lungs Archives - Amazing Health Advances

UCLA-Led Study Unveils New Insights and Potential Treatments for Pulmonary Hypertension

The AHA! Team — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 17:48:21 +0000

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences via Newswise – A new study from researchers with UCLA Health and collaborating organizations has found that asporin, a protein encoded by the ASPN gene, plays a protective role in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Their findings, which were published on August 21 in the peer-reviewed journal Circulation, offer new insights into this incurable, often-fatal disease and suggest potential new ways to treat it. “We were surprised to find that asporin, which previously had not been linked to PAH, gets upregulated to increased levels as a response to counteract this disease process,” said Dr. Jason Hong, a pulmonary and critical care physician at UCLA Health and the study’s corresponding author. “This novel finding opens up new avenues for understanding PAH pathobiology and developing potential therapies.” Pulmonary hypertension is a serious medical condition characterized by high blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs. It causes these arteries to narrow or become blocked, which, in turn, slows blood flow to the heart, requiring it to work harder to pump blood through the lungs. Eventually, the heart muscle becomes weak and begins to fail. Need for New Therapies According to recent estimates, PAH affects about 1% of the global population, but that number climbs to 10% in people who are 65 or older. There’s no cure for the disease, but medications and lifestyle changes can help slow progression, manage symptoms and prolong life. The urgent need for new therapies, combined with the potential of multiomics – an integrated approach to drive discovery across multiple levels of biology – inspired Hong and research colleagues, including co-first author Lejla Medzikovic and senior author Mansoureh Eghbali to take a deep dive into the disease. Both work at UCLA’s Eghbali Laboratory. Methodology For the study, the researchers applied novel computational methods, including transcriptomic profiling and deep phenotyping, to lung samples of 96 PAH patients and 52 control subjects without the condition from the largest multicenter PAH lung biobank available to-date. They integrated this data with clinical information, genome-wide association studies, graphic models of probabilities and multiomics analysis. “”Our detailed analysis found higher levels of asporin in the lungs and plasma of PAH patients, which were linked to less severe disease,” Hong said. Additionally, Medzikovic noted that their cell and living-organism experiments found that asporin inhibited pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and a key signaling pathway that occurs with PAH. “We also demonstrated that recombinant asporin treatment reduced PAH severity in preclinical models,” said Medzikovic. Next Steps Hong and colleagues plan to further investigate the mechanisms by which asporin exerts its protective effects in PAH and explore potential therapeutic applications, focusing on how to translate their findings into clinical trials. “Asporin represents a promising new target for therapeutic intervention in pulmonary arterial hypertension,” he explained. “Enhancing asporin levels in PAH patients could potentially lead to improved clinical outcomes and reduced disease progression.” Authors: Jason Hong, MD, PhD,* Lejla Medzikovic, PhD*, Wasila Sun, BS‡, Brenda Wong, BA‡, Gregoire Ruffenach, PhD, Christopher J. Rhodes, PhD, Adam Brownstein, MD, Lloyd L. Liang, MS, Laila Aryan, PhD, Min Li, PhD, Arjun Vadgama, Zeyneb Kurt, PhD, Tae-Hwi Schwantes- An, PhD, Elizabeth A. Mickler, MS, Stefan Graf, PhD, Melanie Eyries, PhD, Katie A. Lutz, BS, Michael W. Pauciulo, MBA, Richard C. Trembath, MD, Frederic Perros, PhD, David Montani, MD, PhD, Nicholas W. Morrell, MD, Florent Soubrier, MD, PhD, Martin R. Wilkins, MD, William C. Nichols, PhD, Micheala A. Aldred, PhD, Ankit A. Desai, MD, David-Alexandre Tregouet, PhD, Soban Umar, MD, PhD, Rajan Saggar, MD, Richard Channick, MD, Rubin M. Tuder, MD, Mark W. Geraci, MD, Robert S. Stearman, PhD†, Xia Yang, PhD†, and senior author, Mansoureh Eghbali, PhD†. Legend: *Joint first authors; ‡ Joint second authors; †Joint last authors Funding: This work was supported by American Heart Association grant 23POST1022457 (L.M.), American Thoracic Society Early Career Investigator Award in Pulmonary Vascular Disease (J.H.), and U.S. NIH grants K08HL169982 (J.H.), R01HL147586 (M.E.), R01HL162124 (M.E.), R01HL159865 (M.E.), R01HL147883 (X.Y.), R24HL105333 (W.N. and M.P.), R01HL160941 (W.N., A.D., and M.P.), British Heart Foundation Senior Basic Science Fellowship FS/SBSRF/21/31025 (C.R.), and funding for the PHBI is provided by NHLBI R24HL123767 and by the Cardiovascular Medical Research and Education Fund (MAA). Disclosures: Drs. Medzikovic, Hong, and Eghbali are coinventors of US provisional patent application No. 63/544,027, “Asporin in Pulmonary Hypertension.” To read the original article click here.

The post UCLA-Led Study Unveils New Insights and Potential Treatments for Pulmonary Hypertension appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Healthy Omega-3 Fats May Slow Deadly Pulmonary Fibrosis, Research Suggests

The AHA! Team — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 03:47:30 +0000

University of Virginia Health System via EurekAlert! – Cheap, available drug could help reduce impact of snakebites worldwide Could healthy fats found in nuts and fish slow the progression of potentially deadly lung scarring known as pulmonary fibrosis and delay the need for lung transplants? UVA pulmonary researchers looked at the association between blood-plasma levels of omega-3 fatty acids – the heart-healthy fats found in foods such as salmon and flaxseeds – and the progression of pulmonary fibrosis, as well as how long patients could go without needing a transplant. The researchers found that higher levels of omega-3 were associated with better lung function and longer transplant-free survival. While more research is needed, the researchers say their findings warrant clinical trials to determine if interventions that raise omega-3 levels could be a useful tool to improve outcomes for patients with pulmonary fibrosis and other chronic lung diseases. “We found that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood, which reflects several weeks of dietary intake, were linked to better lung function and longer survival,” said researcher John Kim, MD, a pulmonary and critical care expert at UVA Health and the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “Our findings suggest omega-3 fatty acids might be a targetable risk factor in pulmonary fibrosis.” Omega-3 and Pulmonary Fibrosis Omega-3 fatty acids have already been linked to a host of health benefits. Studies have suggested, for example, that they may lower the risk of heart disease, stroke-causing blood clots, breast cancer and other cancers, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Kim and his colleagues wanted to determine if omega-3s could play a protective role in interstitial lung disease, a group of chronic lung diseases that can lead to pulmonary fibrosis. A growing problem around the world, pulmonary fibrosis is an irreversible condition that leaves the lungs unable to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide properly. This can cause patients to become short of breath, weak, unable to exercise and a host of other symptoms. Smoking is a major risk factor. The researchers looked at anonymized data on patients with interstitial lung disease collected in the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Registry, as well as information volunteered by patients at UVA Health and the University of Chicago. In total, the scientists reviewed information on more than 300 people with interstitial lung disease. Most were men (pulmonary fibrosis is more common in men than women), and most suffered from “idiopathic” pulmonary fibrosis, one of the conditions that fall under the banner of interstitial lung disease. The researchers found that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood plasma were associated with better ability to exchange carbon dioxide and longer survival without the need for a lung transplant. This did not vary much regardless of smoking history or whether the patients had cardiovascular disease. “Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids were predictive of better clinical outcomes in pulmonary fibrosis,” Kim said. “These findings were consistent whether you had a history of cardiovascular disease, which suggests this may be specific to pulmonary fibrosis.” The doctors say additional research is needed to understand just how omega-3s could be having this protective benefit. They are calling for clinical trials and more mechanistic studies to obtain additional insights and determine if omega-3 fatty acid drugs or dietary changes could improve patient outcomes. “We need further research to determine if there are specific omega-3 fatty acids that may be beneficial and, if so, what are their underlying mechanisms,” Kim said. “Similar to other chronic diseases, we hope to determine whether nutrition related interventions can have a positive impact on pulmonary fibrosis.” Findings Published The researchers have published their findings in the scientific journal Chest. The research team consisted of Kim, Shwu-Fan Ma, Jennie Z. Ma, Yong Huang, Catherine A. Bonham, Justin M. Oldham, Ayodeji Adegunsoye, Mary E. Strek, Kevin R. Flaherty, Emma Strickland, Inemesit Udofia, Joshua J. Mooney, Shrestha Ghosh, Krishnarao Maddipati and Imre Noth. Noth has received personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech and Confo unrelated to the work. He is also seeking to patent transcriptomic prognostics in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. A full list of the authors’ disclosures is included in the paper. Kim’s work was supported by a Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Scholars Award and grant K23-HL-150301 from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The research was also supported in part by the National Center for Research Resources, grant S10RR027926. To keep up with the latest medical research news from UVA, subscribe to the Making of Medicine blog at http://makingofmedicine.virginia.edu. Journal CHEST Journal DOI 10.1016/j.chest.2023.09.035 To read the original article click here.

The post Healthy Omega-3 Fats May Slow Deadly Pulmonary Fibrosis, Research Suggests appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

The Surprising Benefits of Swimming in Cold Water (+ How to Stay Safe)

AHA Publisher — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 07:00:12 +0000

Jillian Levy, CHHC via Dr. Axe – People living in cooler locations such as Russia, Finland and England have been practicing cold water swimming for hundreds of years. Since the 1800s swimming in cold water has even grown in popularity as a competitive sport and hobby, done without wet suits in the form of quick “polar plunges” and ice water races. There’s even a mile-long swim challenge in freezing water, called Ice Zero, that’s held in places such as Antarctica, Russia and Northern Europe, which to date only 11 brave people have ever completed. You may already know that swimming is linked with benefits including improved endurance and breath control, but what about water temperature? Is it better to swim in cold or warm water? While a heated pool might feel cozier to lounge in, swimming in cold water is associated with some unique health perks — such as a boost in your metabolism and immune function. It’s also described as a “thrill” that can quickly lift your mood and energy if you’re willing to deal with the feeling of shock that can come along entering into ice cold water. Benefits What happens when you swim in freezing water? Are the benefits akin to taking a cold shower? As a form of aerobic exercise, swim workouts in general offer benefits for your heart, lungs, immune system and more. Swimming is considered one of the most ideal forms of exercise for people with injuries and who are older, since it’s not a weight-bearing activity. When you add cold water to the swimming equation you also experience a boost in cellular health and even your metabolism. Cold water winter swimming is overall thought to be more difficult than regular temperature swimming and has the added potential to increase body tolerance to stressors. Here’s more about what cold exposure does to your body and some of the potential benefits of swimming in cold water: 1. Gives Your Metabolism a Boost Exposure to cold water reduces your deep body temperature. This acts as a stimulus for your metabolism and serves as an adaptive process. When your temperature drops, your body reacts by shivering to generate more heat, via involuntary contraction of muscles. Your heart also pumps blood faster to boost your circulation, and in general your body works harder on a cellular level to maintain homeostasis and prevent hypothermia. All of this uses energy in the process. As such, it can actually increase your metabolic rate (although it’s likely not enough to cause weight or fat loss on its own). 2. Releases Endorphins Even though it can be nerve-racking to enter into freezing water, most find that it’s an instant mood-booster once they work up the courage to do it. Not only is swimming in cold water a form of aerobic exercise that can help fight stress, anxiety and depression, but it also releases endorphins (“feel good hormones”) because it’s a form of pain. As the International Ice Swimming Association explains, “Cold water swimming brings us close to the pain barrier.” Our bodies produce endorphins when we face pain as a way of helping us cope and respond. Many cold water swimmers find that after exiting the water they feel calmer and more positive. Some also feel that it helps manage chronic pain, such as nerve damage, neck pain and shoulder pain that may be tied to inflammation. Additionally, cold exposure is linked to reduce fatigue and enhanced recovery from exercise (a type of positive “stressor”). Another potential perk of swimming in freezing water is the social aspect if you choose to do it with a team or group of friends. For example, it’s becoming more popular in communities where the temperature is cold to host “polar plunges” in the winter time, such as for charities and other causes. 3. Promotes a Strong Immune System Cold water causes an increase in the amount of white blood cells produced by the immune system. It does this to help defend against potential threats, and in the process it can enhance protection against getting sick. Freezing water swimming also seems to have anti-inflammatory effects. That can help explain its supposed pain-killing effects. 4. Supports Cardiovascular Health Swimming offers many benefits for the whole cardiovascular system, including the heart itself, the veins, arteries and capillaries. When swimming in cold water, blood moves to the surface of your skin and to your extremities to help keep you warm. In the process you experience improved circulation and support for healthy blood pressure. 5. May Aid Hormone Production Some research suggests that another benefit of swimming in cold water is support for hormone balance and production, including a boost in estrogenand testosterone production, which contributes to fertility and a healthy libido. Higher production of these reproductive hormones is also linked with other positive effects, such as an easier time building muscle, more confidence and self-esteem, enhanced mood, and more energy. Risks and Side Effects What water temperature is too cold to swim in? You want to avoid swimming in freezing water that is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (or 10 degrees Celsius). Lower temperatures can cause complications including numbness, pain and feelings of shock. Can you get hypothermia from swimming in cold water? Your extremities, such as the hands and feet, are most susceptible to developing hypothermia when you’re swimming in freezing water, so monitor how they look and feel. People who are inexperienced at swimming in cold temps, as well as older adults, are most likely to experience hypothermia and other side effects. That’s because repeated exposure to very cold water helps us adapt to the cold over time, so people who practice cold water swimming can become more resistant to hypothermia. The body goes through a metabolic adaptive response (hypothermic-insulatative adaptation) that helps increase internal heat production more easily once someone is accustomed to the cold. For most people signs of hypothermia usually set in after 15 to 30 minutes in freezing water. Look out for these signs and other side effects due to cold exposure, including: pain numbness purple/redness of the skin mental confusion slurred speech poor movement coordination Swimmers in this state should remove themselves from cold water immediately, take off wet clothes and be wrapped in dry, warm clothes and blankets to prevent complications. Is swimming in cold water bad for your heart? Cold water causes a shock response. This usually includes an initial gasp, rapid breathing and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Swimmers can habituate to this response with practice, but at first it can be risky for someone with a history of heart problems. Those who are risk for heart-related side effects should start swimming in the cold slowly to give themselves a chance to adapt, such as doing five or six three-minute immersions where the whole body (not the head) are immersed in cold water. How to Stay Safe How long can you swim in freezing water? It really depends on how adapted to the cold you are, along with how cold the water is. The Outdoor Swimmer website tells us that it’s a good idea to monitor how much time you spend in the water and also to train in progressively chillier waters. If the water is very cold, consider staying in it for only several minutes or even just one to two minutes. When you first begin to practice freezing water swimming, try doing so in short increments repeatedly. According to one avid cold water swimmer, “The general rule is that you can spend 1 minute per degree of water temperature [Celsius] in the water — obviously, you need to listen to your body too.” This mean that it’s generally safe to spend about 10 minutes in water that is 50°F (or 10°C). To obtain the most benefits from swimming in cold water without risking complications, here are some tips: Give your body time to acclimate. Ideally start swimming when the water temps aren’t too cold yet, and then continue doing so as the temperature keeps dropping over the course of weeks and months. Enter the water slowly. Do not dive or jump in unless you are used to the cold water, since this can cause a shock reaction that can make it hard to breathe. Keep moving and swimming to help generate heat. Wear the right gear, which can help preserve body heat. Try a swimming hat, neoprene gloves, booties, balaclava or a wetsuit. Warm up afterward. Remove wet clothes as soon as possible. Dress in dry, warm clothes, including a hat, gloves and thick socks. Drink something warm, such as warm water or tea. Don’t take a hot shower right away. It can be too shocking. Wait about an hour to shower so your core temperature can normalize first. Don’t worry about shivering — this is a natural adaptive strategy that helps you rewarm and return to balance. Conclusion Is it safe to swim in freezing water? As long as you acclimate slowly and monitor how much time you spend in the water, swimming in freezing water benefits can include support for your immune system, metabolism, mood, heart and more. Ice cold water decreases your body temperature. This makes your body work harder to maintain homeostasis, using energy in the process. It kicks off an adaptive process that can increase your metabolic rate, releases endorphins and help boost production of white blood cells. To prevent hypothermia and other side effects, aim to swim in water between that’s around 50°F (or 10°C). Spend about one minute in the water for every degree Celsius that the water temp is. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

The post The Surprising Benefits of Swimming in Cold Water (+ How to Stay Safe) appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Radboud University Medical Center Research: Most Lungs Recover Well After COVID-19

AHA Publisher — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 08:00:31 +0000

Radbound University Medical Center via EurekAlert – Lung tissue of patients who suffered severely from COVID-19 shows good recovery in most cases. This was revealed by a study carried out by the Radboud university medical center that has now been published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. A striking conclusion is that the group who was referred by a GP did not recover as well as patients who were admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The study, led by pulmonologist Bram van den Borst, included 124 patients who had recovered from acute COVID-19 infections. They visited the Radboud university medical center corona aftercare clinic. The patients were examined by CT scan, a lung functional test and more. After three months, the researchers took stock, which revealed that the patients’ lung tissue is recovering well. Residual damage in the lung tissue was generally limited and is most often seen in patients who were treated in the ICU. The most common complaints after three months are fatigue, shortness of breath and chest pains. Many people also still experience limitations in their daily life as well as a decreased quality of life. Main researcher and pulmonologist Bram van den Borst explains: “The patterns we see in these patients show similarities with recovery after acute pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in which fluid accumulates in the lungs. Recovery from these conditions also generally takes a long time. It is encouraging to see that lungs after COVID-19 infections exhibit this level of recovery.” Referred patients do not recover as well as admitted patients Patients were divided into three categories for the study: a group with patients who were admitted to the ICU, a group of patients who were admitted to a nursing ward in the hospital, and finally a group with patients who could stay home but experienced persisting symptoms that eventually warranted a referral from their GP. The study assessed how patients fared after three months and revealed that the patients who were referred to the aftercare clinic by their GP showed the worst recovery in the following period. Of course, this latter group of patients was referred because of their persisting symptoms. “However, it does seem that there is a clear subgroup of patients who initially experienced mild COVID-19 symptoms and later kept experiencing persistent long-term complaints and limitations”, Bram van den Borst elaborates. “What is striking is that we barely found any anomalies in the lungs of these patients. Considering the variety and seriousness of the complaints and the plausible size of this subgroup, there is an urgent need for further research into explanations and treatment options.” Aftercare clinic for patients with persisting symptoms Radboud university medical center established the corona aftercare clinic at the Dekkerswald location as a reaction to an observed increase in the signals that a substantial number of COVID-19 patients was experiencing long-term complaints, ranging from coughing, fatigue and shortness of breath to anxiety and physical limitations. At the aftercare clinic, an extensive analysis is performed involving multiple disciplines. Based on this analysis, the care requirements of the patients and the subsequent steps are determined. Patients who were admitted at Radboud university medical center with COVID-19 will receive an invitation from the corona aftercare clinic. People who went through COVID-19 from home and are still experiencing symptoms can get a referral from their GP to visit the aftercare clinic as well. To read the original article click here.

The post Radboud University Medical Center Research: Most Lungs Recover Well After COVID-19 appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

What’s the World’s Favorite Fizzy Drinks Maker Doing Fighting Covid?

AHA Publisher — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 07:00:57 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Back in March, Hadassah University Medical Center intensive care physician Dr. Akiva Nachshon saw that some European countries lacked enough ventilators for seriously ill Covid-19 patients. Proper breathing support for mild and moderate patients could prevent Israel from facing a similar situation, he reasoned. However, the slow-oxygen nasal inhalation therapy devices that do the job best are in short supply because they cost about $15,000 (excluding consumables). Nachshon’s biomedical engineer friend Shlomo Friedman suggested enlisting the help of Israeli carbonated drink machine maker SodaStream. “They understand thermodynamics, gases and physics, and they have the necessary R&D infrastructure,” Friedman told Nachshon. That’s what led to Stream02, an inexpensive alternative recently tested successfully at Hadassah’s Ein Kerem campus in Jerusalem. The inventors hope it will soon be approved for all Covid patients. Nachshon explained that oxygen makes up 21 percent of the air we breathe. “Stream02 can give up to 100%. You can get 100% oxygen through regular nasal prongs, but the flow is extremely high and Covid-19 patients can’t tolerate it.” The challenge was to make an affordable device that matches the efficiency of the expensive slow-oxygen system. “The thermodynamics are complicated, but the concept is pretty simple,” he says. A Cold Call Nachshon didn’t have any contacts at SodaStream, which was acquired by PepsiCo two years ago for $3.2 billion. He called the main number, explained his idea, and within an hour got a call from Avi Cohen, SodaStream’s head of research and development. After listening to Nachshon’s proposal, Cohen invited the physician to his nearby Jerusalem home to flesh out details that very day. “He said, ‘Bring whatever you think will help me understand what you want.’ We were all in lockdown at the time, but I sat with him on his porch and placed everything on the table,” recalls Nachshon. “Avi had already made a sketch. After our meeting, he spoke with SodaStream’s CEO, Eyal Shohat, and got the okay to work on it immediately.” Nachshon went to SodaStream’s Kfar Saba headquarters a few times “and their team came to our lab at Hadassah to better understand the needs.” The doctor feared that the invention would get stuck in governmental red tape. But the Ministry of Health quickly approved a safety and feasibility study once the prototype machines were ready in July. The study was delayed a bit only because Nachshon became very busy in Hadassah’s two Covid ICU units during the second wave of the outbreak. The StreamO2 prototype was tested not on Covid patients but on 22 postsurgical patients who could be strictly monitored. “People tolerated it very well, although some said it was too much for them,” Nachshon tells ISRAEL21c. “I’m sending my report to the Ministry of Health to get approval to use it as a device for Covid patients at Hadassah.” If all continues going well, Nachshon looks forward to getting approval for StreamO2 to be produced and distributed to other hospitals treating mild to moderate coronavirus cases. “The nasal breathing therapy machine developed by the joint team of doctors from Hadassah and SodaStream engineers can be a perfect lifesaving solution,” said Cohen. “The advantage is the ability to replicate it in bulk for patients suffering from respiratory distress in Israel and around the world.” Nachshon says StreamO2 works exactly the same as the $15,000 nasal inhalation therapy device, and “we have plans in the future to make it smarter than the present system.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

The post What’s the World’s Favorite Fizzy Drinks Maker Doing Fighting Covid? appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Common Asthma Drug May Help People Fight COVID: ‘It Should Reduce Hospitalizations by Around Half’

AHA Publisher — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 07:00:53 +0000

Lorie Johnson via CBN News – Scientists are looking into whether a drug commonly used by people with asthma and other breathing conditions can also be used to successfully treat COVID-19. The drug could prevent patients in the early stages of the disease from landing in the hospital. Ever since COVID-19 burst on the scene in early 2020, scientists saw right away it goes for the lungs. Then came a surprise when they saw that people being treated for certain lung diseases seemed oddly protected against the coronavirus. These COVID-19 patients were people with asthma and the lung disease COPD and were living in Asia, Europe, North America, and elsewhere. Scientists noticed they were either underrepresented or completely absent from data surrounding pandemic cases, according to researcher Dan Nicolau of The Queensland University of Technology. “Which suggests that something these patients are doing is keeping them out of hospital,” he told CBN News. “It’s not keeping them from getting COVID but it’s keeping them, at least in some of the cases, keeping them from getting very sick.” Apparently, these patients who contracted COVID-19 were already using an inhaled corticosteroid, such as Budesonide, to treat their asthma or COPD. Nicolau leads a clinical study being conducted by QUT and Oxford University testing Budesonide’s effectiveness when given very soon after a person becomes infected with the novel coronavirus. “It should reduce hospitalizations in our math model, by around half,” said professor Nicolau. Unwilling to wait for study results, some doctors have begun prescribing inhaled Budesonide to patients who were recently diagnosed with COVID-19, such as Dr. Ted Trimble, who practices family medicine at Titus Regional Medical Center near Dallas, Texas. “I can’t do medicine without my faith. I often say to my patients upfront, ‘I consult Dr. Jesus’,” he told CBN News. Dr. Trimble said he’s prescribed Budesonide to ten COVID-19 patients with plans to continue. “Nine out of ten did extremely well within the first few treatments,” he explained. “They could breathe much easier, one needed to go to the hospital for oxygen support but did not require intubation or ventilation.” Likewise, Dr. Tom Rogers, an integrative medicine specialist who practices in the Knoxville, Tennessee area has also seen positive results in 11 patients and counting. “I started using it with no side effects and it seems to be if you treat early along with a Z-pack and zinc it really is very effective,” he told CBN News. Dr. Rogers gives the Budesonide specifically to COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms like a mild cough, wheezing, or shortness of breath. In cases where patients exhibit different common symptoms such as loss of smell, achiness, or fatigue, Rogers usually prescribes the controversial drug Hydroxychloroquine with the antibiotic Azithromycin, also known as a “Z-pack”, and zinc. “I am a Christian and my faith really carries me through every day caring for people all these years,” he said, adding, “There’s another very powerful thing that works against any disease or illness. It’s called prayer.” While the US Food and Drug Administration does not recommend Budesonide or Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, there has been movement. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D. now admits some Hydroxychloroquine studies “suggest a benefit” and pointed out doctors are free to prescribe drugs “off label” and that the FDA “does not regulate the practice of medicine.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

The post Common Asthma Drug May Help People Fight COVID: ‘It Should Reduce Hospitalizations by Around Half’ appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Scientists Identify Drug They Hope Can Downgrade COVID-19 to Common Cold Level

AHA Publisher — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 07:00:04 +0000

Israel21c staff via Israel21c – Researchers show the coronavirus causes lungs to accumulate fat, so a cholesterol-lowering drug may help downgrade the virus threat to that of common cold. Could a well-known cholesterol-lowering drug help treat Covid-19? A research team led by Hebrew University of Jerusalem Prof. Yaakov Nahmias says that early research looks promising. Over the last three-months, Nahmias and Dr. Benjamin tenOever at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center have focused on the ways in which the SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus that’s causing our current pandemic) changes patients’ lungs in order to reproduce itself. Their major finding is that this virus prevents the routine burning of carbohydrates. As a result, large amounts of fat accumulate inside lung cells, and this enables the virus to reproduce. This new understanding of SARS CoV-2 may help explain why patients with high blood sugar and cholesterol levels are often at a particularly high risk to develop Covid-19. With this information in hand, Nahmias and tenOever began to screen FDA-approved medications that interfere with the virus’ ability to reproduce. In lab studies, the cholesterol-lowering drug Fenofibrate (Tricor) showed extremely promising results. By allowing lung cells to burn more fat, fenofibrate broke the virus’ grip on these cells. Within five days of treatment, the virus almost completely disappeared, the researchers report in this week’s Cell Press’ Sneak Peak. “With second-wave infections spiking in countries across the globe, these findings couldn’t come at a better time,” said Nahmias. “If our findings are borne out by clinical studies, this course of treatment could potentially downgrade Covid-19’s severity into nothing worse than a common cold.” To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

The post Scientists Identify Drug They Hope Can Downgrade COVID-19 to Common Cold Level appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

New Discovery Allows 3D Printing of Sensors Directly on Expanding Organs

AHA Publisher — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 07:00:29 +0000

University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering via Newswise – In groundbreaking new research, mechanical engineers and computer scientists at the University of Minnesota have developed a 3D printing technique that uses motion capture technology, similar to that used in Hollywood movies, to print electronic sensors directly on organs that are expanding and contracting. The new 3D printing technique could have future applications in diagnosing and monitoring the lungs of patients with COVID-19. The research is published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The new research is the next generation of a 3D printing technique discovered two years ago by members of the team that allowed for printing of electronics directly on the skin of a hand that moved left to right or rotated. The new technique allows for even more sophisticated tracking to 3D print sensors on organs like the lungs or heart that change shape or distort due to expanding and contracting. “We are pushing the boundaries of 3D printing in new ways we never even imagined years ago,” said Michael McAlpine, a University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor and senior researcher on the study. “3D printing on a moving object is difficult enough, but it was quite a challenge to find a way to print on a surface that was deforming as it expanded and contracted.” The researchers started in the lab with a balloon-like surface and a specialized 3D printer. They used motion capture tracking markers, much like those used in movies to create special effects, to help the 3D printer adapt its printing path to the expansion and contraction movements on the surface. The researchers then moved on to an animal lung in the lab that was artificially inflated. They were able to successfully print a soft hydrogel-based sensor directly on the surface. McAlpine said the technique could also possibly be used in the future to 3D print sensors on a pumping heart. “The broader idea behind this research, is that this is a big step forward to the goal of combining 3D printing technology with surgical robots,” said McAlpine, who holds the Kuhrmeyer Family Chair Professorship in the University of Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering. “In the future, 3D printing will not be just about printing but instead be part of a larger autonomous robotic system. This could be important for diseases like COVID-19 where health care providers are at risk when treating patients.” Other members of the research team included lead author Zhijie Zhu, a University of Minnesota mechanical engineering Ph.D. candidate, and Hyun Soo Park, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The research was supported by Medtronic (for sensor development) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number DP2EB020537. Additional support was provided by a University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship awarded to Zhijie Zhu. To read the original article click here.

The post New Discovery Allows 3D Printing of Sensors Directly on Expanding Organs appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

One New Drug May Treat Both Covid-19 and Alzheimer’s

AHA Publisher — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 07:00:05 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Israeli-born Harvard professor’s investigational therapy suppresses immune system’s overproduction of proteins that trigger inflammation. “By the age of 80, one in three people develops Alzheimer’s. I’m trying to move the curve to 85 or 90 or maybe beyond.” A novel Alzheimer’s disease treatment now in advanced Phase 3 clinical trials could also prove effective in treating lung inflammation caused by Covid-19. The investigational therapy, ALZT-OP1, suppresses the immune system’s production of cytokines — proteins that trigger inflammation in a natural response to infection. A “cytokine storm” caused by an overzealous immune response plays a role in neuroinflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and in infectious diseases such as Covid-19 and influenza. “When we have too much virus in our lungs, our immune system starts reacting by activating cytokines to bombard the virus,” explains Israeli-born Harvard Medical School associate professor and serial medical entrepreneur David Elmaleh, scientific founder and CEO of AZTherapies. “But the number of cytokinesis is so high it causes inflammation of the lung and that can be dangerous. Our drug would slow the cytokine release and allow other treatments to work,” he tells ISRAEL21c. AZTherapies was founded in 2011 with $2 million from some of Elmaleh’s previous Israeli investors. The startup has now raised over $100 million and is building collaborations with Israeli institutions to commercialize the treatment after its expected FDA approval next year. Learning from Mistakes Elmaleh began by examining why previous Alzheimer’s drug candidates failed. Most of them attempted to prevent or dissolve the amyloid-beta plaques long thought to be the primary cause of disease. He saw three main problems plaguing the failed trials: too wide an age range of patients; too narrow a focus on one mechanism of treatment; and toxicity from prolonged drug exposure. Elmaleh’s approach is limited to people in the first stages of the disease and utilizes four treatment mechanisms. ALZT-OP1 is a proprietary mixture of a bit of ibuprofen (to treat inflammation) and cromolyn, originally an asthma drug. “Cromolyn doesn’t work the way it was approved because in asthma treatment it goes only into the upper lung,” Elmaleh explains. “I reengineered it to go into the deeper lung.” AZTherapies has more than 100 patents and patent applications on the formulation and the delivery method to get the drug across the blood-brain barrier. “Although it uses two existing drugs, it’s like a new drug and needs its own approval,” says Elmaleh. Phase 3 Clinical Trials For its advanced randomized clinical trials, AZTherapies identified participants based on cognition, function tests and brain pathology assessed by Alzheimer’s biomarkers in spinal fluid. “We screened 1,753 people in North America and Europe, and from that we got 620 subjects with the biomarkers that indicate early Alzheimer’s,” Elmaleh says. Of those 620, 589 completed 24 weeks of treatment, 492 completed 48 weeks of treatment, and 380 completed the whole 72-week study cycle. “We wanted to see if we are really modifying the path of the disease. We will unblind the study at the end of this year and then we’ll know how successful we are,” says Elmaleh. “We already know that giving our drug for a year and half is safe. That’s a very important issue because in the brain you have to treat disease for several years, unlike cancer.” He stresses that ALZT-OP1 is not a cure. Its goal is to keep early-stage patients disease-free for a longer period by slowing cytokine release. “By the age of 80, one in three people develops Alzheimer’s. I’m trying to move the curve to 85 or 90 or maybe beyond,” says Elmaleh. Covid-19 Trials Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the world and Elmaleh believed ALZT-OP1 could help patients with associated breathing distress caused by a cytokine storm. AZTherapies prepared a clinical trial protocol for the FDA and has approached several European countries and Israeli hospitals about trying its drug candidate on Covid-19 patients. Elmaleh has an impressive track record: several previous startups (among them Molecular Insight and Puretech Health) led to treatments representing more than a billion dollars in shareholder value. One of his inventions is FDG, the radionuclide used in PET scans. He was named one of “Biotech’s Most Enterprising Entrepreneurs” in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News in 2014. Elmaleh was raised in the 1960s in Musrara (Morasha), then a neglected neighborhood of North African immigrants on the then-dangerous seam between the east and west sides of Jerusalem. In 1971, the same year Elmaleh received his PhD in organic chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, many of his childhood peers established the Israeli Black Panthers, one of Israel’s first effective movements for social and economic justice. Elmaleh made a different kind of history by becoming the first Musrara resident to do post-doc studies at Harvard. He remained there, raising his family in Boston and finding success in academia and entrepreneurship. Thanks to Elmaleh’s affiliations with Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, AZTherapies has an all-star lineup of scientific and business advisers from these institutions. He tells ISRAEL21c that AZTherapies’ approach to neuroinflammation is also being studied by other pharma companies. “Others are now looking at the same things as us, but we are ahead of everyone else and we’ll be the first to market,” he predicts. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

The post One New Drug May Treat Both Covid-19 and Alzheimer’s appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.