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Can Viagra prevent or reverse Alzheimer’s disease? Older men’s ship may be coming in. New research from the Cleveland Clinic suggests the erectile-dysfunction drug could ward off cognitive decline, illustrating how artificial intelligence can help scientists repurpose old medications for new diseases. The study, published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, builds on earlier research by the Cleveland Clinic that identified sildenafil, the generic name for Viagra, as a promising Alzheimer’s treatment. Researchers first identified genes associated with the disease’s pathology, amyloid plaque and tau tangles in the brain. They then mapped out the molecular interplay among more...

People who are diagnosed with head and neck cancer often receive a standard type of chemotherapy as part of their treatment. If they are exposed to secondhand smoke during chemotherapy—even if they have never smoked themselves—the treatment may be far less effective at killing cancer cells. In her laboratory, Queimado and her team exposed head and neck cancer cells to secondhand smoke for 48 hours (a control group of cancer cells was not exposed to secondhand smoke). Simultaneously, the cells were treated with cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat head and neck cancer. The findings were significant: Twice...

Diabetic patients who take anti-diabetic drugs—known as glitazones—long term had a lower risk of primary and secondary brain cancer compared with diabetic patients on other medications, new research has found. The study suggests these drugs could be repurposed to prevent brain metastasis in cancer patients who are at high risk of secondary cancers. PPAR- α agonists (fibrates) and PPAR γ agonists (glitazones) drugs are clinically important due to their widespread safe use to treat high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia) and diabetes. Previous studies have suggested that fibrates and glitazones may have a role in brain tumor prevention. Given the safety and cost...

Bladder cancer is one of the more common cancers worldwide. Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (tuberculosis vaccine) has been used as adjuvant therapy by urologists since 1976. Unfortunately, BCG fails approximately 40% of patients in two years. Since 2012, BCG has been in a worldwide shortage situation. One of the most promising new strategies for NMIBC is the combination of intravesical chemotherapy drugs used as sequential therapy, one drug after the other, with one-hour bladder dwell time for each drug. Initial results with gemcitabine (Gem) and mitomycin C (MMC) appeared promising but shortages in MMC led to the need to substitute docetaxel...

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to help people with food allergies in the event they are accidentally exposed. It’s called Xolair, and it’s been used to treat asthma for two decades. Now, it has a new use. News4JAX spoke to a local mom Monday who said her 9-year-old daughter, Catherine, ended up in the hospital last year after having an allergic reaction to a pecan on Thanksgiving. “It gave me hives. And um I think made me stop breathing for a little,” Catherine said. Catherine said it wasn’t scary for her. But it was for her...

A research team brings together experts in an effort to discover exactly what is ailing the sickest long COVID patients and find treatments for them. The team reports that a disproportionate number of people affected—nearly 70%—are female and face debilitating symptoms that are identical to chronic fatigue syndrome, now referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS. Blood samples show telltale amino acid deficiencies, suggesting readily available supplements have potential as therapy. "We do not actually believe that long COVID is a separate new disease," explains Jan Willem Cohen. Thirty patients had persistent severe long COVID symptoms 12 months...

A team of researchers have found a new therapeutic strategy for patients with a specific subtype of metastatic prostate cancer resistant to standard chemotherapy treatment with docetaxel. In this study, they propose a new treatment based on a combination of kinase inhibitors in patients who inevitably stop responding to docetaxel. The team found that resistance to this drug is associated with the hyperactivation of the cellular pathways PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK and have explored the possibility of inhibiting these pathways as a new therapeutic strategy in patients who maintain the function of PTEN, a negative regulatory protein of the PI3K/AKT pathway....

Combining testosterone-blocking drugs in patients with prostate cancer relapse prevents the spread of cancer better than treatment with a single drug, a multi-institution, Phase 3 clinical trial led by researchers has found. The approach can extend the time between debilitating drug treatments without prolonging the time it takes to recover from each treatment. Prostate cancer is usually treated with one of several testosterone-lowering drugs for a set period of time. "This adds to a growing body of evidence in favor of more intensive testosterone-blocking therapy in patients with higher-risk prostate cancer," said Rahul Aggarwal, MD. The new study focused on...

Researchers have identified a receptor protein known as CHRM1 as a key player in prostate cancer cells' resistance to docetaxel, a commonly-used chemotherapy drug to treat advanced cancer that has spread beyond the prostate. The discovery opens the door to new treatment strategies that could overcome this resistance. The study showed that blocking CHRM1 in resistant prostate cancer cell lines and an animal model based on patient-derived resistant tissue restored docetaxel's ability to kill cells and stop tumor growth. The researchers did this by using dicyclomine, a drug that selectively inhibits CHRM1 activity. Dicyclomine is already on the market as...

Aformer U.S attorney general said the federal cases involving former President Donald Trump should be fast-tracked in the courts like key decisions involving President Richard Nixon were. Eric Holder, who was attorney general from 2009 to 2015, said the cases against Trump need to be heard before the November election. Legal maneuvers by Trump's lawyers have held up the federal election case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C. Smith also brought charges against Trump in the classified documents case in Florida. The U.S. Supreme Court will at some point decide if Trump is immune from prosecution for...

A few years ago, a patient was cured of multiple myeloma after being treated for hepatitis C. Multiple myeloma is one of the most common cancers of the blood. The desire to understand how this patient was cured has led to the discovery that hepatitis B and C viruses are one of the causes of multiple myeloma, and eliminating infection with antivirals is often the way to fight this type of cancer. Multiple myeloma (MM) is an excessive proliferation of blood cells that make antibodies (also called immunoglobulins), the proteins that defend the body from infections. In myeloma, a certain...

Scientists have discovered a new way to destroy cancer cells. Stimulating aminocyanine molecules with near-infrared light caused them to vibrate in sync, enough to break apart the membranes of cancer cells. Aminocyanine molecules are already used in bioimaging as synthetic dyes. Commonly used in low doses to detect cancer, they stay stable in water and are very good at attaching themselves to the outside of cells. How the vibration mechanism works. (Ciceron Ayala-Orozco et al., Nature Chemistry, 2023) The research team from Rice University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas, says the new approach is a marked improvement...

FDA is not a physician. It has authority to inform, announce, and apprise — but not to endorse, denounce, or advise. Appeals Court.. An appeals court has ruled that the FDA overstepped its authority in telling the public not to use ivermectin to treat Covid. The lawsuit was filed by Dr. Mary Tally Bowden and two others. Dr. Bowden says ivermectin is safe and effective to treat Covid, and, like many doctors, prescribed it to patients. But the FDA controversialized the medicine in infamous tweets that referred to the veterinary form of ivermectin. One tweet read, "You are not a...

In a randomized trial, researchers uncover evidence supporting a shorter treatment time for breast cancer patients. The study compared two separate dosing schedules of pencil-beam scanning proton therapy, the most advanced type of proton therapy known for its precision in targeting cancer cells while preserving healthy tissue to reduce the risk of side effects. Survival rates for breast cancer continue to improve due to advances, leading to increasing emphasis on reducing the long-term toxicity of cancer treatment, including radiotherapy. Prior to this study, all patients treated with proton postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) had received a conventional 25- to 30-day course delivered...

I am a 250-lb, 6-foot, 65 year-old Freeper from southern Ohio. I have been on 80 mg FloMax since summer and I don't like it. And it doesn't seem to work that well. I have seen that there are several different surgical options. I would appreciate anyone who could share their experience and/or advice. Thanks.

A study suggests metformin is a drug that could prevent the progression of prostate cancer, but only for tumors with low levels of NKX3.1, which are more likely to develop into aggressive cancers. The researchers found metformin restores cancer-fighting mitochondrial activity that is lost when NKX3.1 levels are low, prevents prostate cancer progression in mice, and is associated with better survival in patients with low-NKX3.1 tumors but not high-NKX3.1 tumors. Papachristodoulou found that when prostate cells are under oxidative stress (as happens during prostate cancer development), NKX3.1 moves into the cells' mitochrondria to reduce stress and protect the cells. If...

Researchers have advanced cancer research by identifying hidden regions in the K-Ras protein that contribute to its role in cancer cell proliferation. This discovery, facilitated by advanced NMR techniques, offers new insights for potential drug development, marking a promising step forward in the fight against cancer. The study identifies areas impacted by hazardous genetic alterations. Scientists at Ohio State University have breathed new life into the study of a protein with an outsized link to human cancers because of its dangerous mutations, using advanced research techniques to detect its hidden regions. The Ras family of proteins are enzymes that set...

Men with high-grade prostate cancer and low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels have a poor prognosis. The question remains as to whether the chemotherapy drug docetaxel, which increases survival in metastatic prostate cancer, can improve the cure rate in these patients. In a new study by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, a meta-analysis of five prospective randomized clinical trials (RCTs) found that adding docetaxel to standard-of-care (SOC) treatment was associated with a 70% reduction in death from prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM). Investigators performed a meta-analysis of the RCTs evaluating SOC treatment with radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy or with radical...

A promising cancer treatment that blasts tumors using soundwaves has been approved in the US. A machine that uses histotripsy, a technique that uses sound waves to break down tumors, has been approved to treat liver tumors by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It uses targeted sound waves - like an ultrasound machine - to form microbubbles within the tumor. The forces generated as the bubbles expand and collapse rapidly cause the cancerous mass to break apart, destroying tumor cells and leaving the debris to be eliminated by the immune system.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) with synchronous peritoneal metastases (SPM) is a challenging disease to treat with a relatively poor prognosis. However, recent advances in treatment strategies have led to improved outcomes for patients with SPM. The optimal treatment approach for CRC with SPM remains controversial. A growing body of evidence suggests that comprehensive treatment, including cytoreductive surgery (CRS), chemotherapy, and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), may improve patient outcomes. A recent study evaluated the treatment strategies and outcomes of patients with CRC with SPM. The study included a large sample of patients and the findings suggest that comprehensive treatment was associated with...