Author Archives: Rocio Gallegos, MD

For professional ice skaters an ultrathin, super-lubricating layer of water on the ice’s surface is essential to achieve their graceful glides. Inspired by this surface, researchers have developed a treatment for osteoarthritis that enhances lubrication and reduces friction and inflammation in a rat model of the disease. Osteoarthritis is characterized by persistent inflammation and degeneration […]

Complicated, hard-to-heal wounds are a growing medical problem and there are currently only two drugs approved with proven efficacy. In a new study on humans, researchers show that treatment with a specific type of modified lactic acid bacteria works well and has a positive effect on the healing of wounds. In several controlled preclinical models, […]

Research shows humans might inhale about 16.2 bits of microplastic every hour, which is equivalent to a credit card over an entire week. And these microplastics usually contain toxic pollutants and chemicals. Inhaled microplastics can pose serious health risks, so understanding how they travel in the respiratory system is essential for prevention and treatment of […]

In a recent study, Japanese researchers identified autoantibodies that target a ‘synaptic adhesion protein’, neurexin 1α, in a subset of patients with schizophrenia.  Synaptic adhesion proteins are specialized proteins that bind to create physical connections between brain cells. These connections, called synapses, allow the cells to communicate by passing molecules back and forth. Both synapses […]

Researchers have developed a method for cheaply producing heart valves in the span of minutes that are functional immediately after being implanted into sheep. The scientists call their method “Focused Rotary Jet Spinning,” which they describe as “a cotton-candy machine with a hair dryer behind it.”  “The two big advantages of our method are speed […]

A team of researchers led by the University of Southampton has shown that a cheap and readily available drug, used to treat high blood pressure, could help the thousands of women who suffer from persistent acne. The SAFA study is the first large-scale clinical trial to provide evidence that spironolactone is an effective treatment for […]

Have you ever wondered how drugs reach their targets and achieve their function within our bodies? If a drug molecule or a ligand is a message, an inbox is typically a receptor in the cell membrane. One such receptor involved in relaying molecular signals is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR). About one-third of existing drugs […]