Category archives: Medicine

LSD as a therapeutic agent for autism

LSD as a therapeutic agent for autism

MedicineNeurobiology

By José Ramón Alonso

Treatment of children with autism in the 1960s included shock therapies and many different psychotropic drugs. The results were bad: there was no positive change in those children although the treatments were occasionally maintained for years. Under these circumstances, more powerful drugs were sought and a new substance was considered: lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD […]

Holidays, drug addiction…and cancer research

Holidays, drug addiction…and cancer research

BiochemistryBiomedicineMedicine

By Isabel Perez Castro

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 […]

Combatting antimicrobial resistance with a ruthenium-based photorelease antimicrobial therapy

Combatting antimicrobial resistance with a ruthenium-based photorelease antimicrobial therapy

ChemistryCondensed matterMedicineMicrobiologyPharmacy

By DIPC

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex problem that contributes to health and economic losses worldwide. Resistance to antimicrobial therapies reduces the effectiveness of current drugs, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and health care expenditure. Because globalization increases the vulnerability of any country to diseases occurring in other countries, resistance presents a major threat to global public […]

Fasting against diabetes

Fasting against diabetes

HealthMedicine

By Rosa García-Verdugo

Diabetes is a disease typically associated with old age, especially when speaking of type 2, characterized for insulin resistance, and associated with obesity and therefore, more likely to occur in old age. A recent couple of papers published in Cell and Science Translational Medicine point to the healing potential of a fasting-mimicking diet for resetting […]

How drug discovery works: finding new strategies against Kaposi’s sarcoma

How drug discovery works: finding new strategies against Kaposi’s sarcoma

BiomedicineMedicinePharmacy

By Isabel Perez Castro

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 […]

Pulsed radiotherapy

Pulsed radiotherapy

MedicinePhysics

By Invited Researcher

Can radiotherapy with laser-produced ionizing radiation be an alternative to conventional radiotherapy? Can we deep our understanding of the basic mechanisms of radiation damage? Can we study the very early biological response of the living matter and use this knowledge to design more efficient radiotherapy treatments? Contrary to popular belief, when tumoral tissue is irradiated […]

Melodrama with happy ending for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients

Melodrama with happy ending for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients

BiologyBiomedicineGeneticsMedicinePharmacy

By Sergio Laínez

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 […]