List of All Articles with Tag 'a'

Alcohol addiction ruins millions of lives every year, but scientists may have found a cure for this terrible affliction. A new treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been trialled in monkeys with impressive results and, if these translate to human trials, the impact could be monumental. A team of neuroscientists and physiologists from across the US tested a new type of gene therapy to see if they could directly target the underlying brain circuitry associated with sustained heavy drinking. As they noted, in the journal Nature Medicine, people suffering from AUD commonly return to alcohol use even if they attempt to quit. This is largely to do with what’s known as mesolimbic dopamine (DA) signalling – meaning how the central nervous system circuit communicates the feelgood neurotransmitter dopamine. A protein called glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is key to keeping these neurons in this reward circuitry functioning. However, experts have found that levels of GDNF are reduced in people with AUD during periods of alcohol abstinence, most notably in a region of the brain called the ventral tegmental area (VTA), as IFLScience notes. Therefore, the researchers decided to test whether using gene therapy to deliver more GDNF to the VTA could help reinforce this crucial dopaminergic signalling and prevent patients from suffering an alcoholic relapse. The team of scientists explained how alcohol consumption in non-addicts prompts the release of dopamine, creating a pleasurable buzz feeling, but chronic alcohol use causes the brain to adapt and stop releasing so much dopamine. “So when people are addicted to alcohol, they don’t really feel more pleasure in drinking,” Dr Kathleen Grant, a senior co-author of the study, said in a statement. “It seems that they’re drinking more because they feel a need to maintain an intoxicated state.” For their research, Dr Grant and her colleagues used eight rhesus macaque monkeys, who were exposed to increasing concentrations of alcohol over four 30-day “induction” periods. The monkeys then had free access to alcohol and water for 21 hours a day for six months, during which they developed heavy drinking behaviours. This was then followed by a 12-week abstinence phase, with the GDNF treatment performed four weeks in for half of the subjects. The gene therapy was delivered using a a viral vector containing a copy of the human GDNF gene injected directly into the primate’s VTA, according to IFLScience. And the results were truly jaw-dropping. “Drinking went down to almost zero,” Dr Grant said. “For months on end, these animals would choose to drink water and just avoid drinking alcohol altogether. They decreased their drinking to the point that it was so low we didn’t record a blood-alcohol level.” The most exciting aspect of their findings is the suggestion that gene therapy could offer a permanent solution for people with the most severe cases of AUD. This will be a welcome glimmer of hope to many, given that some 29.5 million people were diagnosed with AUD in the US alone in 2021, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Of these 29.5 million sufferers, almost a million (894,000) were aged between 12 and 17. It’ll likely be some time before we know for sure whether the gene therapy can be rolled out in humans, but it’s an important first step in tackling this devastating disorder. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Alabama's Republican attorney general said in a court filing that he has the right to prosecute people who make travel arrangements for pregnant women to have out-of-state abortions.

India is angry at a new Chinese map which it says lays claim to its territory in the Himalayas.

Students at the University of North Carolina are demanding action on gun control in the wake of Monday’s deadly Chapel Hill campus shooting. Around 600 students took part in a rally on Wednesday calling for stricter state gun laws and holding a moment of silence for slain professor Zijie Yan. The student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel marked the tragedy with a powerful front page on Wednesday, featuring the terrified text messages sent by loved ones to its editor-in-chief during the active situation. The page has gone viral. Many questions still remain about suspect Tailei Qi’s motive for the attack as the search for the gun continues. Mr Qi, a PhD student majoring in applied physical sciences, had complained about the victim online in the lead-up to the attack and railed against hard work, “girls and tattletales” and bullies in the US. He was arrested and booked into Orange County Sheriff’s Office jail on a first-degree murder charge for fatally shooting Yan, the head of the Department of Applied Sciences. Read More Who was UNC Chapel Hill shooting victim Zijie Yan? Student who survived Parkland shooting ‘forced to relive grief’ five years later in UNC attack The shooting in Chapel Hill took away the magic of a place I love UNC shooting suspect will not face death penalty, DA says

A factory worker from Indiana has been charged with attempted murder for repeatedly smashing his colleague over the head with a hammer, before walking calmly out of the workplace and telling another colleague: “S*** happens”. Austin Hahn, 27, allegedly attacked the unidentified victim at their workplace, the Bright Sheet Metal Co. in Indianapolis, on the morning of Sunday 20 August, according to court records obtained by Law & Crime. Witnesses told law enforcement that Mr Hahn attacked his coworker from behind with a tinner hammer, using the sharp edge to strike the victim at least six times. He then allegedly threw the hammer in the bin as he calmly went to leave the warehouse. Before he left, Mr Hahn approached another colleague who was outside at the time and was not aware of the attack that had just taken place. According to court records, Mr Hahn patted the colleague on the chest and simply said: “S*** happens”. After the attack, Mr Hahn proceeded to get into his car and reportedly drove to his mother’s home. Officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were called to a report of a possible battery at the warehouse at around 7.30am, according to the arrest report. The victim was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition. He was found to have suffered skull fractures, brain bleeds, a broken jaw and missing teeth. Mr Hahn’s mother called Anderson Police Department to turn her son into authorities later that morning. He was then arrested at his mother’s house. Police were told by Mr Hahn’s colleagues that he and the victim were “the best of friends” until an argument took place several weeks before, according to court records. Mr Hahn’s roommate told the police that the two were not on good terms because lately, Hahn had been using cannabis “a lot”, WXIN reported. Yet Mr Hahn allegedly apologised, and their dispute was thought to have been forgotten. The unnamed victim, who was at his workstation at the time of the attack, told police he did not know who struck him from behind, but said his colleagues would have witnessed the attack. Mr Hahn is being held without bond on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery and battery by means of a deadly weapon. He is due to appear in court for his next hearing on 19 October. Read More Lady of the Dunes’ late husband has been linked to two other deaths - now his friend speaks out Texas family of four found dead in apparent murder-suicide weeks after daughter drowned Rachel Morin – updates: Maryland police warn Bel Air suspect could be a serial killer

By Engen Tham, Julie Zhu and Clare Jim SHANGHAI/HONG KONG - In the beginning, Hui Ka Yan followed a simple

Thursday is the Home Office deadline for those who fled the Taliban takeover to leave temporary accommodation.

The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, is calling on District Attorney Christina Mitchell to resign and filed a lawsuit accusing her of repeatedly blocking the city's investigation into last year's shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Sage Therapeutics said on Thursday it would cut its workforce by about 40%, weeks after the U.S. health

By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON A federal judge on Thursday will consider whether to impose the steepest sentences

A new report has alleged that the conglomerate used "opaque" funds in Mauritius to manipulate stock prices.

The disgraced lawyer and convicted murderer provided audio for an upcoming documentary, officials say.