Singapore Scientists Develop ‘biorubber’ Glue for Faster Surgical Recovery


Materials scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have invented a new type of surgical glue that can help join blood vessels and close wounds faster and may also serve as a platform to deliver pain relief drugs.


In a paper published in Elsevier’s Biomaterials in July jointly with clinicians from Singapore General Hospital (SGH), the NTU researchers showed that their glue can bond soft tissues including muscle and blood vessels, even when their surfaces are wet.


Named CaproGlu, it is activated by a low dose of ultraviolet (UV) light that cures it in seconds, turning it from a liquid glue into a solid but flexible biorubber - a biocompatible material that can be resorbed by the tissue after a few weeks.


The team showed in animal experiments that blood vessels can be rejoined with just four stitches and a mesh wrapper dipped in CaproGlu, compared to the usual eight stitches that are required for a reliable and unobstructed join.


The authors estimate that this will reduce surgery time by 25%, as surgeons spend less time and effort stitching up blood vessels and tissues.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/m2gd 53160pr@reply-direct.com


Associate Professor Terry Steele (right) and Dr Ivan Djordjevic (left) holding CaproGlu in a syringe, which is cured by a low dose of UV light after it is applied on a soft tissue surface.


Breakthrough a Breath of Hope for Asthma Sufferers


An international team of scientists, led by the University of Glasgow, have identified a new class of drugs that reverse the symptoms of asthma in animal models and which were also found to show similar effects when applied to lung samples obtained from human donors. Scientists believe that these breakthrough findings [1]) could pave the way to a new treatment for human inflammatory lung diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).


The approach used by the Glasgow team centred on the activation of the protein free fatty acid receptor 4 (FFA4), found in the gut and pancreas where it is activated by dietary fats including the fish oil omega 3. Once activated FFA4 is known to help control levels of glucose in our blood.


Surprisingly the Glasgow team found FFA4 is also present in human lung. By designing a new class of drugs that activate


FFA4 in the lung, the researchers found that the muscle that surrounds the airways relaxes allowing more air to enter the lung. They also found that activators of FFA4 also reduced inflammation caused by exposure of mice to pollution, cigarette smoke and allergens like house dust mite that cause asthma.


Andrew Tobin, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Glasgow, said: “It was indeed a surprise to find that by targeting a protein that up to now has been thought of as being activated by fish oils in our diet we were able to relax airway muscle and prevent inflammation. We are optimistic that we can extend our findings and develop a new drug treatment of asthma and COPD.


Professor Graeme Milligan, Gardiner Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow, added: “We were delighted to see the effectiveness of this class of drugs in relieving the


symptoms caused not only by agents that result in asthma but also by pollutants and cigarette smoke.”


Professor Christopher Brightling, an author on the paper from the University of Leicester and a Consultant of respiratory medicine, said “By the identification of this new mechanism we offer the hope for new effective medicines for those patients that are not responsive to our current treatments.”


1. ‘Pathophysiological regulation of lung function by the free fatty acid receptor FFA4’ is published in Science Translational Medicine. The work was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).


53058pr@reply-direct.com


Test Holds Promise for Alzheimer Prediction


A new blood test demonstrated remarkable potential in discriminating between persons with and without Alzheimer’s disease and in persons at known genetic risk may be able to detect the disease as early as 20 years before the onset of cognitive impairment, according to a large international study which has been both published(1) and simultaneously presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (July 27-31, 2020)


For many years, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s has been based on the characterisation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in the brain, typically after a person dies. An inexpensive and widely available blood test for the presence of plaques and tangles would have a profound impact on Alzheimer’s research and care. According to the new study, measurements of phospho-tau217 (p-tau217), one of the tau proteins found in tangles, could provide a relatively sensitive and accurate indicator of both plaques and tangles - corresponding to the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s - in living people.


Oskar Hansson and Sebastian Palmqvist Credit: Björn Martinsson


“The p-tau217 blood test has great promise in the diagnosis, early detection, and study of Alzheimer’s,” said Oskar


Hansson, MD, PhD, Professor of Clinical Memory Research at Lund University, Sweden, who leads the Swedish BioFINDER Study and senior author on the study who spearheaded the international collaborative effort. “While more work is needed to optimize the assay and test it in other people before it becomes available in the clinic, the blood test might become especially useful to improve the recognition, diagnosis, and care of people in the primary care setting.”


“Blood tests like p-tau217 have the potential to revolutionize Alzheimer’s research, treatment and prevention trials, and clinical care,” said Eric Reiman, MD, Executive Director of Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix and a senior author on the study. “While there’s more work to do, I anticipate that their impact in both the research and clinical setting will become readily apparent within the next two years.”


Published in JAMA: Investigating Diagnostic Accuracy of Blood-Based Biomarker for Alzheimer Disease.


52893pr@reply-direct.com


Lung Disease Studies could be Key in Coronavirus Battle


Key findings from two separate studies have led scientists from the University of Dundee to believe in possibilities for a new type of treatment for lung conditions, including Covid-19.


Their research [1] indicated that in patients with the severe inflammatory lung condition bronchiectasis, where the lungs become scarred and inflamed, also those patients with asthma, lung conditions were characterised by an excessive type of immune response called neutrophil extracellular trap formation (NETs); the severity of respiratory symptoms and associated risk of death could also be predicted by measuring this immune response and that a commonly used antibiotic, azithromycin, could prevent the immune system from forming NETs. Reduction of NETs in the lungs was also associated with marked improvements in asthma symptoms.


Similar results were found in bronchiectasis, suggesting a treatment target that can work for multiple lung conditions. Several studies have shown that NETs are key in patients suffering severe Covid-19 symptoms.


“The immune system normally tries to clear infections such as viruses or bacteria from the lungs cleanly, quietly and without damaging the lung tissue around them,” explained British Lung Foundation-funded PhD student Holly Keir. “Our research has shown how this goes wrong in lung conditions. When this happens, the key immune cells, called neutrophils, explode, forming NETs that damage the lungs.”


In collaboration with biopharmaceutical company Insmed, Professor James Chalmers, School of Medicine and colleagues


looked at a new drug called brensocatib, which blocks excessive neutrophil immune response. They demonstrated that brensocatib was associated with a reduction in pulmonary exacerbations in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients, potentially leading to a reduction in hospital admissions.


Both brensocatib and azithromycin are now being tested in clinical trials with Covid-19, where researchers believe the same excessive immune response is key to severe disease.


1. New England Journal of Medicine. 53344pr@reply-direct.com


TO BE INCLUDED IN OUR NEXT ISSUE, SEND ALL YOUR RESEARCH AND EVENTS NEWS STORIES TO HEATHER@INTLABMATE.COM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76