Sona C
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sonaxyz.bsky.social
Sona C
@sonaxyz.bsky.social
Drug Discovery. Neuroscience. Technology. President, AI @ Pangea Bio
Could overlooking sex differences be part of the reason for stalling in Alzheimer’s research progress? Fascinating
that it disproportionately affect women who represent 2/3 of patients, and estrogen seems to play a major role. #Alzheimers #Neuro #womenshealth 🧠🧐

tinyurl.com/39xtveas
Brains, biases and amyloid beta: Why the female brain deserves a closer look in Alzheimer’s research
New results suggest the disease progresses differently in women, but we need more basic science to unpack the mechanisms involved.
tinyurl.com
January 12, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Our assessment of a person's epigenetic ("biological") age has been centered on DNA methylation. A new report shows that a set of 7 histone markers has comparable accuracy and also uncovers new pathways of aging biology
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 1, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Hallmarks of brain aging from a comprehensive single-cell sequencing of 1.2 million cells
Specific cell-type pattern, role of immune response, inflammation, and a potential hypothalamus (near 3rd ventricle) hot spot for aging
www.nature.com/articles/s41... @nature.com @alleninstitute.bsky.social
January 1, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Many Americans are not adequately represented in #ClinicalTrials, which can lead to poorer health outcomes for underrepresented groups.

Learn about the causes and consequences of this underrepresentation and how to remedy it from an @ISSUESinST.bsky.social podcast: https://buff.ly/4gVhMiX
December 27, 2024 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Sona C
An opioid with a literal, light-sensitive 'on/off switch' to avoid fatal side effects? Look no further - Azomorphine-3 (AM3)! The most exciting study I've been part of, thus far. With the labs of Seva Katritch, Dirk Trauner @dirktrauner.bsky.social and Josh Levitz.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
December 20, 2024 at 11:35 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Housing densities showed significant effects on the lifespan

".…gut microorganisms may play a significant role in regulating the density-dependent aging-related processes...."

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
December 20, 2024 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Neuronal activity can boost mitochondrial transcription. This process is compromised in aging brains, suggesting a potential target for fighting the cognitive decline associated with aging.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Boosting neuronal activity-driven mitochondrial DNA transcription improves cognition in aged mice
Deciphering the complex interplay between neuronal activity and mitochondrial function is pivotal in understanding brain aging, a multifaceted process marked by declines in synaptic function and mitoc...
www.science.org
December 20, 2024 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Sona C
"We want to understand the role of neural stem cells in providing a beneficial environment for #resilience within the brain.”

#neuroscience #neuroskyence #neurology #Alzheimers #dementia
Blight or Benefit: How Cellular Neighbors Shape the Aging Brain
Researchers at Stanford’s Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience merge spatial transcriptomics and AI to
brainresilience.stanford.edu
December 20, 2024 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by Sona C
Out now in Nature from @behrenstimb.bsky.social and crew:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Understanding this kind of schematic pattern learning and transfer will be key, IMO, to moving towards models of what we might call "higher-order cognition" or "reasoning".

🧠📈 🧪
A cellular basis for mapping behavioural structure - Nature
Mice generalize complex task structures by using neurons in the medial frontal cortex that encode progress to task goals and embed behavioural sequences.
www.nature.com
December 19, 2024 at 3:07 PM
This is pretty damn cool, new research from stanford reports building an #agingclock of the #brain using #spatialtranscriptomics. Has interesting insights on how things like exercise and disease impact brain cell aging. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Spatial transcriptomic clocks reveal cell proximity effects in brain ageing - Nature
A spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomics map of the mouse brain at different ages reveals signatures of ageing, rejuvenation and disease, including ageing effects associated with T cells and r...
www.nature.com
December 19, 2024 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Sona C
"Why does the brain need billions of neurons to process 10 bits/second? Why can we only think about one thing at a time?"
www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

From The Unbearable Slowness of Being
December 17, 2024 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Shaped by his own addiction, Kennedy is embracing ideologically flexible approaches to the opioid epidemic.
‘Tough love’: How RFK Jr.’s views on addiction could bring a new era of U.S. drug policy
Shaped by his own addiction, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is embracing ideologically flexible approaches to the opioid epidemic.
buff.ly
December 11, 2024 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Sona C
This seems like positive step - but its frustrating to see such a wrong headed aim to *break* addictions when we should obviously *treat* them as they are illnesses - albeit complex ones.

We don’t aim to break depression, heart failure or cancer

www.theguardian.com/law/2024/dec...
Specialist courts proposed to break addictions of prolific offenders in England and Wales
Exclusive: Pilots of scheme to tackle drug-driven crimes have been encouraging, says head of sentencing review
www.theguardian.com
December 11, 2024 at 7:56 AM
Interesting.. patients on GLP-1 agonists commonly report anhedonia as a side effect of these drugs
December 9, 2024 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Stress can dull our capacity for joy. Why? #Nature

"Anhedonia is something that patients care about the most, and feel like it’s least addressed by current treatments"

doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Understanding the neural code of stress to control anhedonia - Nature
Examination of the neural activity in the basolateral amygdala and ventral CA1 of mice during tasks or rest following exposure to social stress reveals signatures of resilience and susceptibility to s...
doi.org
December 9, 2024 at 2:15 PM
Insight into the #neurobiology of #addiction: Drugs like morphine boost myelination in dopaminergic neurons & the reward circuit, increasing signaling + reinforcing addictive behaviors. Conversely,blocking myelination reduced drug-seeking. Could be interesting for #therapeutics? tinyurl.com/ywznzdzn
Brain Plasticity's Dark Side: New Insights into Addiction Mechanisms - Neuroscience News
Researchers discovered that adaptive myelination, a form of brain plasticity, contributes to drug addiction.
tinyurl.com
December 9, 2024 at 4:53 PM
Reposted by Sona C
2 months after its big IPO, BioAge axed a Phase 2 of its oral drug + Zepbound following safety findings. Its stock cratered 70%

The California startup began as an anti-aging biotech in '15. It then got an Amgen heart failure drug for $1M upfront & repositioned the small molecule for obesity
BioAge Labs scraps Phase 2 obesity trial just months after IPO
BioAge Labs is scrapping a Phase 2 trial testing its anti-obesity drug, a few months after its flashy $198 million initial public offering. The California biotech said after the markets closed on Frid...
endpts.com
December 6, 2024 at 10:33 PM
Reposted by Sona C
This tool analyzes #biomarkers that can induce 3D structural changes in proteins, providing critical insights into disease mechanisms. The findings could lead to advancements in early detection and treatment strategies for #Alzheimers disease.

#dementia #neuroscience
Novel All-in-One Computational Pipeline Identifies Protein Biomarkers Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and Predicts 3D Structural Alterations
Researchers designed novel computational pipeline designed to identify protein biomarkers associated with complex diseases.
www.publichealth.columbia.edu
December 5, 2024 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Sona C
GSK on fire with deals, especially focused on novel target ID.

Also spurs an interesting question around how much is a novel target opportunity really worth?

www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/gsk-...
GSK inks 2nd neuro pact in weeks, this time with Danish biotech Muna in Alzheimer's
GSK has penned another neuroscience pact, this time with Danish biotech Muna Therapeutics. | GSK has penned another neuroscience pact, this time with Danish biotech Muna Therapeutics. The two companie...
www.fiercebiotech.com
December 5, 2024 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Treatment Resistant Depression — A Collective Failure of Imagination

www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/treatment-...
Treatment Resistant Depression — A Collective Failure of Imagination
What does TRD tell us about the assumptions guiding clinical care?
www.psychiatrymargins.com
December 4, 2024 at 11:49 PM
Reposted by Sona C
Eli Lilly said its weight loss drug Zepbound led to 47% greater weight reduction than rival medicine Wegovy
Eli Lilly says its weight loss drug Zepbound outperformed Wegovy in a study
Eli Lilly said its drug Zepbound led to greater weight reduction than rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy in a head-to-head randomized controlled trial.
buff.ly
December 4, 2024 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Sona C
New #schizophrenia drug could treat #Alzheimers disease: half a dozen drugs are in trials for conditions of the brain, but success is not guaranteed.

#dementia #mentalhealth #geriatrics #psychiatry #neurology #neuroscience
New schizophrenia drug could treat Alzheimer’s disease
Half a dozen drugs are in trials for conditions of the brain, but success is not guaranteed.
www.nature.com
November 30, 2024 at 1:32 AM
If Vertex's suzetrigine is approved, it will be the first non-opioid (NaV1.8 inhibitor) for severe pain. Payors face a dilemma: stick w/ protocol of covering cheap but addictive generic opioids, or cover a safer, pricier branded option? #pain #therapeutic #neuro #pharma #biotech tinyurl.com/4byn7s92
Managing pain without opioids is on the horizon – if we decide it’s worth it — RApport
Thanks to the relentless efforts of scientists at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, there will likely soon be a novel non-opioid pain medicine. How insurance plans, including Medicare, decide to cover this drug...
tinyurl.com
December 2, 2024 at 5:14 PM
Can the therapeutic benefit of psychedelics be unlocked w/o the trip? Only time (& clinical studies) will tell. In mice, scientists managed to identify & reactivate the neural circuits for anxiety relief while bypassing those causing hallucinations. tinyurl.com/3c6v4w3v #neuroscience #therapeutics
Isolation of psychedelic-responsive neurons underlying anxiolytic behavioral states
Psychedelics hold promise as alternate treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the neural mechanisms by which they drive adaptive behavioral effects remain unclear. We isolated the specifi...
tinyurl.com
December 1, 2024 at 10:41 PM