All posts tagged: drug development

FDA-approved cancer drug may treat drug-resistant herpes

FDA-approved cancer drug may treat drug-resistant herpes

Published by Jenni Sidey

A drug long used to fight cancer may soon take on a very different role. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have found that doxorubicin, an FDA-approved chemotherapy medicine, can block drug-resistant herpes infections in early studies. The discovery offers hope for patients who face limited treatment options when standard antivirals stop working. The research centers on herpes simplex virus type 1, known as HSV-1. This virus infects billions of people worldwide and stays in the body for life. For many, it causes cold sores. For others, especially those with weakened immune systems, it can lead to serious complications, including brain inflammation and organ failure. “This opens up an unexpected, potentially fast-moving path toward treating drug-resistant herpes infections,” said Deepak Shukla, a virologist in the College of Medicine at UIC. “HSV-1 infections have serious, sometimes life-threatening consequences, and this drug may help save lives.” A Growing Problem With Few Solutions HSV-1 has challenged doctors for decades. Standard antiviral drugs such as acyclovir can control outbreaks by stopping the virus from copying itself. These medicines …

A lesser-known brain peptide may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

A lesser-known brain peptide may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

Published by Jenni Sidey

For over thirty years, researchers have primarily studied the accumulation of amyloid beta proteins in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. They also focus on how that component negatively impacts neurons. Recently, however, many researchers have become increasingly aware of the possibility that another peptide has also been overlooked as a player in this progression of neurodegeneration. Neurodegeneration is the term used to describe the effects of Alzheimer’s. This smaller peptide is derived from the same precursor as amyloid beta (Aβ). However, it is much less well known. The hypotheses being tested, as presented in a commentary published in ChemBioChem, suggest that the peptide, which is termed P3, is not simply an innocent bystander in relation to the Aβ peptide. There is still much research to be conducted on how these peptides may affect the same pathways. These pathways can lead to neurodegeneration. An experimental fibril structure of Aβ40 (PDB: 2M4J), with the segment corresponding to P3/Aα highlighted. Coulombic charges associated with peptide sidechains are indicated. They are located predominantly in the segment 1–16 of Aβ …

AI breakthrough could dramatically lower the cost of drug development

AI breakthrough could dramatically lower the cost of drug development

Published by Jenni Sidey

Three-letter DNA “words” can decide whether a yeast cell cranks out a medicine efficiently or sputters along. The words are called codons, and they are the genetic code’s way of spelling out amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. For drugmakers, those tiny choices add up. Industrial yeasts already manufacture vaccines and other protein-based drugs, but getting a new protein production process working well can take a lot of trial and error. Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemical engineers now report a different approach: let a language model learn the yeast’s codon habits, then ask it to write a gene that the yeast can translate more smoothly. The team focused on Komagataella phaffii, a yeast widely used for making recombinant proteins. J. Christopher Love, the Raymond A. and Helen E. St. Laurent Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, led the work with former MIT postdoc Harini Narayanan as lead author. Their study appeared this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team focused on Komagataella phaffii, a yeast widely used for making …

MIT scientists create pill capsule sensor to help doctors track missed doses

MIT scientists create pill capsule sensor to help doctors track missed doses

Published by Jenni Sidey

Missing a dose can feel small in the moment. But in transplant care, HIV, tuberculosis, and many heart conditions, a skipped pill can carry a heavy price. That gap between what a doctor prescribes and what a patient actually takes has long frustrated clinicians and families. Now MIT engineers say they have built a pill that can confirm, within minutes, that it was swallowed, then largely dissolves in the stomach. The new system is designed to fit inside existing pill capsules. It relies on radio frequency, a signal type that can be detected from outside the body and is considered safe for humans. The capsule stays quiet before you swallow it. After ingestion, it sends a confirmation signal. Most of its parts then break down in the stomach, while a tiny radio frequency chip passes through the digestive tract and exits the body. “The goal is to make sure that this helps people receive the therapy they need to help maximize their health,” said Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, a …

Scientists map a road to fairer, more inclusive drug development

Scientists map a road to fairer, more inclusive drug development

Published by Jenni Sidey

A new analysis of drug trials used to approve medicines in the United States shows how far modern medicine still has to go to serve everyone fairly. Only 6% of the clinical trials that backed new drugs between 2017 and 2023 had participants whose racial and ethnic makeup looked like the country’s own. At the same time that precision medicine promises care tailored to your genes, the science behind many new drugs still leans on a narrow slice of humanity. The work, led by researchers at UC Riverside and UC Irvine, lands at a tense moment. Hospitals and scientists talk often about equity and inclusion. Yet the data in this study tell you that many people, especially Black and Hispanic patients, still stand at the edge of the evidence. A Snapshot of Who Gets Studied The team examined 341 “pivotal” trials, the large late stage studies that companies submit to the Food and Drug Administration to win approval for new drugs. They focused on four major groups in the United States: Black, Hispanic, Asian and …

Tiny human heart organoids open the door to safer, faster drug discovery

Tiny human heart organoids open the door to safer, faster drug discovery

Published by Jenni Sidey

Millions of people live with atrial fibrillation, a racing, uneven heartbeat that can leave you exhausted and scared. Yet it has been at least 30 years since a new drug for this common rhythm problem reached patients. One major reason is simple and frustrating. Scientists have not had a realistic human heart model to test ideas and medicines. That gap may finally be closing. Researchers at Michigan State University have built tiny, beating human heart organoids that can be pushed into an atrial fibrillation state and then brought back toward a normal rhythm with drugs. For the first time, you can watch something that looks and behaves like human heart tissue slip into arrhythmia in a dish. Building a Miniature Human Heart The work started in 2020, when MSU scientist Aitor Aguirre and his team began growing three dimensional heart organoids from donated human stem cells. These stem cells can turn into many different cell types. With the right signals, they self organize into small, lentil sized structures that pulse on their own. Autologous hPSC-derived …

Brain training game shows early promise for treating chronic pain without drugs

Brain training game shows early promise for treating chronic pain without drugs

Published by Jenni Sidey

Researchers at the University of New South Wales Sydney are testing a new way to treat chronic nerve pain by training the brain itself. The approach relies on an interactive game that teaches people to adjust abnormal brain activity linked to persistent pain, without drugs or invasive procedures. The technology, called PainWaive, was developed by neuroscientists at UNSW Sydney’s NeuroRecovery Research Hub in collaboration with Neuroscience Research Australia. The work is led by Professor Sylvia Gustin and Dr. Negin Hesam-Shariati. Early trial results were recently published in the Journal of Pain. The research targets neuropathic pain, a form of nerve pain that often resists standard treatments. One example is corneal neuropathic pain, a condition that can develop after eye surgery, chronic dry eye disease, autoimmune disorders, or exposure to harsh light. The pain often feels like burning or stinging and may disrupt sleep, mood, work, and daily activities. Traditional medications and eye treatments rarely provide lasting relief. Prof. Sylvia Gustin holds the PainWaive headset. (CREDIT: Elva Darnell) Instead of trying to block pain signals with …