Americans Fighting the Opioid Crisis in Their Own Backyards
Credit: New York Times article, Jan. 19, 2016.
The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. The rates of opioid addiction, babies born addicted to opioids, and overdoses have skyrocketed in the past decade. No population has been hit harder than rural communities. Many of these communities are in states with historically low levels of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIGMS’ Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program builds research capacities in these states by supporting basic, clinical, and translational research, as well as faculty development and infrastructure improveme...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 1, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Chris Palmer Tags: Pharmacology Medicines Opioids Pain Source Type: blogs
Perspective: How brain training games could help patients with Huntington ’s disease
This article was originally published in The Conversation.
The Article in Context
For further information about Huntington’s disease and support, visit The Huntington’s disease association, or HDBuzz
Five reasons the future of brain enhancement is digital, pervasive and (hopefully) bright
10 neurotechnologies about to transform brain enhancement and brain health
Can brain training work? Yes, if it meets these 5 conditions
(Source: SharpBrains)
Source: SharpBrains - July 20, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Emma Yhnell Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Technology brain-disorder Brain-Training brain-training-games Huntingtons-Disease Source Type: blogs
An Approach to Interfering in Mitochondrially Mediated Cell Death due to Amyloid- β in Alzheimer's Disease
In this study, we examine multiple mitochondrial pathways of amyloid toxicity in neuronal and cerebral endothelial cells (ECs), and evaluate CAIs methazolamide (MTZ) and, for the first time, its analog acetazolamide (ATZ), on specific Aβ-mediated pathways of mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptotic cell death. The CAIs selectively inhibited mitochondrial dysfunction pathways induced by Aβ, without affecting metabolic function.
Due to the long-term use of MTZ and ATZ in chronic conditions, the efficacy and the safety of their systemic administration have been widely assessed, making clinical trials for CAIs in AD a ...
Source: Fight Aging! - June 22, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 21st 2018
In conclusion, the connection between DNA damage and aging is emphasized by the secretion of senescence-associated proteins during cellular senescence, a phenotype which is activated by DNA damage and is common for both human and mice. Though much progress has been achieved, full understanding of these mechanisms has still a long way to go.
XPO1 as a Novel Target for Therapies to Enhance Autophagy
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2018/05/xpo1-as-a-novel-target-for-therapies-to-enhance-autophagy/
Autophagy is the name given to a collection of cellular housekeeping processes that recycle damaged and u...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 20, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Considering Mitochondria and Neurodegeneration
Since mitochondria seem to be the dominant theme this week, today I thought I'd point out a couple of recent open access papers that focus on the role of mitochondrial function (and dysfunction) in the neurodegeneration that accompanies aging. Every cell bears a swarm of mitochondria, the descendants of ancient symbiotic bacteria. Even though mitochondria long ago evolved into integrated cellular components, they still behave very much like bacteria in many ways. They multiply through division, and can fuse together and swap component parts, pieces of the molecular machinery necessary to their function. They also contain t...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 16, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Notice of Funding Opportunity: Bioethics and Disability
This report would examine developments at the state and federal-level, court cases, and current views from stakeholders.
Policy Questions
Which states have PAS laws and what do those laws provide? What protections against abuse of PAS?What have the Supreme Court and lower courts held regarding individuals’ rights under PAS laws? The laws themselves?Is there evidence that persons with disabilities are being denied treatment by insurance companies but offered PAS instead, as NCD predicted?How is PAS viewed by disability organizations? Has this evolved in the past 13 years? If so why? If not, why?Are persons with disabi...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - May 8, 2018 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 7th 2018
The objective here is a set of tests that (a) match up to the expected outcome based on human trials of mitochondrially targeted antioxidants, and (b) that anyone can run without the need to involve a physician, as that always adds significant time and expense. These tests are focused on the cardiovascular system, particularly measures influenced by vascular stiffness, and some consideration given to parameters relevant to oxidative stress and the development of atherosclerosis.
A standard blood test, with inflammatory markers.
An oxidized LDL cholesterol assessment.
Resting heart rate and blood pressure.
Heart r...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 6, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Gene Therapy to Enhance Proteosomal Activity Slows Retinal Degeneration in Mice
Many of the methods by which aging can be modestly slowed in laboratory species are characterized by increased cellular housekeeping: more repair, more clearance of broken molecular machinery, more removal of metabolic waste. The extended life span produced by calorie restriction appears to depend on this increase: it doesn't happen in mice in which housekeeping processes are disabled. Most of the work on cellular housekeeping in aging is focused on autophagy, responsible for removing protein aggregates and cellular structures. The proteasome is a part of a separate system of housekeeping that deals with broken or otherwis...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 2, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Would You Want To Know Whether You ’re At Risk For Alzheimer’s?
Do genetic tests help in preparing for potential future health issues or open Pandora’s box full of concerns, worries and hypochondriac thoughts? Would you want to know your genetic fate? Whether you are at risk for Alzheimer’s or a chronic disease 30 years in advance? Would you want to live with this kind of information? Would you take the BRCA test to find out that you are at risk for breast cancer? What would you do if you were? The Medical Futurist team contemplated situations requiring hard, life-altering decisions. What would you do?
Our genetic heritage carries secrets that are difficult to process
In Season 8 o...
Source: The Medical Futurist - April 28, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Bioethics Genomics alzheimer disease DNA dna testing doctor-patient doctor-patient relationship DTC future genetics Huntington's patient empowerment personal genomics Source Type: blogs
What is The Difference Between Alzheimer's and Dementia
Dementia presents as a group of symptoms, and Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia.By Bob DeMarcoAlzheimer's Reading RoomWhen someone is told they have Alzheimer's or dementia,it means they have significant memory problems as well as other cognitive and behavioral issues.Most of the time dementia is caused by Alzheimer's disease.There is great confusion about the difference betweenAlzheimer's anddementia.In a nutshell, dementia isn't a specific disease. Instead, dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning. Alz...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - April 26, 2018 Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer's Alzheimer's Dementia Alzheimer's disease alzheimer's symptoms alzheimer's vs dementia the difference between alzheimer's and dementia Source Type: blogs
Paligenosis as a Potential Source of Methods to Target Many Types of Cancer with One Type of Therapy
The future of the treatment of cancer will be, must be, dominated by classes of therapy that can be easily and cost-effective applied to many different types of cancer. Such therapies can only exist as a result of targeting mechanisms that are shared by many or all types of cancer. It must also be challenging or impossible for cancerous cells to do without these mechanisms. The biggest issue in cancer research over the past few decades, in my opinion, is the specificity of therapies, the amount of time and resources poured into efforts to produce treatments that can only work on one type or a few types of cancer, and that ...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 27, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, February 19th 2018
Fight Aging! provides a weekly digest of news and commentary for thousands of subscribers interested in the latest longevity science: progress towards the medical control of aging in order to prevent age-related frailty, suffering, and disease, as well as improvements in the present understanding of what works and what doesn't work when it comes to extending healthy life. Expect to see summaries of recent advances in medical research, news from the scientific community, advocacy and fundraising initiatives to help speed work on the repair and reversal of aging, links to online resources, and much more.
This content is...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 18, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Weaponizing the Biochemistry of Huntington's Disease as a General Cancer Therapy
An interesting observation that has arisen over the years of epidemiological study of human age-related disease is that there are a number of distinct inverse relationships between incidence of cancer and incidence of some forms of neurodegeneration. This was in the news a few years ago in the case of Alzheimer's disease for example. Why would people with a higher risk of cancer suffer lower rates of Alzheimer's disease, however? We can only speculate at this point, but the more recent discovery I'll point out here adds fuel for that speculation. The Alzheimer's-cancer relationship is modest in size and somewhat complex in...
Source: Fight Aging! - February 14, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
The 1000th Thread!
Discussion Blog)
Source: Bioethics Discussion Blog - December 24, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: blogs
The 1000th Thread!
This is the 1000th presentation to my bioethics blog since starting on Google Blogspot.com in 2004.There has been many topics covered. Though comments by the visitors has always been encouraged and, since as a "discussion blog", comments leading to discussions I have felt was the definitive function here. Virtually none of the thread topics have gone unread and most have had some commentary, some with mainly particularly strong and emphatic opinions http://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2013/01/should-pathologists-be-physicians.html, some with extensive up to 12 years long continued discussion http://bioethicsdiscussion....
Source: blog.bioethics.net - December 24, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Maurice Bernstein, M.D. Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
