A digestive ‘treasure chest’ shows promise for targeted drug treatment in the gut

Significantly lower doses of potent drugs

06-May-2025 - A new approach to drug design can deliver medicine directly to the gut in mice at significantly lower doses than current inflammatory bowel disease treatments. The proof-of-concept study, published today in Science, introduced a mechanism called ‘GlycoCaging’ that releases medicine exclusively to ...

Research with Neutrons for Better mRNA Medicines

Anti-inflammatory lipid nanoparticles could unlock new therapeutic options for a wide range of diseases

05-May-2021 - If not before, then certainly since the first messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to combat the SARS CoV2 virus were approved in Germany, mRNA has become a recognized term even outside scientific circles. What is less well known is that mRNA can be used to produce much more than just vaccines. Around ...

Doping by athletes could become tougher to hide with new detection method

Ion mobility-mass spectrometry to detect known dopants and newly created illicit steroids not yet known

12-Apr-2021 - As the world awaits the upcoming Olympic games, a new method for detecting doping compounds in urine samples could level the playing field for those trying to keep athletics clean. Scientists report an approach using ion mobility-mass spectrometry to help regulatory agencies detect existing ...

Steroids could do more harm than good in treating coronavirus

10-Feb-2020 - Steroids should be avoided in the treatment of the current novel coronavirus, experts have advised. A commentary article published in The Lancet concludes that, based on evidence from previous outbreaks of similar types of infection such as SARS, steroids provide little benefit to patients and ...

Study ends debate over role of steroids in treating septic shock

22-Jan-2018 - The results from the largest ever study of septic shock could improve treatment for critically ill patients and save health systems worldwide hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Researchers at The George Institute for Global Health studied whether the use of steroids as an additional ...

Streamlined process opens drug development to a new class of steroids

27-Sep-2017 - Researchers at Dartmouth College have developed a technique to produce synthetic steroids that could pave the way for a cascade of new drug discoveries. The process facilitates access to rare, mirror-image isomers of naturally occurring steroid structures. The technique, based on a series of new ...

Reasons not to lick a toad

31-Jan-2017 - As human diseases become alarmingly antibiotic resistant, identification of new pharmaceuticals is critical. The cane toad and other members of the Bufonidae family produce substances widely used in traditional folk medicine, but endangered family members, like Panama's golden frog, Atelopus ...

Cholesterol an Important Piece of the Puzzle for Fat-Burning

28-Nov-2016 - Gut bacteria play a little-understood role in the body’s energy balance, which is influenced by diet. However, the crucial nutritional components are unknown. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was able to demonstrate for the very first time that mice without gastrointestinal ...

Promising transport molecule for steroid medications discovered

09-Nov-2016 - When the word steroids comes up, a lot of people think of doping. It is much less well known that steroids are used in the treatment of many diseases, such as asthma, neurodermatitis, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn’s Disease. Scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Jacobs ...

New method to performance-enhancing drugs

20-Mar-2014 - While the world's best athletes competed during last month's winter Olympics, doctors and scientists were waging a different battle behind the scenes to make sure no one had an unfair advantage from banned performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Now, for the first time, researchers have unveiled a ...