Drugs targeting receptors of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) are widely used in neuropsychiatry and some such agents, most notably psilocybin, have shown potential for further drug development, but hallucinogenic effects have limited their clinical use. The findings of a new multicenter Chinese structural pharmacology study may now provide a solid basis for the structure-based design of safe and nonhallucinogenic psychedelic analogues with therapeutic efficacy, the authors reported in the January 28, 2022, edition of Science.

Two studies published this January by separate research teams have conclusively identified Epstein-Barr virus infection as the cause of multiple sclerosis, and the mechanism by which the immune response to EBV infection triggers an attack on the myelin sheath, the insulation that enables high-speed neuronal transmission.

By using a new method to model ovarian cancer, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have gained new insights into the role of senescence in therapy response of high-grade serous ovarian cancers.

Tau protein aggregates are present in a group of disorders, collectively termed the tauopathies. Alzheimer's disease is the most common of those disorders, while frontotemporal dementia is most strongly linked to tau. Now, a map of the proteins that interact with tau and how those interactions differ between normal and disease-associated tau protein could give new clues on how the protein causes damage in neurodegenerative disorders, and on how to treat or prevent that damage.

Antibodies to the EBNA1 protein of Epstein-Barr virus can cross-react with glial cell adhesion molecule (GlialCAM), a component of the myelin sheath. The findings are the first to report a mechanism for how viral infections can cause autoimmune disorders.

A novel dual-action small molecule developed by a team led by scientists at Kyungpook National University (KNU) in Daegu, South Korea, has been shown to improve the neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in mice, the authors reported in the Jan. 18, 2022, edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Destroying senescent cells in the aging stem cell niche, either genetically or pharmacologically using the small-molecule senolytic ABT-263 (navitoclax; Abbvie Inc.), enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function in mice, a Canadian study led by scientists at the University of Toronto has found.

The enzyme poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP1) is well known for its role in DNA damage repair, and multiple FDA-approved PARP inhibitors are used to treat BRCA-mutated tumors. Now, researchers at the Wistar Institute have described a role for PARP in regulating the genome of Epstein-Barr virus.

Investigators have identified structural differences between amyloid-beta (Abeta) aggregates in the postmortem brains of patients with inherited and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), respectively. Moreover, both were different from the aggregates that form when Abeta assembles in vitro.

A study by researchers led by David James from the University of Sydney showcases the diversity in metabolic responses observed across different mouse strains exposed to two different diets that demonstrates the heritability of metabolic traits.