R&D

Blocking spike captors to counter COVID

Despite the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns worldwide, the threat posed by COVID-19 still exists. First of all, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant could very well emerge that may not respond to current vaccines. Secondly, the efficacy of the vaccines in the long term remains unknown. Lastly, cases of acute infection are continuing to be reported. And yet, there is no effective treatment to date.

Recurring brain tumor growth is halted with new drug

When a non-metastatic brain tumor - a meningioma - recurs after surgery and radiation treatment, a patient is out of options. No drugs are approved for these aggressive tumors, which occur in up to 20% of cases and can lead to patient disability or even death.

But now Northwestern Medicine scientists, in an international collaboration with scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Hong Kong, have identified a drug that inhibits growth of the most aggressive meningiomas and how to most accurately identify which meningiomas will respond to the drug.

Using AI to analyze large amounts of biological data

Researchers at the University of Missouri are applying a form of artificial intelligence (AI) - previously used to analyze how National Basketball Association (NBA) players move their bodies - to now help scientists develop new drug therapies for medical treatments targeting cancers and other diseases.

Cognitive impairment from severe COVID-19 equivalent to 20 years of ageing, study finds

Cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, say a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.

The findings, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, emerge from the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource.

Findings open way for personalised MS treatment

Currently available therapies to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) lack precision and can lead to serious side effects. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now developed a method for identifying the immune cells involved in autoimmune diseases, and have identified four new target molecules of potential significance for future personalised treatment of MS.

A smarter way to develop new drugs

Pharmaceutical companies are using artificial intelligence to streamline the process of discovering new medicines. Machine-learning models can propose new molecules that have specific properties which could fight certain diseases, doing in minutes what might take humans months to achieve manually.

Asthma drug can block crucial SARS-CoV-2 protein

A drug used to treat asthma and allergies can bind to and block a crucial protein produced by the virus SARS-CoV-2, and reduce viral replication in human immune cells, according to a new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug, called montelukast, has been around for more than 20 years and is usually prescribed to reduce inflammation caused by conditions like asthma, hay fever and hives.

Research & Development

Blocking spike captors to counter COVID

Recurring brain tumor growth is halted with new drug

Using AI to analyze large amounts of biological data

Cognitive impairment from severe COVID-19 equivalent to 20 years of ageing, study finds

Findings open way for personalised MS treatment

A smarter way to develop new drugs

Asthma drug can block crucial SARS-CoV-2 protein

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