Research News

Life is organized on a 24-hour schedule. Central to this regular rhythm is the circadian clock, timekeepers that are present in virtually every organ, tissue and cell type. When a clock goes awry, sleep disruption or a variety of diseases can result.

The tapered cone shell is popular among seashell collectors for its colorful patterns, but the smooth mottled shells are also home to the cone snail which is capable of spewing a potent insulin-like venom that can paralyze its prey. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that variants of this venom, known as cone snail insulin (Con-Ins), could offer future possibilities for developing new fast-acting drugs to help treat diabetics.

In the human brain, the hormone insulin also acts on the most important neurotransmitter for the reward system, dopamine. This was shown by researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) in Tübingen. Insulin lowers the dopamine level in a specific region of the brain (striatum*) that regulates reward processes and cognitive functions, among other things. This interaction can be an important driver of the brain’s regulation of glucose metabolism and eating behavior.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Voxzogo (vosoritide) injection to improve growth in children five years of age and older with achondroplasia and open epiphyses (growth plates), meaning these children still have the potential to grow. Achondroplasia is the most common form of dwarfism.  

A group of Indian researchers has developed a compound that promises to offer a better treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder. They have found in studies with a mouse model that it had the potential to improve daily activities like learning and recollecting new tasks in patients suffering from the disorder.

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame discovered a new type of cell in the heart that may help regulate heart rate, and could be an important key in understanding certain types of congenital heart defects and other diseases that involve the heart.

ONWARD Medical N.V a medical technology company creating innovative therapies to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury, today announced Grégoire Courtine, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and co-Director of NeuroRestore, demonstrated the effectiveness of ONWARD’s ARC Therapy to stabilize blood pressure after spinal cord injury during his Presidential Special Lecture at NEUROSCIENCE 2021.

New research led by the University of Bristol, has shown the drug losartan, normally used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), is not effective in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in people with mild-to-moderate disease after 12 months of treatment. However, the drug could still be of benefit if prescribed for longer and if given to people with very early disease. The findings are from the phase 2 multi-centre clinical trial known as RADAR ((Reducing pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease through Angiotensin taRgeting).

A large analysis of health records from 87 health care centers across the United States found that people taking a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), particularly fluoxetine, were significantly less likely to die of COVID-19 than a matched control group.