Lifeboat Foundation

Transplanted brain stem cells survive without anti-rejection drugs in mice. By exploiting a feature of the immune system, researchers open the door for stem cell transplants to repair the brain.

In experiments in mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have developed a way to successfully transplant certain protective brain cells without the need for lifelong anti-rejection drugs.

A report on the research, published today (September 16, 2019) in the journal Brain, details the new approach, which selectively circumvents the immune response against foreign cells, allowing transplanted cells to survive, thrive and protect brain tissue long after stopping immune-suppressing drugs.

Age is not the definitive factor it’s made out to be when it comes to our health. We can use our age as a baseline for tracking our health and longevity, but it isn’t stagnant. For example, certain types of testing can help us compare our biological age to our calendar age in order to tinker with our wellness routine and achieve the milestones we’re after. With the right steps, we can slow down and even sometimes reverse the aging process.

When it comes to our biological age, or the measure of how well our body is actually functioning for whatever life stage we are in, there are many things that impact it. Diet, lifestyle patterns like exercise and sleep, and stress are all involved in forming our biological age, along with many other factors like blood sugar, inflammation, and genetics. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I’m joined by Dr. David Sinclair to explore the topic of longevity and anti-aging and how he reduced his own internal age by more than 20 years. Dr. Sinclair is a professor in the Department of Genetics and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School, where he and his colleagues study longevity, aging, and how to slow its effects.

Continue reading “Death is Inevitable but Aging is Not” »

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed a platform that uses nanoparticles known as metal-organic frameworks to deliver a promising anti-cancer agent to cells.

Research led by Dr. David Fairen-Jimenez, from the Cambridge Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, indicates metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could present a viable platform for delivering a potent anti-cancer agent, known as siRNA, to cells.

Small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA), has the potential to inhibit overexpressed cancer-causing genes, and has become an increasing focus for scientists on the hunt for new cancer treatments.

Medications that mitigate inflammation caused by a variety of diseases including rheumatic arthritis may also compromise a person’s immune system, but a new approach points to a possible solution to this problem.

Researchers have discovered a mechanism that might alleviate inflammation by suppressing the migration of a type of white blood cells called neutrophils. The cells migrate within tissues in order to kill pathogens but may also cause excessive inflammation, resulting in tissue injury and other adverse effects.

The scientists identified a genetic molecule called miR-199, a type of “microRNA,” which reduces the migration of neutrophils, therefore potentially relieving inflammation without compromising the immune system.

Scientists show the approach can kill cells that cause hardening of heart tissue in mice.

Ira Pastor, ideaXme longevity and aging ambassador and Founder of Bioquark, interviews Robin Farmanfarmaian, medical futurist, bestselling author, professional speaker, and CEO and Co-Founder of ArO.

Ira Pastor Comments:

Continue reading “Robin Farmanfarmaian’s Mission: To Empower The Healthcare Consumer” »

In experiments in mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have developed a way to successfully transplant certain protective brain cells without the need for lifelong anti-rejection drugs.

A report on the research, published Sept. 16 in the journal Brain, details the new approach, which selectively circumvents the immune response against foreign cells, allowing transplanted cells to survive, thrive and protect brain tissue long after stopping immune-suppressing drugs.

The ability to successfully transplant healthy cells into the brain without the need for conventional anti-rejection drugs could advance the search for therapies that help children born with a rare but devastating class of genetic diseases in which myelin, the protective coating around neurons that helps them send messages, does not form normally. Approximately 1 of every 100,000 children born in the U.S. will have one of these diseases, such as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease. This disorder is characterized by infants missing developmental milestones such as sitting and walking, having involuntary muscle spasms, and potentially experiencing partial paralysis of the arms and legs, all caused by a genetic mutation in the genes that form myelin.

The replacement of animals as test subjects is one step closer to reality with the successful testing of multi-organ “human-on-a-chip” models to recapitulate the 28-day experiments typically used in animals to evaluate the systemic toxicity of drug and cosmetic compounds. As published and featured as a frontispiece in the prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal Advanced Functional Materials, the microfluidic device with interlinking modules containing human-derived heart, liver, skeletal muscle and nervous system cells was able to maintain cellular viability and record cellular function in real-time for 28 days.

The University of Central Florida (UCF) in collaboration with the Florida biotech firm Hesperos, Inc., has shown that one of its innovative four-organ in vitro (out of body) model systems is able to realistically replicate in vivo (in body) responses to sustained drug dosing of human cells.

“The technology could allow us, in the very near future, to move chronic drug experiments from animal models to these novel human in vitro models,” said Hesperos Chief Scientist James J. Hickman, who is a Professor at UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center.