There are plenty of examples of drugs that have been repurposed in recent years. For instance, thalidomide, the initially prescribed medication for headache in pregnant women which led to countless numbers of babies born with body malformations during the 50s and 60s, now this drug is used for treating certain types of cancer, such as […]
Interior of a human blood vessel. Something looks wrong, very wrong. Bacteria have entered the circulation, and the immunological system is reacting. All the alarms are on fire, while an army of white blood cells comes by, getting ready to unleash hell on the invaders. Suddenly, among these security agents, a neutrophil stands out. It […]
Diagnosis is one of the trickiest steps in disease management for many diseases, ranging from some types of cancer to rare diseases or neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s for instance. Even though we have been hearing long about the disease, to date the only reliable diagnosis comes from a postmortem brain analysis and the finding of […]
The immune system is composed of a considerable variety of cell types with different functions. One of the most important cells involved in the innate immunity are the macrophages . These cells have a wide spectrum of functions: from bacteria-killing function to wound healing properties. Classically the macrophages according to their functions have been classified […]
Aging is one of those topics mankind is always trying to understand, especially whether it can be reversed or stopped. With increasing age come not only alterations in appearance, but also associated changes like the degeneration of tissues such as muscles, bone and neural tissues or a higher predisposition for disease. In recent years, we […]
Over the last years, we have found out more and more about the vast amount of bacteria that live with and in us. These populations have been shown to play an important role in our health and are associated with diseases ranging from metabolic disorders such as obesity to autoimmune diseases or cancer. But do […]
Cell signalling is the mechanism by which cells communicate with each other and with their environment. Stimuli, which are generally chemical, are transmitted via a signalling cascade to effector molecules that orchestrate the appropriate response. Signalling pathways are not isolated but they rather form a complex network of biochemical reactions that regulate processes such as […]
There is a word everybody fears and that is because when you listen to it out loud, it could be too late. Even though we have likely coexisted with cancer since complex multicellular organisms evolved, to us human beings, it just seems the number of cases keeps growing every year. Sadly, that seems to be […]
15% of human cancers worldwide may be attributed to viruses, 1 with both DNA and RNA viruses being capable of causing the disease. Epstein-Barr virus, human papilloma virus, hepatitis B virus, and human herpes virus-8 are the four DNA viruses capable of causing the development of human cancer, whereas human T lymphotrophic virus type 1 […]
Biology • Biomedicine • Genetics • Medicine • Pharmacy
Patients suffering from rare diseases (defined by the European as those affecting less than 5 in 10000 people) have traditionally been overlooked by pharmaceutical companies. They are usually looking for the next blockbuster drug, so the lack of a large patient pool means they may not generate the revenue needed to justify the R&D financial […]