Latest news with #UniversityofKentucky
The Independent
6 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
The new weight loss drug that should work without common side effects
Scientists have discovered a new experimental weight-loss drug, TDP, which appears to work without causing the side effects of nausea or vomiting common with existing GLP-1 medications like Ozempic. TDP is a smaller version of octadecaneuropeptide (ODN), a protein produced by brain cells called glia, which researchers believe targets energy-regulating pathways in the brain. Animal studies on mice, rats, and shrews showed that TDP led to weight loss and improved blood sugar control without inducing adverse gastrointestinal reactions. The findings, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, are currently a proof of concept based solely on these animal trials. Researchers, including Caroline Geisler from the University of Kentucky, are hopeful that human clinical trials for TDP could commence within the next two years.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Breakthrough weight-loss drug works without nausea or vomiting, scientists reveal
A breakthrough has been made in weight-loss drugs after scientists discovered a new medication – known as TDP – that works without causing side effects of nausea or vomiting. Millions of Americans are already using Ozempic and other GLP-1 class drugs to lose weight. While largely successful, the shots can cause uncomfortable gastrointestinal side effects. Those symptoms and others have landed patients in emergency rooms in recent years, with 25,000 visits occurring from 2022 to 2023, according to scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers say the new experimental rival largely forgoes those issues although how it works to curb appetite is still being researched. 'This paper shows for the first time that giving a smaller version of octadecaneuropeptide in the periphery is still effective to improve body weight and metabolic control without side effects,' Caroline Geisler, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky's College of Pharmacy, told Gizmodo this week. Octadecaneuropeptide, commonly referred to as ODN, is a protein produced by brain cells called glia that support the nervous system. The researchers used ODN to create the drug TDP. 'Now we know that [glia] play a large role in sensing and communicating the status of the body, and we hope that by targeting a glial signaling molecule, we can engage many energy-regulating pathways in the brain and avoid the side effects of nausea and vomiting,' Geisler said. In studies, the researchers inserted ODN into the hindbrain of rats, which contains the brainstem and cerebellum. The cerebellum is a part of the brain that controls movements and other cognitive processes, such as language and attention span. Once the rats were treated with ODN, they lost weight and improved their ability to control their blood sugar. Whereas when the researchers blocked ODN, the animals showed a weaker response to treatment with the popular GLP-1 drugs. They also dosed mice, rats, and shrews with TDN. The drug also improved blood sugar control, causing weight loss without nausea or vomiting in the rats for over a week. The shrews did not vomit either, and the drug appeared not to have effects on the animals' movement, body temperatures, and heart rate. However, the results, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, are only a proof of concept. The study's authors are hoping to test the drugs in people next. 'We have an optimistic timeline that we could be ready to start clinical trials within two years,' Geisler said.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Buffalo Bills back Maxwell Hairston amid sexual assault lawsuit: 'A young man you'd let in your house'
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has thrown his support behind Maxwell Hairston after the rookie cornerback was recently accused of sexual assault by one of his former university classmates. Hairston, who was selected by the Bills with the 30th overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, has been named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit which alleges that he sexually assaulted a woman while he attended the University of Kentucky back in 2021. The plaintiff, Rebecca Hendryx, claims she was living in the same dormitory with the football player in early 2021. It was there, her attorneys allege in the filing obtained by Daily Mail, that he barged his way to her dorm room. Hendryx alleges that she physically resisted his advances only for him to forcibly remove her clothing and sexually assault her. Hairston, now 21, was 17 at the time of the incident. He is not facing criminal charges and already claims to have been 'exonerated' following a previous University of Kentucky investigation. And as he continues to protest his innocence, the new Bills star has received support from Beane - who praised him for not 'running' from the allegations and being a 'young man you would let in your house'. 'Frustrating because, in the legal world you can't sit there and say things back and forth. You've got to let it go,' the Buffalo GM told reporters on Wednesday. 'This happened to this young man over four years ago. He gave up his phone to prove [it]... he took a polygraph test. This kid didn't run from anything, he answered all of that. 'We have to remember in society that people can make accusations and do things. I have no idea what the agenda is there. I can tell you, every stone we turned over, every door we looked behind, this is a very good young man. A young man you would let in your house, watch your kids, hang out with whoever. 'He is genuinely a good person. I think we need to remember in the world, I'm not going to get into it, but we see these accusations, sometimes these guys can be victims, too. They make a lot of money. Rarely do people defend them. 'That's hard for me in this seat sometimes. Because I've seen it. We've had it here with a player here a few years ago that's no longer here that's wrongly accused.' The former player Beane was referring to is Matt Araiza, who was released by the Bills in August 2022 after a woman alleged that he and other San Diego University players raped her at an off-campus party in October 2021. She claimed that the punter, then 21, had sex with her in the side yard of a house before bringing her into a bedroom where a group of men took turns raping her. However, after he filed a defamation countersuit against her, the woman agreed to dismiss him from her lawsuit in December of last year. Araiza also dropped his countersuit against her to bring the ordeal to a close, before he was signed by back-to-back Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs two months later. Hairston insists he has nothing to hide despite the accusations that have been leveled against him, telling reporters after practice on Wednesday: 'The University of Kentucky did a thorough investigation. I was exonerated from that, as well. And I volunteered to do multiple polygraphs 'cause I was determined to get my truth out there, because I had nothing to hide. I was an open book. 'I have two sisters that I love dearly, and I respect all females, and I was just determined to get my truth out there. Like I said, I was an open book, and I was exonerated from both of those and just got to stay strong. But I'm confident that my truth will be out there.' Beane also previously said that the Bills looked into the claims made against Hairston before drafting him 30th overall in April.
Gizmodo
7 days ago
- Health
- Gizmodo
This Experimental Weight Loss Drug Works Without the Nausea or Vomiting
What if you could lose weight with a drug that won't make you lose your lunch at the same time? New research shows it might be possible. Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Kentucky, and other institutions say they've found a potentially novel way to suppress people's appetite and treat obesity—without causing the nausea or vomiting commonly experienced with semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy). In early animal experiments, the team's experimental drug appears to be working as intended. Semaglutide and similar drugs mimic the natural GLP-1 hormone, which is important to regulating our insulin production and hunger. As effective as these medications are at helping people lose weight, they have their tradeoffs—most notably a high chance of gastrointestinal side effects. So there's clearly still a need for improved obesity treatments, according to lead study author Caroline Geisler, an assistant professor at UKY's College of Pharmacy. This Simple Strategy Could Curb One of Semaglutide's Worst Side Effects Geisler and her team have been exploring one particular strategy for treating obesity, involving a protein called octadecaneuropeptide, or ODN. ODN is produced by the brain's glia, specialized cells that support neurons. But glia aren't just the brain's support troops, and ODN seems to be important to controlling our sense of hunger. 'Now we know that [glia] play a large role in sensing and communicating the status of the body, and we hope that by targeting a glial signaling molecule, we can engage many energy-regulating pathways in the brain and avoid the side effects of nausea and vomiting,' Geisler told Gizmodo. The researchers first tested their hypothesis by delivering ODN directly to the hindbrain of rats. Once treated, the rats lost weight and improved their blood sugar control. And when they blocked ODN signaling in rats, the animals exhibited a weaker response to GLP-1 treatment (suggesting its effects are at least partly tied to ODN). Finally, they indirectly dosed mice, rats, and shrews with an experimental drug derived from ODN, called TDN. In mice, TDN improved blood sugar control; in rats, it caused weight loss without nausea or vomiting; and in shrews (animals commonly used to test motion sickness and vomiting), the drug triggered no puking at all. The drug also appeared to not have any noticeable effects on the animals' heart rate, movement, and temperature. 'This paper shows for the first time that giving a smaller version of ODN in the periphery is still effective to improve body weight and metabolic control without side effects,' Geisler said. The team's findings, published Wednesday in Science Translational Medicine, are only a proof of concept for now. There remain many questions about exactly how ODN works in the brain to tamp down our appetite and control blood sugar. It's also possible that ODN-based drugs can be further optimized for medical use, though TDN seemed to produce steady weight loss in animals for at least over a week without waning. Still, the researchers are hopeful this potential new drug class can match or even surpass the effectiveness of today's GLP-1 therapies while being less of a hassle to take. And they're now planning to develop such drugs for testing in people. 'We have an optimistic timeline that we could be ready to start clinical trials within 2 years,' Geisler said. The Best Obesity Drugs Aren't Even Here Yet The study researchers are hardly the only ones working to introduce the next generation of improved obesity and diabetes treatments. But it's likely plenty of people would sign up for a safe weight loss drug that comes without the need for a barf bag.
National Post
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- National Post
Up Close: Meet Roughriders defensive tackle Micah Johnson
Article content 'Then I believe it was after I got cut from the Packers the next year, my agent was like, 'Hey, man, this team in Canada has your rights, you want to go? I was like, 'Nah.' Article content 'But then for the next couple years, I wasn't doing nothing but getting cut. I had my first son, so I was ready to start making some money.' Article content Article content 'Hell no, bro. I didn't think so. Especially (since) my first year, I tore my ACL in my first year in the CFL. I tore it again the second year. Article content 'My first three years in the CFL, people don't understand it was pretty much a wash. And I know you see the career numbers (now), but them first three years, like I was coming off of double ACLs and meniscus and stuff, so my first full season, I'll be telling everybody was 2016.' Article content Article content 'Scoring a touchdown at running back in the bowl game (for the University of Kentucky). We were playing against Clemson, and they put me in at running back, and I scored.' Article content Article content Article content 'Probably producing music. I've always liked making music, making beats. I sold a lot of beats … I lived in Atlanta for two or three years, and just selling beats, making beats. Article content 'This was my first few years in the CFL. So, this was like 2012-15. My first few years, that's really when I wasn't getting paid that much, that's how I was making my most of my money selling beats in the off-season. Article content 'It's become more of a hobby for me (now) though, but I always say I got to get back into it, even if it's not just the production of music. I enjoy sound engineering, master and mixing and stuff like that. So I've always wanted to kind of do something in that field. Article content 'I bought a studio when I was in college … I've always enjoyed recording people. I had people all over the city coming to record. It was actual studio equipment, Pro Tools (music software), like all that stuff. And it was self-taught.' Article content Article content
