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Business Wire
27-05-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Applied Cognition Publishes First-in-Human Study of Glymphatic Function in Nature Biomedical Engineering
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Applied Cognition, a clinical-stage platform therapeutic company, today announced the publication of a groundbreaking study in Nature Biomedical Engineering demonstrating the first continuous, non-invasive measurement of human glymphatic function—the brain's system for clearing waste, including Alzheimer's-associated proteins like amyloid and tau. Working with researchers at the University of Florida and the University of Washington School of Medicine, the company validated its novel multimodal electrical impedance spectroscopy device using contrast-enhanced MRI. The platform also revealed, for the first time in humans, how EEG and cardiovascular physiology contribute to sleep-active glymphatic activity. 'This work is pivotal in defining the role glymphatic dysfunction plays in Alzheimer's and discovering therapies to rescue it,' said Dr. Paul Dagum, CEO and co-founder of Applied Cognition. 'Our platform has already identified a promising drug candidate that improves glymphatic clearance in early clinical trials.' Originally characterized in rodents, the glymphatic system plays a vital role in the removal of toxic proteins. Until now, studying its function in humans has been limited to slow, high-cost MRI scans. Applied Cognition's technology offers a scalable solution that allows real-time, remote, and high-resolution tracking, enabling new avenues for drug discovery. Co-author on this study was Dr. Jeffrey Iliff, PhD, Psychiatry, University of Washington School of Medicine, who along with Dr. Maiken Nedergaard at the University of Rochester Medical Center characterized the glymphatic system in rodents. 'This unlocks our ability to study glymphatic function in the real world and with high-temporal resolution, not just the MRI suite, giving us new mechanistic insights of its role in neurological and psychiatric conditions,' said Dr. Iliff. Piyush Jain, Head of New Products at Genentech, added: 'Applied Cognition is bridging the gap between lab science and patient care. Their platform is accelerating the discovery of drugs that target the clearance of misfolded proteins at the root of devastating neurological diseases." Applied Cognition is advancing its lead drug program for early-stage Alzheimer's and expanding its pipeline across neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. The paper's authors include Paul Dagum, Laurent Giovangrandi, Swati Rane Levendovszky, Jake J. Winebaum, Tarandeep Singh, Yeilim Cho, Robert M. Kaplan, Michael S. Jaffee, Miranda M. Lim, Carla Vandeweerd, and Jeffrey J. Iliff. About Applied Cognition Applied Cognition is clinical-stage platform therapeutics company advancing the brain's glymphatic system to drug development. Enhancing glymphatic function is a promising new therapeutic strategy for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Using its first-in-class platform, which enables continuous monitoring of glymphatic activity in humans, the company has successfully identified the first therapeutic target and lead drug candidate to enhance glymphatic clearance of amyloid and tau. Applied Cognition is currently advancing this lead program for early-stage Alzheimer's and expanding its pipeline to explore treatments for other conditions using its platform.
Medscape
16-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Colorectal Cancer Screening Choices: Is Compliance Key?
SAN DIEGO — In the ever-expanding options for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, blood tests using precision medicine are becoming more advanced and convenient than ever; however, caveats abound, and when it comes to potentially life-saving screening measures, picking the optimal screening tool is critical. Regarding tests, 'perfect is not possible,' said William M. Grady, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, who took part in a debate on the pros and cons of key screening options at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2025. 'We have to remember that that's the reality of colorectal cancer screening, and we need to meet our patients where they live,' said Grady, who argued on behalf of blood-based tests, including cell-free (cf) DNA (Shield, Guardant Health) and cfDNA plus protein biomarkers (Freenome). A big point in their favor is their convenience and higher patient compliance — better tests that don't get done do not work, he stressed. He cited data that showed suboptimal compliance rates with standard colonoscopy: Rates range from about 70% among non-Hispanic White individuals to 67% among Black individuals, 51% among Hispanic individuals, and the low rate of just 26% among patients aged between 45 and 50 years. With troubling increases in CRC incidence among younger patients, 'that's a group we're particularly concerned about,' Grady said. Meanwhile, studies show compliance rates with blood-based tests are ≥ 80%, with similar rates seen among those racial and ethnic groups, with lower rates for conventional colonoscopy, he noted. Importantly, in terms of performance in detecting CRC, blood-based tests stand up to other modalities, as demonstrated in a real-world study conducted by Grady and his colleagues showing a sensitivity of 83% for the cfDNA test, 74% for the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) stool test, and 92% for a multitarget stool DNA test compared with 95% for colonoscopy. 'What we can see is that the sensitivity of blood-based tests looks favorable and comparable to other tests,' he said. Among the four options, cfDNA had a highest patient adherence rate (85%-86%) compared with colonoscopy (28%-42%), FIT (43%-65%), and multitarget stool DNA (48%-60%). 'The bottom line is that these tests decrease CRC mortality and incidence, and we know there's a potential to improve compliance with colorectal cancer screening if we offer blood-based tests for average-risk people who refuse colonoscopy,' Grady said. Blood-Based Tests: Caveats, Harms? Arguing against blood-based tests in the debate, Robert E. Schoen, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and epidemiology, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, checked off some of the key caveats. While the overall sensitivity of blood-based tests may look favorable, these tests don't detect early CRC well,' said Schoen. The sensitivity rates for stage 1 CRC are 64.7% with Guardant Health and 57.1% with Freenome. Furthermore, their rates of detecting advanced adenomas are very low; the rate with Guardant Health is only about 13%, and with Freenome is even lower at 12.5%, he reported. These rates are 'similar to the false positive rate, with poor discrimination and accuracy for advanced adenomas,' Schoen said. 'Without substantial detection of advanced adenomas, blood-based testing is inferior [to other options].' Importantly, the low advanced adenoma rate translates to a lack of CRC prevention, which is key to reducing CRC mortality, he noted. Essential to success with blood-based biopsies, as well as with stool tests, is the need for a follow-up colonoscopy if results are positive, but Schoen pointed out that this may or may not happen. He cited research from FIT data showing that among 33,000 patients with abnormal stool tests, the rate of follow-up colonoscopy within a year, despite the concerning results, was a dismal 56%. 'We have a long way to go to make sure that people who get positive noninvasive tests get followed up,' he said. In terms of the argument that blood-based screening is better than no screening at all, Schoen cited recent research that projected reductions in the risk for CRC incidence and mortality among 100,000 patients with each of the screening modalities. Starting with standard colonoscopy performed every 10 years, the reductions in incidence and mortality would be 79% and 81%, respectively, followed by annual FIT, at 72% and 76%; multitarget DNA every 3 years, at 68% and 73%; and cfDNA (Shield), at 45% and 55%. Based on those rates, if patients originally opting for FIT were to shift to blood-based tests, 'the rate of CRC deaths would increase,' Schoen noted. The findings underscore that 'blood testing is unfavorable as a 'substitution test,'' he added. 'In fact, widespread adoption of blood testing could increase CRC morbidity.' 'Is it better than nothing?' he asked. 'Yes, but only if performance of a colonoscopy after a positive test is accomplished.' What About FIT? Arguing that stool-based testing, or FIT, is the ideal choice as a first-line CRC test Jill Tinmouth, MD, PhD, a professor at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, pointed to its prominent role in organized screening programs, including regions where resources may limit the widespread utilization of routine first-line colonoscopy screening. In addition, it narrows colonoscopies to those that are already prescreened as being at risk. Data from one such program, reported by Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, showed that participation in CRC screening doubled from 40% to 80% over 10 years after initiating FIT screening. CRC mortality over the same period decreased by 50% from baseline, and incidence fell by as much as 75%. In follow-up colonoscopies, Tinmouth noted that collective research from studies reflecting real-world participation and adherence to FIT in populations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and California show follow-up colonoscopy rates of 88%, 85%, 70%, and 78%, respectively. Meanwhile, a recent large comparison of biennial FIT (n = 26,719) vs one-time colonoscopy (n = 26,332) screening, the first study to directly compare the two, showed noninferiority, with nearly identical rates of CRC mortality at 10 years (0.22% colonoscopy vs 0.24% FIT) as well as CRC incidence (1.13% vs 1.22%, respectively). 'This study shows that in the context of organized screening, the benefits of FIT are the same as colonoscopy in the most important outcome of CRC — mortality,' Tinmouth said. Furthermore, as noted with blood-based screening, the higher participation with FIT shows a much more even racial/ethnic participation than that observed with colonoscopy. 'FIT has clear and compelling advantages over colonoscopy,' she said. As well as better compliance among all groups, 'it is less costly and also better for the environment [by using fewer resources],' she added. Colonoscopy: 'Best for First-Line Screening' Making the case that standard colonoscopy should in fact be the first-line test, Swati G. Patel, MD, director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado, emphasized the robust, large population studies showing its benefits. Among them is a landmark national policy study showing a significant reduction in CRC incidence and mortality associated with first-line colonoscopy and adenoma removal. A multitude of other studies in different settings have also shown similar benefits across large populations, Patel added. In terms of its key advantages over FIT, the once-a-decade screening requirement for average-risk patients is seen as highly favorable by many, as evidenced in clinical trial data showing that individuals highly value tests that are accurate and do not need to be completed frequently, she said. Research from various other trials of organized screening programs further showed patients crossing over from FIT to colonoscopy, including one study of more than 3500 patients comparing colonoscopy and FIT, which had approximately 40% adherence with FIT vs nearly 90% with colonoscopy. Notably, as many as 25% of the patients in the FIT arm in that study crossed over to colonoscopy, presumably due to preference for the once-a-decade regimen, Patel said. 'Colonoscopy had a substantial and impressive long-term protective benefit both in terms of developing colon cancer and dying from colon cancer,' she said. Regarding the head-to-head FIT and colonoscopy comparison that Tinmouth described, Patel noted that a supplemental table in the study's appendix of patients who completed screening does reveal increasing separation between the two approaches, favoring colonoscopy, in terms of longer-term CRC incidence and mortality. The collective findings underscore that 'colonoscopy as a standalone test is uniquely cost-effective,' in the face of costs related to colon cancer treatment. Instead of relying on biennial tests with FIT, colonoscopy allows clinicians to immediately risk-stratify those individuals who can benefit from closer surveillance and really relax surveillance for those who are determined to be low risk, she said.
Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Nearly half of sexual abuse first happens at age 15 or younger: Lancet study
Fifteen-year-old Sanjana (name changed), from a remote village in Maharashtra's Sangli district, has become the face of a bold new campaign: Zabardasti Mein Kaisi Mardangi—'What kind of masculinity is this if it's forced?' After her mother's death, Sanjana was placed in the care of her maternal uncle. But instead of finding safety, she endured months of sexual abuse at his hands—an ordeal that would change her life forever. Sanjana's story is not new. According to a new analysis published in The Lancet, nearly half of sexual abuse first happens at age 15 or younger. This worrying trend has been extensively analysed in the new study, which is among the first ones to estimate the prevalence of sexual violence against children in 204 countries from 1990 to 2023 by age and sex. Sexual violence under 18 years Nearly one in five women (18.9 per cent) and one in seven men (14.8 per cent) globally experienced sexual violence before the age of 18 years. The study also identified significant region- and country-level differences in the rate of sexual violence under 18 years, with the US estimates being 27.5 per cent for women and 16.1 per cent for men; UK estimates being 24.4 per cent for women and 16.5 per cent for men, and estimates for India being 30.8 per cent for women and 13.5 per cent for men. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle conducted the analysis using the newest Global Burden of Disease research. According to the study's authors, this is the most comprehensive investigation of the prevalence of sexual violence against children, covering 204 locations by age and sex from 1990 to 2023, while accounting for when people were first exposed to such violence. Zabardasti Mein Kaisi Mardang? Meena Saraswathi Seshu, general secretary of Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha, a Sangli-based grassroots women-centred NGO (not associated with the study), told The Indian Express that Sanjana's story is heart-breaking but not an isolated one. 'Actual numbers may be much higher due to underreporting, particularly in rural areas. We are also very worried about the increase in aggressive expressions of masculinity in Maharashtra. Hence the village campaign to demand accountability about this toxic behaviour from both society and state,' Seshu added. In the study, researchers found that among young sexual violence survivors aged 13-24 years, 67 per cent of females and 72 per cent of males reported being first sexually abused during childhood, before the age of 18.
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientists have just realised that fitness trackers are USELESS at detecting a key vital sign
Fitness trackers—from smart watches to rings—are sold as easy ways to monitor heart health. But scientists say some of these devices may be giving dangerously wrong readings. A new review from the University of Washington School of Medicine raised the alarm, finding certain smart devices claiming to track blood pressure often get it wrong. That means high blood pressure could go undiagnosed—putting users at serious risk of strokes, heart attacks, kidney failure and dementia. They warned doctors and the public not to rely on these trackers to give reliable results—and advised medics to use old-fashioned inflatable cuff monitors instead. The news comes as NHS data shows over four million people in England could be living with undiagnosed high blood pressure. Dubbed a 'silent killer', it often has no symptoms but if left untreated can lead to fatal heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and even dementia. The condition affects up to a third of the adult population yet NHS data suggests three in ten remain undiagnosed. Adults between 40 and 74 are recommended to have a blood pressure check once every five years, as part of the NHS Health Check. However just 39 per cent of eligible adults currently take up the invitation. The NHS estimates that 2.5 million additional blood pressure checks could lead to 250,000 more people receiving vital treatment for hypertension. This could prevent 3,700 strokes, 2,500 heart attacks and save 2,000 lives over five years. Many experts have looked to fitness trackers—owned by a quarter of the population—as a way to improve uptake. Also known collectively as 'wearables', use of these device leads to an increase of around 1,800 extra steps per day, 40 minutes of additional activity, and a reduction of approximately 1 kg in body weight, studies have shown. They can monitor a variety of health metrics including heart rate, oxygen levels, sleep and step count. Some devices are also able to carry out electrocardiograms, which detect heart rhythms and rates. However when it comes to blood pressure, older methods may still be the best. The Washington University researchers didn't test the blood pressure trackers themselves. Instead, they looked at studies that comparing their readings to standard cuff-based monitors during daily activities, sleep, and after medication use. A major drawback was that cuffless devices rely on sensors that need to calibrated using a traditional cuff, and their reading can drift over time if users don't re-calibrate regularly. They also tend to be less reliable in certain situations, like during sleep, exercise, or when blood pressure changes quickly. On top of this, results can be affected by things like skin tone—since the sensors rely on light reflecting off the skin—body size, and medical conditions such as irregular heart rhythms or diabetes. Another major issue flagged in the review is that many devices on the market have not gone through proper independent testing. The researcher concluded there was a real risk the public could be mislead by numbers that look precise but aren't trustworthy. Cardiologist from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Dr Eugene Yang, said: 'Cuffless devices are appealing to patients and clinicians, but they have a long road ahead before they are ready for clinical use.' Last year the NHS has launched a campaign to find the 'missing millions' with high blood pressure, rolling out an additional 2.5million blood pressure checks in community pharmacies. Under the Pharmacy First programme, those aged 40 and over are urged to take up the offer of a free test, which is quick and requires no advance booking. The then health Minister Andrea Leadsom said: 'Millions of adults in England unknowingly have high blood pressure, without experiencing any symptoms. 'Knowing if you have a healthy blood pressure is so important and this new drive will help to prevent the potentially fatal consequences of untreated high blood pressure. 'I urge people to go to their local pharmacy today to get their blood pressure checked. It could be a life-saving trip.'
Time of India
27-04-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Scientists have discovered a new colour, 'Olo,' visible only through laser technology; here's what it means
In a stunning breakthrough, scientists have discovered a new colour named Olo. There's just one catch: it's entirely invisible to the human eye. Defined as a deeply saturated teal, this enigmatic new colour has been perceived by just a few people with the help of specialized laser technology . The groundbreaking research, led by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Washington School of Medicine, was released in Science Advances on April 18, 2025. How scientists used Oz technology to reveal a new colour The process of finding Olo is something straight out of a science fiction book. Scientists created a method called Oz — named after The Wizard of Oz — to "fool" the human eye into seeing a colour that would otherwise be invisible to the eye. With minute laser light micro-pulses of precise energy, the researchers specifically addressed individual photoreceptors in the retina without activating adjacent ones. Describing the problem, Ren Ng, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, stated, "There's no wavelength in the world that can stimulate only the M cone." Addressing this issue, the researchers created a means of stimulating only a single kind of cone cell selectively. Austin Roorda, one of the professors working on the project, likened the Oz technique to a microscope for the retina. It enabled them to shoot laser beams directly at individual cone cells with great precision, producing a colour — Olo — which no human had ever seen naturally before. What does the new colour Olo actually look like Since Olo cannot be achieved through any regular screen or medium, you would perhaps ask yourself: what does it look like? From the very few individuals — only five, including some of the scientists involved — who have viewed it through the Oz system, Olo looks more like an over-charged teal. Austin Roorda said it was "a profoundly saturated teal," adding that even the richest natural colourings seem pale in comparison with Olo. In spite of this explanation, no photo, digital image, or colour chip can recreate Olo. It is exclusively contained in the immediate stimulation of the human retina, rendering it one of the most unusual visual experiences in the world — at least until now. Is Olo really a new colour The question, of course, arises: is Olo a new colour, or just a new experience of colour? Technically, Olo is not a new wavelength of light produced by nature. Rather, it is a latent colour, always there in theory, but not visible because of the constraints of human vision. Francis Windram, an Imperial College London research associate, added that, sociolinguistically speaking, naming and acknowledging a hitherto unseen colour such as Olo could actually make it seem like an actual "new" colour to mankind. Thus, although Olo has been quietly present in the universe all along, it was technological innovation that finally brought it to light. Potential future uses of Olo technology in vision correction Apart from its wow factor, the finding of Olo and the creation of the Oz laser technology have broader implications for medicine — especially in curing colour blindness. Scientists think that in the future, technology based on the Oz technique may assist individuals with certain types of colour blindness like deuteranomaly, which causes green colour vision impairment. Francis Windram described how if lasers could precisely stimulate particular cone cells, it might in theory restore better colour vision. But the technical hurdles are high. Striking the right cones reliably in a moving, living eye is very hard. As Windram noted, although the concept is intriguing, it could be a long time before such a device is practical for routine vision correction. Understanding colour perception through the lens of Olo The discovery of Olo also sheds light on the broader mystery of how colour perception varies across species. Humans possess three types of cone cells, allowing us to perceive a range of colours based on red, green, and blue light. By comparison, animals such as mantis shrimp have as many as 12 different kinds of colour receptors. These allow them to see a blinding range of colours, even ultraviolet. At the same time, dogs have only two cones and primarily perceive colour in shades of yellow and blue. As Windram pointed out, colour vision relies on three factors: the physical nature of light, the neurological processing of the brain, and the social aspects — how we classify and label colours. Infamous phenomena such as the viral controversy over the dress in 2015 demonstrate just how subjective our experience of colour can be.
