Barotrauma

U.S. veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who suffered mild traumatic brain injury from exposure to explosive blasts were found to have changes in cerebrospinal fluid proteins that are typically seen in people who develop Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers. U.S. veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who suffered mild traumatic brain injury from exposure to explosive blasts were found to have changes in cerebrospinal fluid proteins that are typically seen in people who develop Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine and VA Puget Sound Health Care System. "While our research does not prove that veterans who experienced these injuries will develop Alzheimer's disease, it raises the possibility that they may be on a pathway leading to dementia," said Dr. Ge Li, the paper's first author and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UW Medicine. The study was published March 13 in the journal Neurology. Previous research has found that sustaining a moderate to severe TBI increases a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. It is not known, however, whether a mild TBI (mTBI) similarly increases this risk. In the new study, the researchers analyzed protein levels in spinal fluid from 51 U.S. veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Each had suffered mTBIs from exposure to explosive blasts and had an average of 20 blast injuries. Those protein levels were compared with the protein levels of 85 veterans and civilians of similar age who had never sustained a TBI. In this study, the veterans were considered to have experienced a TBI if they had an alteration or loss of consciousness from the blast. The TBIs were considered mild if the loss of consciousness lasted 30 minutes or less and there was no sign of brain damage on standard clinical MRI or CT scan. Such an injury is considered equivalent to a concussion. The researchers examined protein levels in the veterans' cerebrospinal fluid, which flows around and through the brain and carries away waste materials. Two of the proteins measured compose the chief components of amyloid plaques, which aggregate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. These proteins are called alpha-beta amyloid 40 and 42 (Aβ40, Aβ42). The other proteins are versions of the tau protein. Normally, tau proteins are part of cells' cytoskeletons, which give cells their shape. But with Alzheimer's, these structures are changed, creating tangles within brain cells and killing them. This is the other hallmark of Alzheimer's. With Alzheimer's disease, the levels of alpha-beta amyloid proteins in spinal fluid typically decrease. Researchers hypothesize that the proteins, instead of being flushed out into the spinal fluid and carried away as they normally would be, are deposited in amyloid plaques and remain in the brain. As the disease progresses, tau levels, in contrast, tend to be higher than normal, as the proteins are released from dying brain cells. In the study, mTBI veterans in their late 40s and 50s had lower levels of beta-amyloid proteins, compared with the veterans and civilians who had not had such injuries. Tau protein levels also were abnormal in the older mTBI veterans. Normally, tau levels rise as we age. But among the older middle-aged mTBI veterans, levels tended to remain the same, a finding that the normal brain clearance system may not be working as well in among the people with mTBI. Among older mTBI veterans, having lower beta-amyloid 42 levels was also associated with doing less well on cognitive tests assessing verbal memory and fluency. The decline in beta-amyloid proteins, in particular beta-amyloid 42, was concerning, said senior author Dr. Elaine Peskind, a UW research professor of psychiatry and director of the VA's Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center. "A decline in beta-amyloid 42 is the earliest detectable change due to Alzheimer's that can be found in a cognitively normal person," she said. "The change can appear as much as 20 years before symptoms. So a person can have the pathology of Alzheimer's going on in their brain but still not have any symptoms -- no problem with their memory or thinking functions -- for as long as 20 years." Peskind and her collaborators suspect the cause of the changes in the mTBI veterans' spinal fluid proteins is due to blast-related damage to a system in the brain, called the glymphatic system, that allows fluids to flow through the brain and carry away waste products. To find out, they have been funded by the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke to study the regulation and function of this system in veterans with these injuries.

YouTube Health partnered with Mass General Brigham and the Mexican Red Cross on the informational content. YouTube has launched a new feature to help users quickly find actionable and easy-to-follow videos for basic first aid and emergency care from authoritative health organizations. Viewers searching for certain acute health topics will now see a pinned shelf titled “First aid from health sources” at the top of search results, featuring short explainer videos. YouTube Health partnered with Mass General Brigham and the Mexican Red Cross on the content. The information shelves will appear for topics including opioid overdose, seizure, heart attack, psychosis, CPR, choking, bleeding, stroke, snake bite, tourniquet, suicide and poisoning. They are launching in the U.S. in English and Spanish, with additional countries and languages to come. Mass General Brigham was an early pilot tester of YouTube’s AI-powered dubbing tool called Aloud. It can now share critical health information in Spanish as part of the latest announcement. “Our system is committed to providing credible, trusted information to our patients and, more broadly, to people seeking knowledge around the world,” Merranda Logan, M.D., associate chief academic officer at Mass General Brigham, said in a press release. “We are thrilled to expand our YouTube educational series to include step-by-step basic first aid and emergency care videos in multiple languages.” YouTube Health also worked with the American Heart Association (AHA) to publish a CPR course, available for free on its platform, to help people without a medical background learn CPR. The idea is for viewers to participate in a more in-depth structured learning experience. A Spanish-language version of that course will be available starting in February on the AHA’s channel. Since its launch in 2020, YouTube Health’s mission has been to put high-quality health content at people’s fingertips. Some features to date have ranged from health labels to identify licensed medical professionals to crisis resource panels for viewers in times of distress. 

Grant of Its Newest U.S. Patent Expands Anavex’s Intellectual Property Portfolio in Neurologic IndicationsNEW YORK, Jan. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (“Anavex” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: AVXL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing differentiated therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Rett syndrome and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced today it was granted new U.S. Patent No. 11,839,600 entitled “NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER THERAPY” from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its patent application number 17/890,083. Anavex’s newest patent expands coverage of ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) therapy to ameliorate various conditions associated with loss-of-function mutations of the gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein (MeCP2). The patent claims protect use of ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) to address a range of symptoms exhibited by patients suffering from neurodevelopmental and neurological conditions related to McCP2, such as abnormal breathing, abnormal cardiac function, abnormal feeding, abnormal choking, weight gain failure, abnormal sleep, seizures, abnormal gadolinium-enhancing lesions. Such conditions are frequently associated with diseases such as Rett syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome, Williams syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), childhood disintegrative disorder, Smith-Magenis syndrome, non-syndromic mental retardation, idiopathic neonatal encephalopathy, and idiopathic cerebral palsy. This newest patent is expected to remain in force at least until January 2037, not including any patent term extension. “This new patent on use of ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine) in ameliorating difficult symptoms associated with loss-of-function gene mutations of MeCP2 will be important for Anavex, further reinforcing our already strong position providing novel and effective therapies for debilitating neurodevelopmental and neurological diseases,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anavex. He further added: “We are pleased with the continued development of the patent portfolio for ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine). The grant of this new patent to Anavex further demonstrates our strong overall commitment to protecting the innovation and commercial opportunity of our product portfolio.” About Neurodevelopmental Disorders Neurodevelopmental disorders refer to a group of conditions that affect the way the brain and nervous system develop. These disorders can cause changes to thinking, feeling, language, and physical abilities like movement and coordination. Neurodevelopmental conditions typically start before adulthood and may continue into adulthood. They are often associated with social impairments and difficulties in communication.1 The number of people globally with developmental intellectual disability was estimated at 107.62 million according to IHME, Global Burden of Disease (2019).2 About Anavex Life Sciences Corp. Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: AVXL) is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Rett syndrome, and other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain, and various types of cancer. Anavex's lead drug candidate, ANAVEX®2-73 (blarcamesine), has successfully completed a Phase 2a and a Phase 2b/3 clinical trial for Alzheimer's disease, a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in Parkinson's disease dementia, and both a Phase 2 and a Phase 3 study in adult patients with Rett syndrome. ANAVEX®2-73 is an orally available drug candidate that restores cellular homeostasis by targeting sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors. Preclinical studies demonstrated its potential to halt and/or reverse the course of Alzheimer's disease. ANAVEX®2-73 also exhibited anticonvulsant, anti-amnesic, neuroprotective, and anti-depressant properties in animal models, indicating its potential to treat additional CNS disorders, including epilepsy. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research previously awarded Anavex a research grant, which fully funded a preclinical study to develop ANAVEX®2-73 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. ANAVEX®3-71, which targets sigma-1 and M1 muscarinic receptors, is a promising clinical stage drug candidate demonstrating disease-modifying activity against the major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in transgenic (3xTg-AD) mice, including cognitive deficits, amyloid, and tau pathologies. In preclinical trials, ANAVEX®3-71 has shown beneficial effects on mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Further information is available at www.anavex.com. You can also connect with the Company on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions based on current information and expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in any of such statements due to various factors, including the risks set forth in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and Anavex Life Sciences Corp. undertakes no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. For Further Information:Anavex Life Sciences Corp.Research & Business DevelopmentToll-free: 1-844-689-3939Email: info@anavex.com Investors:Andrew J. BarwickiInvestor Relations Tel: 516-662-9461Email: andrew@barwicki.com 1 https://www.empowerbh.com/blog/what-are-neurodevelopmental-disorders/2 https://ourworldindata.org/neurodevelopmental-disorders