Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death globally. Atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of arteries, is the primary underlying cause. The endothelium, a single layer of cells lining blood vessels, plays a crucial role in vascular health and disease. Disrupted endothelial function can lead to serious conditions such as thrombosis and hypertension and facilitates atherosclerotic plaque development. Interestingly, researchers have shown that alcohol has a complex relationship with cardiovascular health, displaying both protective and harmful effects depending on the dose. The work of Professor Eileen Redmond and her team at the University of Rochester Medical Center offers valuable insights into the nuanced role of alcohol in endothelial function.

Motor neurone disease is a currently incurable and progressive neurological disorder that severely impacts muscle function. As the disease progresses, individuals with motor neurone disease experience significant difficulties in movement, speech, swallowing, and breathing. Home mechanical ventilation can be used to support breathing and improve the quality of life. However, while this can alleviate symptoms and extend survival, it does not stop disease progression, and patients and caregivers must confront difficult decisions in their treatment journey. In a new UK study, Dr Eleanor Wilson of the University of Nottingham and colleagues have explored end-of-life decision-making in motor neurone disease patients using home mechanical ventilation.

Premature birth puts infants at a greater risk of developing various medical conditions, including a chronic lung disease known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia – or BPD for short. Dr. Rebecca Rose, a neonatologist at Indiana University, recently explored how modulating ventilator settings used for very premature newborns can significantly improve their outcomes.

The development of safe and effective medicines that meet strict regulatory requirements has traditionally involved extensive experimentation, which can be laborious and costly. Incorporating digital processes, which can be used to produce individual pharmaceutical components, may provide a solution to manufacturing challenges by reducing development time, resource requirements, and costs. The Future Continuous Manufacturing and Advanced Crystallisation Hub, a flagship project at CMAC, at the University of Strathclyde, along with collaborators throughout the UK, has investigated the feasibility of using digital models to reduce costs, time and waste for high quality pharmaceutical production.

Many diseases become more likely to emerge as we age, with metabolic disorders such as diabetes, and neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, representing two frequent manifestations of poor health in old age. While many age-related diseases present very differently, many share common underlying mechanisms. These include inflammation, a build-up of reactive oxygen molecules that can damage cellular components, and a lack of sensitivity to insulin. Treatments that can effectively target these mechanisms could have transformational effects on the age-related diseases that are fueled by them, including potentially preventing such diseases from developing in the first place. Prof. Christian Bréchot and colleagues at The Healthy Aging Company have developed a drug candidate: ALF5755, the pharmacological name of a protein called Hepatocarcinoma-Intestine-Pancreas, or HIP for short, also named Reg3A, that has shown exciting evidence of effectiveness on the cognitive disorders which occur during Alzheimer’s disease and the peripheral nerve damage that often occurs in diabetes, which is called diabetic neuropathy.

Dr. Christopher Buck, a virologist at the US National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, has been working to spread the word about a growing body of scientific literature suggesting that mint and related herbs can help fight Covid infections. In his recent review article, “The Mint Versus Covid Hypothesis,” he makes a case for the idea that decentralized clinical trials could be used to more thoroughly explore this exciting idea.

As a medical specialty, anesthesiology has made remarkable progress to deliver patient safety at an incredibly high level, while administering drugs that could potentially be very dangerous at a slightly increased dose. However, just like the case of Icarus, a character in Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun before plummeting back to Earth, success can carry the seeds of failure. The impressive progress towards patient safety could conceivably lead to the extinction of anesthesiology as a specialty. In the context of cutting costs and an environment where the return-on-investment for anesthesiologists is not always clear, there may be a temptation to replace anesthesiologists with other professionals, such as specialized sedation nurses, or with new technologies.

Dr. P. R. Raghavan, CEO and Chairman of Nanorx Inc., developed Metadichol, a nutritional supplement that has shown potential in treating a range of health issues. Dr. Raghavan suggests that the supplement may help to stave off illnesses such as diabetes and antibiotic-resistant infections.