Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs) refer to a variety of cognitive abnormalities mainly experienced by elderly patients after anesthesia procedures and include cognitive impairment and disorientation linked to oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a neurotrophic hormone that regulates microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, may represent a therapeutic target in this context.

Vect-Horus SAS has entered into a license agreement providing Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. with a worldwide, exclusive license for a specified number of targets using Vect-Horus’ platform technology Vectrans for systemic delivery of RNA-targeted therapeutics that can cross the blood-brain barrier and address targets in the central nervous system.

Researchers from Chengdu Zeling Biomedical Technology Co. Ltd. and affiliated organizations presented the discovery of novel phosphatidylinositol 3‑phosphate 5‑kinase (PIKfyve) inhibitors being developed for the treatment of cancer.

Researchers from Institute of Materia Medica Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College have discovered novel selective Kv2.1 inhibitors as potential therapeutic candidates for the treatment of ischemic stroke.

Invitae Corp. has entered into a partnership with Bridgebio Pharma Inc. to advance genetics-based drug discovery for rare diseases. The goal of the collaboration is to generate new insights focused on genetic modifiers and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for rare diseases and other unmet medical needs.