New
mechanism to cure depression found
New
York: The malfunctioning brain cells are not the only ones to be blamed for
depression.
Other
non-neuronal brain cells also play a key role in depression - a discovery that
may go a long way in understanding, and curing, depression.
Researchers
at Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown that changes in one type of
non-neuronal brain cells - called microglia - underlie the depressive symptoms
brought on by exposure to chronic stress.
"In
addition to the clinical importance of these results, our findings provide the
first direct evidence that in addition to neurons, disturbances in the
functioning of brain microglia cells have a role in causing psychopathology in
general, and depression in particular," said professor Raz Yirmiya,
director of Hebrew University's Psychoneuroimmunology Laboratory and lead
researcher.
"This
suggests new avenues for drug research, in which microglia stimulators could
serve as fast-acting antidepressants in some forms of depressive and
stress-related conditions," he added.
Nearly
every 13th person in India runs a risk of developing an episode of depression
during his lifetime, according to a recent study by the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
The
researchers mimicked chronic unpredictable stress in humans - a leading causes
of depression - by exposing mice to repeated, unpredictable stressful
conditions for five weeks.
The
mice developed behavioural and neurological symptoms mirroring those seen in
depressed humans, said the study published in the Journal of Molecular
Psychiatry.
The
researchers found that during the first week of stress exposure, microglia
cells underwent a phase of proliferation and activation and after which, some
microglia began to die.
Following
five weeks of stress exposure, this phenomenon led to a reduction in the number
of microglia and to a degenerated appearance of some microglia cells. Based
on these findings, the investigators treated the 'depressed' mice with drugs
that stimulated the microglia and increased their number to a normal level.
"We
were able to demonstrate that such microglia-stimulating drugs served as
effective and fast-acting anti-depressants, producing complete recovery of the
depressive-like behavioural symptoms, as well as increasing the neurogenesis to
normal levels within a few days of treatment," said Yirmia.
10.01.2014
Bio-inspired
glue can mend 'broken hearts'
Washington:
Scientists claimed to have developed waterproof and light-activated
bio-inspired glue that can literally mend broken hearts and treat congenital
heart defects without the hassles of highly invasive therapies.
In
the preclinical study, researchers from Boston Children's Hospital, BWH and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a adhesive that could rapidly
attach biodegradable patches inside a beating heart-in the exact place where
congenital holes in the heart occur, such as with ventricular heart defects.
Recognizing
that many creatures in nature have secretions that are viscous and repel water,
enabling them to attach under wet and dynamic conditions, the researchers
developed a material with these properties that also is biodegradable, elastic
and biocompatible.
According
to the study authors, the degradable patches secured with the glue remained
attached even at increased heart rates and blood pressure.
Pedro
del Nido, co-senior study author, said that the adhesive platform addresses all
of the drawbacks of previous systems in that it works in the presence of blood
and moving structures.
The
study's co-first author Nora Lang said that the study demonstrated that the
adhesive was strong enough to hold tissue and patches onto the heart equivalent
to suturing and the adhesive patch is biodegradable and biocompatible, so
nothing foreign or toxic stays in the bodies of these patients.
Importantly,
its adhesive abilities are activated with ultraviolent light, providing an
on-demand, anti-bleeding seal within 5 seconds of UV light application when
applied to high-pressure large blood vessels and cardiac wall defects.
The
researchers note that their adhesive will be useful in reducing the
invasiveness of surgical procedures, as well as operating times, in addition to
improving heart surgery outcomes.
The
study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
10.01.2014
Things will change if you look forward not backward
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