Alzheimer’s: Can an amino acid help to restore memories?

Scientists at the Laboratoire des Maladies Neurodégénératives (CNRS/CEA/Université Paris-Saclay) and the Neurocentre Magendie (INSERM/Université de Bordeaux) have just shown that a metabolic pathway plays a determining role in Alzheimer’s disease’s memory problems. This work, published on 3 March 2020 in Cell Metabolism, also shows that supplying a specific amino acid as a nutritional supplement in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s restores spatial memory affected early. This is a promising path for reducing memory loss related to that disease.
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We can make predictions about relationships – but is this necessary?

It has probably never been easier to find a partner who is compatible with you—at least in theory. Internet dating platforms feed algorithms with information about those seeking a relationship in order to find the best match for them. But can this predictability be applied to a relationship? Is it possible to foresee from the start whether it will last?
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On the path toward non-addictive painkillers

Opioid-containing painkillers are virtually indispensable in clinical practice and are typically used in postoperative patients and patients undergoing cancer treatment. In addition to having severe side effects, however, these drugs have also been associated with extensive misuse, particularly in the United States. Recent findings by a team of researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin represent a significant step towards the development of a new generation of painkillers. Published in Scientific Reports, their findings show that tissue acidity—or tissue pH—at the source of the pain (i.e. injury) is a crucial determinant in the development of new drugs. This is because the fine-tuning of an opioid molecule’s acid dissociation constant (pKa) will determine its risk profile, including its addiction potential.
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