<div id="error"><p class="wpdberror"><strong>WordPress database error:</strong> [The table 'wp_yoast_indexable' is full]<br /><code>UPDATE `wp_yoast_indexable` SET `object_id` = '51', `object_type` = 'term', `object_sub_type` = 'post_tag', `permalink` = 'https://virusreports.net/tag/novel/', `blog_id` = '1', `primary_focus_keyword_score` = NULL, `is_robots_noindex` = NULL, `is_public` = NULL, `open_graph_image` = NULL, `open_graph_image_id` = NULL, `open_graph_image_source` = NULL, `open_graph_image_meta` = NULL, `twitter_image` = NULL, `twitter_image_id` = NULL, `twitter_image_source` = NULL, `canonical` = NULL, `primary_focus_keyword` = NULL, `title` = NULL, `description` = NULL, `readability_score` = NULL, `inclusive_language_score` = NULL, `breadcrumb_title` = 'Novel', `open_graph_title` = NULL, `open_graph_description` = NULL, `twitter_title` = NULL, `twitter_description` = NULL, `is_cornerstone` = '0', `is_robots_nofollow` = NULL, `is_robots_noarchive` = NULL, `is_robots_noimageindex` = NULL, `is_robots_nosnippet` = NULL, `object_published_at` = '2020-04-16 03:16:56', `object_last_modified` = '2020-08-05 15:21:28', `version` = '2', `permalink_hash` = '35:9432370a45fb82bd0086b65057ac3c51', `updated_at` = '2026-09-06 05:58:43' WHERE `id` = '23421'</code></p></div><div id="error"><p class="wpdberror"><strong>WordPress database error:</strong> [The table 'wp_yoast_indexable_hierarchy' is full]<br /><code>DELETE FROM `wp_yoast_indexable_hierarchy` WHERE `indexable_id` = '23421'</code></p></div><div id="error"><p class="wpdberror"><strong>WordPress database error:</strong> [Duplicate entry '23421-0' for key 'PRIMARY']<br /><code>INSERT INTO `wp_yoast_indexable_hierarchy` (`indexable_id`, `ancestor_id`, `depth`, `blog_id`) VALUES ('23421', '0', '0', '1')</code></p></div>Novel Archives

Researchers have found a seemingly safe way to administer drugs directly into the brain: through a previously unknown type of neurotransmitters. They tested this approach in mice.

neurotransmitters in the brain — A previously unknown type of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) may provide a safe method of getting medication across the blood-brain barrier.

The blood-brain barrier poses a crucial challenge for doctors hoping to deliver drugs and other therapeutic substances directly to the brain.

A new study from researchers at Tufts University in Boston, MA, describes a way of getting medication safely across the blood-brain barrier.

The researchers found that certain neurotransmitters can help lipid-based nanoparticles pass through the blood-brain barrier and into the brain.

Corresponding author, Tufts biomedical engineer Qiaobing Xu says that:

“We can deliver a wide range of molecules by packaging them into the lipid-based nanoparticles without chemically modifying the drugs themselves. We can also achieve delivery across the blood-brain barrier without disrupting the integrity of the barrier.”

The study appears in Science Advances.

The blood-brain barrier consists of a blood vessel lining of endothelial cells that keeps foreign molecules from escaping from the blood vessels and entering the brain fluid where they could affect neurons and other brain cells. The barrier is highly selective about the non-native molecules it allows into the brain, and that includes therapeutic substances.

While small molecule or macromolecule drugs have the potential to treat brain tumors, infections, neurogenerative disorders, and stroke, the presence of the blood-brain barrier makes it difficult for doctors to administer such therapies.

Scientists have attempted various workarounds, and none have proven sufficiently safe or effective. Direct injection of compounds into the brain, as well as efforts to force ‘leaks’ through the barrier, carry risks, such as neurotoxicity, infection, and tissue damage.

Researchers have looked into the use of “carriers,” such as monoclonal antibodies and modified viruses, that travel into the brain, taking therapeutic molecules with them.

However, cost and safety concerns accompany this approach. Scientists have also investigated a similar use of polymers, nanocapsules, and nanoparticles with some success. However, adapting these materials for such use is often complicated.

However, the blood-brain barrier does allow certain neurotransmitters into the brain. Xu and his colleagues have developed a system that uses a particular class of neurotransmitters as a means to traverse the barrier, carrying molecules into the brains of mice.

The authors of the study began by attaching one of these neurotransmitters to fat-, or lipid-like molecules. Next, they doped these combined neurotransmitter-lipidoids, or NT-lipidoids, into lipid-nanoparticles (LNPs).

LNPs are small lipid bubbles into which the scientists inserted therapeutic molecules. The scientists can inject the NT-lipidoid LNPs and the molecules they contain into the bloodstream intravenously.

When the LNPs arrive at the blood-brain barrier, their neurotransmitter provides entry, delivering the molecules they carry directly and safely to the brain’s neurons and other cells.

Co-author Feihe Ma notes that “It’s simple, effective, and potentially broadly applicable — we can modify the container for the drug, and by adding the NT-lipidoid, it’s like attaching an address label for delivery into the brain.”

Researchers from the Xu laboratory report the successful delivery of the following NT-lipidoid LNPs:

amphotericin B, a small-molecule antifungal drug
a tau antisense oligonucleotide that inhibits the production of the tau proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease
GFP-Cre, a gene-editing protein.

The team was able to confirm the successful targeting of these payloads to the mice’s brains. In the case of the tau antisense oligonucleotide, they observed a reduction in tau proteins.

The GFP-Cre protein was the first-ever instance of genome editing of neuronal cells initiated intravenously.

In addition to the substances tested for the study, Xu expects that scientists can use the LNPs to deliver a variety of therapeutic substances to the brain, including DNA and large-enzyme complexes.

“The power of our method is that it is extremely versatile and relatively non-disruptive,” says Xu.

A team of scientists from China has found a new candidate drug against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which works by inhibiting a key part of the virus’s machinery.

Scientist in a laboratory — A team of scientists has identified a compound that might help treat COVID-19.

Much of the world is on hold until scientists find a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, which has, so far, claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

However, with current estimates suggesting that a vaccine is 12–18 months away, many people are placing increasing hope on an effective treatment for COVID-19.

For this reason, people have been eagerly awaiting news on Gilead’s experimental Ebola drug remdesivir, after former World Health Organization (WHO) Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward described it as the only drug that the organization consider to have “real efficacy.”

However, with more recent data appearing to show failure in a clinical trial, the race for a successful treatment for COVID-19 continues.

The scientists behind the current study — which features in Science — took a structure-based approach to designing a treatment, using the major components of the coronavirus as a starting point. The virus contains genetic information in RNA, which sits within an envelope of fats and proteins.

These proteins belong to four main classes, relating to:

the envelope (E) and membrane (M), which surround the virus
spike (S) proteins, which are protrusions that bind to receptors on the host cell
the nucleocapsid (N), which protects the virus’s genetic information

The production of these viral proteins occurs with the help of a specialized enzyme called a protease.

This enzyme is an ideal target for a drug as it plays a vital role in the life cycle of the virus, helping it replicate. In other words, the virus cannot live without it.

The scientists analyzed the coronavirus protease in detail to help them identify compounds that target a critical part of its structure.

Beginning with a starting material that is available from commercial suppliers, they performed a series of synthesis steps to create two lead compounds named 11a and 11b.

The scientists found that both compounds were good inhibitors of the enzyme, achieving 100% and 96% inhibition activity, respectively.

The scientists went on to monitor the antiviral activity of the compounds using infected cells, and again, both drugs showed good anti-infection activity.

They then used mice to investigate the pharmacokinetics, which refers to how the body absorbs the drug and breaks it down over time. This analysis gives an indication of how long the drug remains active in the body, and, therefore, what dosages might be safe and effective.

The team administered the two compounds by various routes, including injection just under the skin and intravenous (IV) delivery. Giving the compound via an IV drip may be necessary in some severe cases of COVID-19 to achieve a high concentration rapidly.

Both compounds showed good pharmacokinetic properties, suggesting that they could both be promising drug candidates.

To investigate how the compounds work, the scientists used very high resolution imaging techniques. These studies showed that the compounds have similar mechanisms of action, both binding to the same key structure of the enzyme to block its activity and, thus, kill the virus.

Although both compounds showed favorable properties, final tests in animals showed that the first compound, 11a, is less toxic, making it the better candidate.

According to the reported results, this is a highly promising compound. What is more, because there is no human equivalent to the enzyme that it targets, the drug is unlikely to cause serious side effects in people.

The researchers say that preclinical research on the compound is continuing. They are also sharing their data with scientists around the world to help accelerate the development of the treatment.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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