UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Nanotechnology may help spinal cord injury

EVANSTON, Ill., April 7 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they have created a nano-engineered gel that can enable severed spinal cord fibers to regenerate and grow.

Spinal cord injuries often lead to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation because the damaged nerve fibers can't regenerate, Northwestern University scientists said. Although nerve fibers or axons have the capacity to re-grow, they don't because they're blocked by scar tissue that develops around the injury.

The nanogel developed at the university's Feinberg School of Medicine inhibits formation of scar tissue and enables the severed spinal cord fibers to regenerate and grow, the scientists said.

The gel is injected as a liquid into the spinal cord and self-assembles into a scaffold that supports new nerve fibers. When the gel was injected into mice with a spinal cord injury, after six weeks the animals had a greatly enhanced ability to use their hind legs and walk.

"It's important to understand that something that works in mice will not necessarily work in human beings," said study leader Dr. John Kessler, who noted that if the gel is eventually approved for humans, a clinical trial could begin within several years. The research is reported in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Possible new family of fish discovered

SEATTLE, April 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. ichthyologist said an anglerfish specimen found in Indonesia off Ambon Island might represent a new family of fishes.

University of Washington Professor Ted Pietsch said the fish has tan and peach-colored zebra striping and folds of skin pliable enough to enable it to move through narrow coral reef crevices.

Buck and Fitrie Randolph, owners of Maluku Divers in Ambon City -- with one of their divers, Toby Fadirsyair -- spotted the fish, but could find no similar fishes listed in reference books so they turned to Pietsch for help.

"As soon as I saw the photo I knew it had to be an anglerfish because of the leglike pectoral fins on its sides," Pietsch said, noting the fish's eyes appear to be directed forward, possibly enabling it to have binocular vision, such as humans have. That, said Pietsch, is something he's never seen in his 40 years as an ichthyologist,

Whether the fish represents a new family will entail DNA testing, but Pietsch said that during the past 50 years scientists have described only five new families of fishes and none of them were even remotely related to anglerfishes.

Polyketide drug formation mystery solved

IRVINE, Calif., April 7 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say their discovery of how an organic compound called a polyketide forms its structure may make it easier for chemists to develop new drugs.

University of California-Irving scientists note many of today's top-selling drugs are made from polyketides. But the compound, which is found in nature, has been difficult for chemists to alter and reproduce in large quantities.

Now the UCI researchers have discovered how polyketides form their ringlike shape. The key, they found, is an enzyme called aromatase/cyclase, which forms a C-shaped mold in which polyketides can form, one molecule at a time. By changing that mold, chemists can control the size and shape of the polyketide, resulting in the formation of new drugs.

"Almost every polyketide has rings in its chemical structure, and if we can control ring formation, we can produce more polyketide drugs," said Assistant Professor Sheryl Tsai. "Until now, polyketide ring formation was a mystery that hampered our efforts to produce new drugs."

Polyketide-based products account for more than $35 billion in sales annually and include such drugs as tetracycline, erythromycin, doxorubicin, mithramycin, resverastrol and Zocor.

The research appears online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Study: Continuous oral contraceptives best

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. study suggests continuous oral contraceptives might be more effective than standard 28-day birth control pills.

Penn State University scientists found the continuous oral contraceptives might be better at suppressing the ovary and producing a significant improvement in pain and behavioral changes.

"We have provided a biological proof of concept that both the ovary and the lining of the uterus are suppressed better and quicker with the continuous pill than with the cyclic pill," Dr. Richard Legro said. "And there is no harmful effect on the lining of the uterus either."

The researchers monitored 62 women, randomly assigned to receive either cyclical or continuous birth control pills, for six months.

They found a significant decrease in moderate to heavy bleeding days among women who received the continuous birth control regimen. Women in the continuous group also had a significant decline in circulating and urinary estrogen levels, total ovarian volume and lead follicle size -- all biomarkers indicating the ovary is less active -- and they also reported less pain and behavioral changes compared with women in the cyclic group, the scientists said.

The research appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.