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Experiments conducted in Brazil by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) showed that visceral fat – fat around the liver, intestines and other organs, considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and high blood pressure – contributes more to severe COVID-19 than subcutaneous fat (under the skin, as in “love handles”). To reach this conclusion, Marcelo Mori, a professor at UNICAMP’s [...]

In a study conducted at the University of São Paulo’s Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center (HUG-CELL) in Brazil, serial systemic injections of zika virus into mice with brain tumors destroyed the cancer without causing neurological damage or injuring other organs, and increased the animals’ survival rate. The scientists also injected zika into cerebral organoids, brain-like organs created in vitro using stem cells. The virus not only prevented progression of the [...]

Can a high dose of vitamin D administered on admission to hospital improve the condition of patients with moderate or severe COVID-19? The answer is no, according to a Brazilian study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The article reports a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the kind of study considered the gold standard to evaluate drug efficacy. It was conducted with FAPESP’s support by researchers at the University of [...]

Oxytocin, produced by the hypothalamus and sometimes known as the “love hormone” for its involvement in pair bonding and orgasm, can be a strong ally in the control and prevention of osteoporosis, according to a study by scientists at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil. The study showed that when administered to female rats at the end of their fertile period, the hormone reversed precursors of osteoporosis, such as reduced bone density, decreased bone strength and [...]

Thanks to a new injectable formula, Brazilian researchers have succeeded in enhancing the efficacy and prolonging the duration of action of a drug commonly used to treat joint inflammation. The innovation involves lipid nanoparticles containing a high concentration of the active principle, which is gradually released into the affected joint to sustain the desired effect for up to ten days without the need for repeated administration of the drug. In an article published in the journal [...]

An international group of researchers has proven that a molecule called TCMDC-135051 can selectively inhibit a protein that is essential to the lifecycle of Plasmodium falciparum, one of the parasites that cause malaria. The results of the study, just published in the journal Science, pave the way for the development of a new antimalarial drug. Malaria kills nearly 500,000 people per year, and more than 200 million new cases of the disease are reported annually. One of the obstacles to [...]

In a study with mice, a gene therapy developed in Brazil kills cancer cells and avoids adverse side effects when combined with chemotherapy. Researchers at the São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP) in Brazil have succeeded in using a genetically manipulated virus to destroy tumor cells upon injection into mice with prostate cancer. The virus also made tumor cells more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs, halting tumor progression and almost eliminating tumors in some cases. The results [...]

Measuring the blood plasma levels of an enzyme called PDIA1 could one day become a method of diagnosing a person's predisposition to cardiovascular disease even if they are healthy, i.e., not obese, diabetic or a smoker, and with normal cholesterol. This is suggested by a study published in the journal Redox Biology by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo (USP), the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and Butantan Institute. The investigation was conducted [...]

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered that GH also acts directly on the brain to conserve energy when the body loses weight. A paper on the discovery has just been published in the journal Nature Communications . “Growth hormone has been known for decades, but our discovery shows it does a lot more than was thought,” said José Donato Junior, a professor at the University of São Paulo’s Biomedical Science Institute (ICB-USP) and one of the authors [...]