article:
Novel DNA analysis will help to identify food origin and counterfeit food in the future - Baltic Times

Arsenicum album 30C (Aa30C) is a homeopathic drug that Indias Ministry of AYUSH prescribed through an advisory on March 6, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In section i. Preventive and prophylactic and sub-section Homoeopathy, the ministry advised the recommended dose thus: Arsenicum album 30, daily once in empty stomach for three days.

To make the drug, a mother tincture of the medicine is first made by dissolving by arsenic trioxide in a mixture of glycerine, alcohol and water or sometimes by heating arsenic with water. One millilitre of this tincture is diluted with 99 ml of water plus ethyl alcohol, and given a few machine-operated, moderate, equal and successive jerks, called succussions. This leads to a 100-fold dilution. The process is repeated 30-times to produce the final product, of 30C potency. A few drops of this, loaded on sugar pills, is administered to an individual. Apparently, each dilution plus succussion step makes the formulation more potent, and the process is called potentisation.

Starting with a mother tincture that has 200 grams of arsenic trioxide in 1 litre of liquid, the 30C potency medicine has one molecule of the active material present in a volume equivalent to that of 1 million Suns. In terms of the active material, an individual is consuming zero molecules.

However, this should not surprise us. Homeopathy was first proposed in Germany by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) as an alternate medicinal strategy, more than 200 years ago. This was a time when the chemistry to show the above effect was not known (now it is in school textbooks). This was also an era where orthodox medicine was crude, often involving blood-letting. Compared to this, homeopathy seemed safe and humane. But today, when science has since made numerous strides, it is problematic that homeopathic principles still evade the rigours of scientific questioning.

From nothingness to water memory

Homeopathy takes recourse in the notion that water, when it comes in contact with the active material, develops molecular memory. In the absence of this active material in the final formulation, it is this memory-laden water that triggers an immune response in the human body. Note that the active material arsenic, in this case is chosen based on the homeopathic law of similars, i.e. a substance that induces the symptoms of a disease.

Unfortunately, there is no evidence of water having any kind of memory. Even the journal Nature was touched by this controversy. It should also strike us that if water remembered what it touched, it would have lots of memories of anything it touched.

Any scientific response to such lack of evidence should be rigorous experimentation to demonstrate effects, or the lack of it. However, the actual response to any critique of homeopathy has often been that science does not know everything yet.

The quest to explain how homeopathy works has also led to hypotheses that suggest the active material somehow survives in even the most dilute homeopathic medicines. Here, the original active material finds its way into the final drug via interaction of the drug and bubbles formed during succussions. However, the methods used in the study are not standard for potentisation. The physics of bubbles catching the active material is unclear, and control experiments like checking for contaminants were not performed.

More importantly, even if traces of active material are present, how do they trigger physiology to act against an external agent (like the novel coronavirus)? We dont know. For a chemical to be accepted as a drug, it takes years of experimentation, involving laboratory experiments, animal trials and human trials over multiple phases. But proponents of homeopathy have claimed that it cannot be subjected to such trials because it provides highly individualised doses. However, the mass distribution of Aa30C is anything but individualised.

Most popular narratives on homeopathy consist of anecdotes and scientific-sounding terms like vital force or biphasic actions. Hahnemann himself explained that homeopathy worked through a dematerialised spiritual force.

We also hear things like a thousand people were given this medicine and then 95% did not get the disease, so it works. This is not what a trial is and these experiments are worthless unless compared with 1,000 people who are given placebos (i.e. blank doses).

The fact that homeopathy thrives is not proof of its efficacy just like the existence of tarot readers and astrologers does not prove that these practices have any scientific basis.

Homeopathy puts on an aura of respectability thanks to scientific journals from major publishers that cater to it.

Many reputed institutions have looked at the available literature and their conclusions are unequivocal. The US National Institutes of Health say, Theres little evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment for any specific health condition. The UKs National Health Services (NHS) state, Theres been extensive investigation of the effectiveness of homeopathy. Theres no good-quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment for any health condition.

A report prepared by a committee appointed by the UK parliament in 2010 called the British governments position on homeopathy confused and recommended that the government stop funding homeopathy on the NHS. The report argued that homeopathy undermines the relationship between NHS doctors and their patients, reduces real patient choice and puts patients health at risk. Since 2017, the NHS has severely restricted access to homeopathy.

After an extensive literature survey, Australias National Health and Medical Research Council concluded in 2015 that there was no reliable evidence from research in humans that homeopathy was effective for treating the range of health conditions considered: no good-quality, well-designed studies with enough participants for a meaningful result reported either that homeopathy caused greater health improvements than placebo, or caused health improvements equal to those of another treatment.

Also read: Will COVID-19 Change AYUSH Research in India for the Better?

A false shield

A much-quoted statement by the WHO sometimes distorted during the Ebola outbreak in 2014 said, In the particular context of the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, it is ethically acceptable to offer unproven interventions that have shown promising results in the laboratory and in animal models but have not yet been evaluated for safety and efficacy in humans as potential treatment or prevention (emphasis added). However, the words in bold are often omitted in public statements, such as in the AYUSH ministry advisory.

All the hype and publicity surrounding Aa30C have set the stage for people to desperately chase what they think is a wonder drug. Clarifications of the type issued by the AYUSH ministry, stating that their recommendation is only in the general context or that it is only for add-on preventive care, is like water off a ducks back. Panic-buying of Aa30C has already been reported. News of random, untracked distributions by various agencies and buyers flocking to pharmacies to buy the concoction at inflated prices continue to pour in.

The problem is significant because people are likely to believe that by imbibing this medicine, they have just acquired a shield against the COVID-19. A corporator in Mumbai mentioned that some people, when questioned about their being out during a lockdown, said that they had taken Arsenicum album. They believed that they would now be immune to the disease.

Anurag Mehra, Supreet Saini and Mahesh Tirumkudulu teach in IIT Bombay.

Read more:
A Homeopathic Defence Against COVID-19 Is No Defence at All - The Wire