The U.S. FDA is turning the clock back more than 20 years to advance women’s health by narrowing the boxed warning on hormone replacement therapies (HRTs) for menopause. The agency announced at a Nov. 10 news conference that it’s working with companies to update their HRT labeling to remove references to risks of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia.
Synchron Inc.'s recent $200 million raise for its Stentrode brain-computer interface platform comes at a pivotal time for the technology. Advances in BCI development, ongoing clinical trials and growing market demand are drawing increased investor interest in the technology which has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people. At the same time, government agencies are closely monitoring the field, recognizing the potential while urging caution about the risks involved.
Medical Microinstruments Inc., reported the U.S. FDA approval of an investigational device exemption for a study using its Symani surgical system for treating Alzheimer’s disease, one of its earliest forays into the brain.
Sage Therapeutics Inc. has described sterol derivatives acting as glutamate receptor ionotropic, NMDA 2A (GRIN2A; GluN2A) negative allosteric modulators reported to be useful for the treatment of neurological disorders.
In Alzheimer’s disease, microglia act as a double-edged sword. They can either protect the brain or worsen the damage, depending on their activation state. Inflammatory activation harms healthy neurons. However, a study reveals that a special type of microglia expressing specific receptors and behaving like T cells may help mitigate this neurodegenerative condition.
Despite the formidable challenges for developing precision psychiatry, the approach is notching its first successes in the preclinical and even some clinical settings. Many individual studies as well as large projects like the Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Markers studies and the Psychiatric Biomarkers Network have been looking at multiple biomarker types, and have begun to identify predictors of specific symptoms, or disease progression.
Despite the formidable challenges for developing precision psychiatry, the approach is notching its first successes in the preclinical and even some clinical settings. Many individual studies as well as large projects like the Psychiatric Ratings using Intermediate Markers studies and the Psychiatric Biomarkers Network have been looking at multiple biomarker types, and have begun to identify predictors of specific symptoms, or disease progression.
A collaborative effort is trying to construct the cell atlas of the developing brains of humans and animal models. Using advanced single-cell and spatial technologies, they mapped how brain cell types emerge, diversify and organize over time, offering new insights into the origins of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. These breakthroughs in genomics and imaging will allow scientists to study complex developmental processes with high resolution.
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