Medical Bulletin 29/May/2023

Here are the top medical news for the day:

Role of previously unknown protein uncovered in obesity and diabetes

A research team from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has identified a novel druggable signaling molecule involved in obesity, a previously unknown protein (MINAR2) discovered in 2020 in the laboratory of Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Nader Rahimi, PhD.

More than 40% of Americans are considered obese, and the trend continues to grow. The treatments or preventive options for obesity and obesity-associated diseases are limited. It is a major national healthcare and public health burden significantly increasing the risk of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer and is linked to the severity of COVID-19.

Reference:

Inactivation of Minar2 in Mice Hyperactivates mTOR Signaling and Results in Obesity,Molecular Metabolism

Novel endoscopic imaging system can detect multiple fluorescent tracers

Endoscopic surgery is one of the primary treatment options to remove tumors for patients with solid cancers. However, there is a high risk of cancer recurrence if even a small number of cancerous cells are left behind after surgical resection. To prevent this from happening, researchers developed fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS). In FGS, patients are injected with a fluorescent probe that preferentially binds to tumor cells, enabling surgeons to easily identify lesions with the help of specialized endoscopes that emit the necessary excitation light.

Unfortunately, tumors can be highly heterogeneous, and a single fluorescent probe is not enough to detect them all. Thus, one of the frontiers in FGS is using cocktails of multiple fluorescent probes (a.k.a. “tracers”) to detect a wider range of tumors, as well as to reduce false positives and negatives. Despite some progress in this direction, clinically approved endoscopes are all optimized to detect only a single tracer. Moreover, multi-tracer instruments currently under development are bulky because they require multiple imaging sensors and optical components.

Reference:

“Bioinspired color-near infrared endoscopic imaging system for molecular guided cancer surgery,” J. Biomed. Opt. 28(5), 056002 (2023), doi 10.1117/1.JBO.28.5.056002.https://spie.org/news/innovative-endoscopic-imaging-system-can-detect-multiple-fluorescent-tracers?SSO=1

Distinct patterns of pre-existing brain health characteristics in stroke patients identified

Extensive research has helped pinpoint risk factors for initial stroke, but there is limited understanding about what the brains of stroke patients look like on a population level, according to UC’s Achala Vagal, MD, professor of neuroradiology.

University of Cincinnati researchers are presenting abstracts at the European Stroke Organization Conference (ESOC) 2023, May 24-26 in Munich, Germany, including the results of the first large-scale assessment of radiological brain health in stroke patients in a population.

Reference:

ACHALA VAGAL et al,“Radiological Phenotypes of Brain Health in a Stroke Population: Primary Results of the Assessing Population-Based Radiological Brain Health in Stroke Epidemiology (APRISE) Study''UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI