Tuesday, June 02, 2026

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a discovery that changes our understanding of the disease

An INRS research team identifies an early and potentially reversible mechanism that could help protect brain cells

Institut national de la recherche scientifique - INRS

image:
Immunohistological analysis of human post-mortem cerebellar sections

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Credit: Kessen Patten

In Canada, between 3,000 and 4,000 people are living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that remains incurable. ALS is best known for the degeneration of motor neurons, which are responsible for controlling movement. Their progressive loss, particularly in the motor cortex and spinal cord, leads to rapid paralysis, with a life expectancy of 2 to 5 years after diagnosis.

This serious neurodegenerative disease causes a gradual loss of muscle control, typically leading to paralysis within a few years. Until now, research has primarily focused on brain regions directly involved in movement. However, a new study led by Professor Kessen Patten, at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) and holder of the Anna Sforza Djoukhadjian Research Chair in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, proposes a major shift in perspective: the disease may begin elsewhere in the brain, and well before the first visible symptoms appear.

Published in the journal Brain, the study, obtained from zebrafish models and human clinical samples, sheds new light on early brain changes associated with ALS. These findings provide new insight into the disease and may help inform future efforts toward earlier diagnosis and therapeutic development, as nearly 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in Canada.

The Cerebellum: A Long-Overlooked Key Player

Rather than focusing solely on motor regions, researchers turned their attention to the cerebellum, a brain region associated with balance and coordination, but long underestimated in ALS.

In the most common genetic form of the disease (linked to the C9orf72 gene) in zebrafish, they observed early cerebellar atrophy, characterized by the loss of two essential types of neurons: Purkinje cells and granule cells, well before the onset of motor symptoms.

Zebrafish are widely used in biomedical research because they share many genetic and cellular mechanisms with humans, making them a valuable model for studying neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS.

“Our results show that ALS is not limited to motor regions of the brain. Significant changes occur elsewhere, long before symptoms appear, which profoundly changes our understanding of the disease.”
— Dr. Kessen Patten, Professor of Genetics and Neurodegenerative Diseases at INRS and lead author of the study.

To understand this phenomenon, the team used an advanced technology that allows researchers to analyze gene activity in individual cells. This approach led to the identification of a key issue: decreased activity of the paics gene, which produces an enzyme essential for the synthesis of purines, molecules required to build and repair DNA.

Without these molecules, cells become unable to repair the DNA damage that naturally occurs. This damage accumulates progressively, leading to the failure of repair mechanisms and, ultimately, to neuron death.

A Reversible Mechanism, Offering New Perspectives

When paics gene activity decreases, DNA damage accumulates and cellular repair systems eventually fail, leading to cell degeneration.

“We were able to establish a direct link between a defect in the production of purines and the accumulation of DNA damage in brain cells, which helps us better understand the origin of their degeneration.”
— Jaskaran Singh, Doctoral student at INRS and first author of the study

One of the most promising findings is that this mechanism may be reversible.

In an experimental model, researchers were able to restore paics gene activity. As a result, DNA damage decreased, neurons survived, and disease progression was halted at the cellular level.

For people living with ALS and their families, these findings represent an important step forward. By showing that restoring paics function can reduce DNA damage and help protect neurons in experimental models, the study points to a promising pathway that could be explored in future therapeutic research. While further studies are needed, this work contributes to ongoing efforts to better understand the disease and its progression.

About the study

Jaskaran Singh, Léa Lescouzères, Charlotte Zaouter, Mathilde Chaineau, Ghazal Haghi, Thomas M Durcan, Shunmoogum A Patten, PAICS mediates DNA damage and cerebellar neuronal loss in C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Brain, 2026;, awag092, https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awag092

This work was made possible through funding from Brain Canada, Cermo-FC, the Armand-Frappier Foundation, the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé, the Anna Sforza Djoukhadjian Research Chair in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis of the Armand-Frappier Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

About INRS 

INRS is an academic institution dedicated exclusively to graduate research and training in strategic sectors in Quebec. Since 1969, as per its mission, it has actively contributed to Quebec’s economic, social, and cultural development. INRS ranks first in Quebec in research intensity. It is made up of five interdisciplinary research and training centres located in Quebec City, Montreal, Laval, and Varennes, and Charlevoix, which focus their efforts on strategic sectors: water, earth, and environment (Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre); energy, materials, and telecommunications (Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre); urbanization, culture, and society (Urbanisation Culture Société Research Centre); and health and biotechnology (Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre), and Ruralités durables (a center currently under development).  Its community includes nearly 1,500 members, including students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, and staff.

Contact:

Communications and public affairs Service

Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

medias@inrs.ca

Journal

Brain

DOI

10.1093/brain/awag092

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

PAICS mediates DNA damage and cerebellar neuronal loss in C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Habits form far faster than science previously thought, new research shows

Johns Hopkins scientists have identified the speed of habit formation

Johns Hopkins University

From responding to the ping of your phone notification to reaching for a snack at the end of the day, many everyday behaviors begin as mindful choices and end up feeling almost automatic.

A new study from Johns Hopkins University, published in Nature Communications, suggests that shift may not always happen slowly.

Scientists have long believed that habits emerge gradually after long periods of repetitive behavior.

But the new research shows that the transition into habitual action occurs faster than previously understood.

And the research suggests that a particular brain region may play a key role in the transition – a discovery that could point to ways to alter entrenched habits.

“For over 100 years the theory of how habits form has been one of gradual strengthening and repetition: You do enough repetitions and slowly over time the brain starts to realize, ‘I don’t need to be thinking about this anymore,’” said Kishore V. Kuchibhotla, senior author on the paper and a neuroscientist who studies learning in humans and animals. “But the reason scientists tend to think of it as a gradual process is because of how we have studied it.”

Research studies often use rewards to motivate animals to learn and perform a task. Once the task is learned, animals can be given free access to the reward and become satiated. When returned to the task, a goal-directed animal will typically stop performing it, since it no longer seeks the reward. In contrast, a habitual animal will perform the task automatically, regardless of whether the reward is needed.

This traditional approach required testing at specific time points (one earlier in learning and one later in learning). They could not test “in real time” when the habit transition actually occurred and then assumed that it must have been gradual.

So, Kuchibhotla and his research team designed a new method that was closer to everyday motivation. People do not drink only because they are thirsty. They might reach for sparkling water or a favorite drink because it is simply more appealing than plain water.

“We essentially motivated them by something else – a taste preference,” Kuchibhotla said.

The new testing method gave mice constant access to acidic water while they resided in their home cages, allowing them to remain hydrated even if they did not love the water’s taste. If the mice responded to a certain sound, they got the water they preferred.

Because the mice were not overly thirsty, they would sometimes respond to the sound that gave them water and sometimes not. The researchers proved this was because they were goal-directed (they would only behave when they wanted the plain water). Then, at a particular moment in time, they switched their behavior – they would always respond to the sound that gave them water even if they didn’t want it. What the researchers found is that the transition happened suddenly – like a switch had been flipped.

“What surprised us most is that nothing changed on our end. The animals simply switched strategies from one trial to the next. Capturing that kind of rapid behavioral reorganization is rare,” said lead author Sharlen Moore, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

And further recordings of the mice brains revealed something fascinating: the brain region that might just house that switch.

“The fact that it is so sudden implies that something is controlling it,” Kuchibhotla said.

They also found that some mice returned to goal-directed behavior after long periods of habitual behavior. “It really shows how much our methods shape what we see: when we stop over-motivating the animals, we start to uncover aspects of behavior that were basically hidden before,” Moore said.

The team’s discovery of a possible switch led the National Institutes of Health to award it a new grant to study the nature of this possible controller.

“Many habits are helpful for freeing up your mind for other things. But that’s not always the case. The fact that there may be a controller means maybe we can reverse maladaptive habits back to goal-directed behavior,” Kuchibhotla said. “Rather than thinking of habits as always being there no matter what, it’s possible that bad habits need not be there forever.”

Other researchers on the project include: Zyan Wang, Ziyi Zhu, Joy Wang, Ruolan Sun, Yeonjae Lee and Adam Charles, all from Johns Hopkins.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01DC018650 and R00DC015014); and through fellowships from the Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-026-71048-0

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Revealing abrupt transitions from goal-directed to habitual behavior

New path to prevent influenza

“Accidental” discovery lays foundation for novel flu treatment strategies

University of Vermont

Emily Bruce Lab — image:
Emily Bruce, Ph.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at Larner College of Medicine (far right), works with study authors Allyson Turner and Sara Jaffrani in the Bruce Laboratory at the University of Vermont (UVM).
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Credit: David Seaver/Larner College of Medicine at The University of Vermont

Scientists investigating how influenza viruses replicate within cells “accidentally” discovered that different flu viruses use distinct strategies to infiltrate cells in the first place. They also found that it is possible to target specific molecules to prevent the viruses from entering new cells, thereby stopping their replication. This discovery, published in The Journal ofVirology on June 2, 2026, provides fundamental insights into how seasonal influenza viruses infect people and illuminates a path for developing better medications to prevent infections in the future.

“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” says principal investigator Emily Bruce, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

A variety of different flu strains can cause illness, with H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses being the most common. Current flu tests do not differentiate between the two viruses, and clinical treatments are the same for both. While flu vaccines can help prevent infection, and antiviral drugs can shorten the illness and prevent complications in high-risk individuals, there is a dire need for better medications to prevent flu viruses from replicating and infiltrating new cells in the human body.

Bruce’s research team examined H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of people who tested positive for the flu in 2022. This study initially aimed to learn how viral proteins move within cells and enable viruses to replicate themselves, which is what causes people to become ill.

“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell. You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells,” explains Bruce. “We were looking at how influenza virus RNA segments are transported within cells to the right place at the right time to make new virus particles.”

During this investigation, Bruce’s team unexpectedly discovered a cellular pathway that blocked the viruses from entering lung cells. The data revealed that H3N2, but not H1N1 viruses, failed to enter human lung cells when a particular protein called Rab11B was depleted. Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this Rab11B-dependent defect and found a novel and H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry into a lung cell. This fortuitous discovery suggests that H1N1 and H3N2 viruses enter lung cells via different routes, and it can inform therapeutic targets to prevent viral entry.

“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship. Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard,” Bruce says. “We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true. H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”

This discovery can help scientists think about new ways to prevent distinct flu viruses from entering cells. The next steps will seek to determine whether Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2 that no one realized previously, or whether it is new to currently circulating H3N2, in addition to understanding the precise Rab11B is playing during H3N2 viral infection at the molecular level.

Abstract available upon request.

Media Contacts:

Janet Franz | 802-238-8182 | Janet.L.Franz@med.uvm.edu

Stephanie Knific | 281-744-4096 | Stephanie.Knific@med.uvm.edu

Read the study, "Rab11B is required for binding and entry of recent H3N2, but not H1N1, influenza A isolates,” in The Journal of Virology. [embargoed until June 2 at 9:00 a.m. EST]

Read more about the Bruce Lab at the Larner College of Medicine.

###

A human lung cell infected with influenza. The viral nucleoprotein is in red, a cellular protein highjacked by influenza is in green, and the cell’s nucleus is in blue.

Credit

Emily Bruce, Ph.D. Lab at the Larner College of Medicine

Journal

The Journal of Virology

DOI

10.1128/jvi.02111-25

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

The Journal of Virology

Article Publication Date

2-Jun-2026

A strange humming phenomenon

Some people hear it, and some people don't. Exploring this phenomenon required understanding more about how our sensory systems process sound

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

What causes The Hum? — image:
Theories about the cause of the phenomenon The Hum abound, from acoustic pollution originating from human sources, to sounds that nature itself makes. Or that the ear itself produces the humming sound.
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Credit: Illustration photo: Idun Haugan, NTNU

Some people find the sound annoying but can live with it. Others can get sick from this low-frequency sound, which is often also experienced as a vibration.

The humming sound isn’t easy to hear outdoors, but it often appears indoors – and is most noticeable when you’ve gone to sleep at night. If you look out the window to see if there is something with a motor in the neighbourhood, there’s nothing to see.

And others who are in the same place hear nothing.

First discovered in coastal cities

The phenomenon was first recorded and discussed in the city of Bristol, England in the mid-1970s. Suddenly, the Bristol Evening Post began receiving letter after letters from people who heard an inexplicable sound, and wondered where it came from.

One theory was that the humming sound came from large, industrial fans that were located inside the warehouse of a large department store. However, when the warehouse was closed down a few years later, people continued to hear the sound.

Since then, the sound has been recorded in several places in the United Kingdom, mainly in coastal cities such as Hythe, Plymouth, Southampton, Swansea, but also in London.

The sound is called The Hum phenomenon, or simply The Hum.

In the 1990s, it cropped up in the United States, first in the city of Taos, New Mexico and in the city of Kokomo, Indiana. The phenomenon has since been recorded worldwide: in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and several European cities. The sound is typically reported in relatively densely populated areas.

A couple of years ago, people in the Oslo area also reported an unexplained humming sound, according to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

Canadian Glen MacPherson began hearing the humming sound when he lived and worked as a teacher on Canada’s west coast. When he moved to another city in the same area, the sound disappeared.

He became so interested in the sound phenomenon that he started the interactive The World Hum Map and Database Project in 2012, which collects data from places and people where the sound has been noted.

Many different theories

Many different theories have been offered to explain the cause of the phenomenon; everything from acoustic pollution from human-made sources to sounds that nature itself makes – as well as conspiracy theories that the sound is produced by the CIA or even aliens.

There are many human sources of low-frequency sound. These can include ventilation systems, heat pumps, traffic noise, windmills and more. Examples of natural sources include the sounds of waves crashing along the coast and wind sweeping through the landscape.

The Hum has attracted the interest of hearing and audiology researchers worldwide. Markus Drexl, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), is among this self-selected group.

He and two PhD research fellows and a postdoc have conducted a study of 28 people in Germany who experience hearing an unexplained buzzing or humming.

Sounds that can be measured

The researchers tested two hypotheses.

One was that The Hum can be measured, both from human-made infrastructure and industry and also from nature itself, which creates low-frequency sounds.

“We know that there are people who hear low-frequency sounds that can actually be measured, even if other people don’t hear them. But it’s not so easy to find the source of these sound waves, because it’s a struggle to localize low-frequency sounds,” Drexl said.

These sounds have long wavelengths that can travel over great distances.

Extra good hearing?

The first thing the researchers did was test whether the participants had particularly good hearing for low-frequency sounds that are actually known to exist.

Most did not, except for two participants who had better hearing than average at certain low frequencies.

“Even though the group we tested was small, it still means that the hypothesis of having especially good hearing for low-frequency sounds does not hold for most people,” Drexl said.

He adds a small caveat: There are differences in hearing thresholds (microstructures) that make it possible for some people to hear sensitively in a very narrow frequency range, for example between 50 and 51 Hertz. These nuances are not captured by conventional hearing tests.

The ear can produce sounds itself

The cochlea in the inner ear itself produces weak sounds with different frequencies, typically between about 500 and 5000 Hertz. These sounds have no function of their own, but are a by-product of a physiological sound amplification process.

“Most of us don’t hear these sounds. However, a few people can actually hear the sounds that the ear itself produces. And these sounds can be measured objectively,” Drexl said.

These particular sounds are called oto-acoustic emissions and can be detected by placing a sensitive microphone in the ear canal. In some people, these spontaneous oto-acoustic emissions can be experienced as troublesome tinnitus.

“One hypothesis was that the participants in our group could hear oto-acoustic emissions at low frequencies. That’s why we tested whether they had them,” says Drexl.

But… the answer was no.

Sounds that cannot be measured

“Then there are people who hear something that cannot be measured objectively.

We believe people in this category have a form of low-frequency tinnitus,” Drexl said.

Tinnitus or ringing in the ears is when you hear a sound in the ear or in the head, which is not caused by an external sound source.

Many people experience tinnitus, either permanently or for shorter periods. These individuals first experience the sounds in their ears as a sound coming from outside.

But as the sound persists, even when they move to other places, they gradually become aware that the source of the sound is not external.

Drexl says that based on what is known about hearing and the tests they conducted on study participants, the best explanation is twofold.

A few people who hear The Hum actually have particularly good low-frequency hearing. However, for most people, it may be a form of tinnitus, meaning a sound that originates from inside the auditory system.

“Based on our results, although we haven’t ruled out cases of physical external sound sources, we suggest that subjective tinnitus in the low-frequency range is often the cause of hearing pulsations of low-frequency sound perceptions,” he said.

Must understand the entire auditory system

Markus Drexl became interested in The Hum phenomenon because he studies low-frequency sounds.

“What we know about the hearing system is mainly based on how we capture and process sound with higher frequencies. We know less about how the auditory system handles and processes low-frequency sound, or infrasound,” he said.

Drexl says that over the past decade there has been a growing concern about noise from technical sources in the low-frequency range (between about 20 and 250 Hz) and the infrasound range (below 20 Hz).

“If we want to conduct a thorough assessment of low-frequency sounds and infrasound, we first need a better understanding of how sensory systems process low-frequency sound and infrasound,” he said.

Reference: On the potential sources of a low-frequency sound percept that only a few can perceive, Plos One, March 2026 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.032681

Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0326818

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

On the potential sources of a low-frequency sound percept that only a few can perceive

As 70% of Americans live beyond cancer, City of Hope sets the standard for lifelong survivorship care

City of Hope

As 70% of Americans Live Beyond Cancer, City of Hope Sets the Standard for Lifelong Survivorship Care
•   City of Hope’s data-driven model integrates survivorship care from diagnosis through decades of follow-up, with built-in supportive care and coordinated transitions after treatment
•   Timed to National Cancer Survivors Month, City of Hope launches the City of Hope Line (626-218-4056), a nationwide platform for sharing messages of encouragement
•   Actors, singers, Olympians, creators and influencers join forces with City of Hope to amplify this powerful message

LOS ANGELES — Supporting the growing number of Americans living with cancer has become one of the most urgent challenges in modern cancer care as more people live years or decades beyond a diagnosis. In response, City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, is setting a new standard for lifelong, research-driven survivorship care. That effort includes the City of Hope Line, a national initiative inviting survivors, caregivers and loved ones to share experiences and words of encouragement.

The City of Hope Line launches with messages from well-known voices, including Olivia Munn, Bea Kim, Jordan Chiles, Andrew McMahon and O.A.R. alongside cancer survivors, creating a nationwide chorus of encouragement rooted in lived experience.

For the first time, 70% of Americans diagnosed with cancer are surviving at least five years, a milestone reflecting decades of scientific progress and contributing to nearly 19 million people living with or beyond cancer. At City of Hope, that progress is matched by long-standing investments in survivorship research and care designed to help survivors live longer, healthier lives after cancer treatment. Efforts like Day for Hope, an annual nationwide day of giving and collective action, help sustain and expand this work for people affected by cancer.

“More people are surviving cancer than ever before, which is a testament to the wondrous innovation driven by leading cancer centers. Yet that progress also brings a new responsibility,” said City of Hope CEO Robert Stone. “At City of Hope, we’re focused on ensuring survivorship is not an afterthought, but a standard of care. That means surrounding every patient with the guidance, resources and coordinated support they need to live fully beyond treatment.”

Marcel van den Brink, M.D., Ph.D., chief physician executive at City of Hope, added, “The definition of high‑quality cancer care continues to expand. At City of Hope, survivorship care begins at diagnosis and remains part of care for the rest of a person’s life. Our approach is grounded in research, risk‑based monitoring and close coordination between cancer specialists and primary care physicians so that people are supported through treatment and long after it ends.”

Helping to voice the critical need is the City of Hope Line, launching in June to mark National Cancer Survivors Month. The City of Hope Line invites survivors, caregivers, loved ones, clinicians and community members to share short messages answering one simple but powerful question: What would you say to someone who just heard the words, “You have cancer”?

"There are people like myself who have gone through it and are here for you,” said actress and breast cancer survivor Olivia Munn in a social media video for City of Hope Line. “So, if you ever need a little encouragement, just reach out to someone who has gone through this. Because once you have been given this diagnosis, there is this kindred feeling with so many other people in the world."

City of Hope believes survivorship care should be tailored to each patient’s cancer type, treatments and long-term risk profile. Care should include coordinated follow-up with targeted screening for late effects, rehabilitation, and symptom and pain management, along with support for nutrition, fertility, emotional health and practical needs such as work, insurance and finances. This approach is shaped by survivorship research and delivered through close collaboration among oncology teams, survivorship specialists and primary care providers.

City of Hope is developing a systemwide survivorship program designed to support patients from diagnosis through long‑term follow‑up. The effort will draw on centralized clinical and research expertise while extending coordinated survivorship support across City of Hope’s national network, helping ensure patients receive consistent guidance and care no matter where they are treated.

Survivorship Care Defined by Data

Built on one of the nation’s largest survivorship research platforms, City of Hope has been following more than 15,000 long-term hematopoietic cell transplantation survivors through its Center for Survivorship and Outcomes, tracking health outcomes for decades after treatment. These data inform specialized, nationally recognized survivorship programs grounded in multidisciplinary, lifelong follow-up care.

Evidence from decades of follow‑up: City of Hope investigators have led long‑term survivorship studies showing that cancer survivors face elevated risks for cardiovascular disease, frailty and second cancers years and even decades after treatment.
Research that informs earlier, risk‑based care: City of Hope studies have demonstrated how specific treatment exposures can accelerate aging‑related conditions, shaping survivorship approaches that emphasize early detection, targeted screening and prevention‑focused interventions.
Data that underpins lifelong survivorship programs: Findings from City of Hope survivorship research directly inform specialized, multidisciplinary long‑term follow‑up care, including nationally recognized programs supporting childhood, adolescent, young adult and adult survivors across the lifespan.

“City of Hope-led research has shown that many cancer survivors develop serious health problems like cardiovascular disease and second cancers much earlier than the general population,” said Saro Armenian, D.O., M.P.H. A national leader in cancer survivorship, Dr. Armenian has contributed to the development of clinical guidelines for long-term follow-up care and serves as director of City of Hope’s Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Survivorship Program.

“By following survivors over decades, we have been able to identify risks that would often be missed without targeted screening and translate those findings into prevention‑focused care designed to intervene before damage becomes irreversible.”

Messages of Hope for Life After Cancer

For millions of survivors, the end of cancer treatment can be the start of a chapter that feels uncertain and hard to navigate.

“There are more cancer survivors than ever before, and we need systems that know how to support us long after treatment ends," said City of Hope patient Valarie Traynham, a Chicago-area, two-time cancer survivor and patient advocate. "At City of Hope, survivorship has meant adjusting to a new normal and using my experience to support, educate, and uplift others who are also living with cancer."

Through the City of Hope Line, patients and survivors across the country can share similar messages of hope and encouragement. Participants can call throughout the month of June to listen to recorded messages or leave a message of their own. City of Hope Line phone booth installations can be found at select events, hosted by City of Hope cancer centers in Los Angeles, Orange County, California, Chicago, Atlanta and Phoenix. Some messages will be shared across City of Hope’s social media channels throughout June, amplifying survivors’ voices.

The City of Hope Line builds on the Cancer Fighters program, created by City of Hope patients nearly four decades ago to connect and learn from each other. Today, the community includes nearly 80,000 members who believe no one should face cancer without the support of people who truly understand the journey.

“As millions more people live longer after cancer, health systems, researchers and insurers must treat survivorship care as essential, funding research, expanding coverage and ensuring patients have the support they need beyond treatment,” said Dr. Armenian, the Barron Hilton Chair in Pediatrics. “If we don’t rethink how survivorship is delivered, we risk turning progress against cancer into preventable harm.”

How to Participate

To participate in the City of Hope Line during National Cancer Survivors Month, individuals can call 626-218-4056 to listen to and leave messages of hope.

Additionally, June 2 is Day for Hope, when the community can make a gift to help advance cancer research, treatment and survivorship care. Together, we can help more cancer patients become cancer survivors: cityofhope.org/givehope.

# # #

About City of Hope

City of Hope's mission is to make hope a reality for all touched by cancer and diabetes. Founded in 1913, City of Hope has grown into one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, and one of the leading research centers for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses. City of Hope research has been the basis for numerous breakthrough cancer medicines, as well as human synthetic insulin and monoclonal antibodies. With an independent, National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center that is ranked among the nation’s top cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report at its core, City of Hope’s uniquely integrated model spans cancer care, research and development, academics and training, and a broad philanthropy program that powers its work. City of Hope’s growing national system includes its Los Angeles campus, Orange County, California, campus, a network of clinical care locations across Southern California and cancer treatment centers and outpatient facilities in the Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix areas. City of Hope’s affiliated group of organizations includes Translational Genomics Research Institute and AccessHopeTM. For more information about City of Hope, follow us on Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Biomaterial made from jackfruit latex is a promising treatment for periodontitis

With pomegranate peel extract and simvastatin, the product proved effective in combating the infection, inflammation, and periodontal tissue loss caused by the disease

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Researchers from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FCMS) at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in Sorocaba, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have developed a biomaterial containing jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and simvastatin (a statin-based medication) that shows promising efficacy in treating periodontitis.

This chronic inflammatory disease of infectious origin leads to the progressive destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth, resulting in bone resorption and loss of attachment.

Conventional treatments aim to control infection and inflammation, but they do not effectively promote the regeneration of periodontal tissues, which limits their long-term effectiveness. Techniques such as guided tissue regeneration and bone grafting have been suggested for these cases, but their clinical effects are inconsistent and sometimes unpredictable.

To address this issue, the FCMS researchers focused on exploring natural, bioactive biomaterials that could combat the condition in an integrated manner.

“We began to view latex extracted from jackfruit as an interesting alternative, as it has adhesive properties. This led us to believe that it could remain longer at the site affected by periodontitis, promoting a more targeted release of therapeutic compounds and potentially reducing the need for systemic antibiotic use,” explains Professor Eliana Aparecida de Rezende Duek, from the Department of Surgery at the FCMS. She coordinated the study, which was supported by FAPESP (projects 23/17083-8 and 23/12039-0) and published in the journal Polymer Bulletin.

The substance was combined with pomegranate peel extract, which has recognized antimicrobial potential for topical application, and simvastatin, an anti-inflammatory drug that has been studied for its ability to stimulate bone formation. This combination resulted in a mucoadhesive matrix that acts directly at the site of the lesion.

Topically applied simvastatin is also more effective since, when administered orally, the substance is predominantly retained by the liver. Only a small fraction reaches the systemic circulation, requiring higher doses that can increase the risk of adverse effects, including acute muscle degeneration.

In the study, the scientists conducted an experiment in which latex was manually extracted from freshly harvested jackfruit and underwent careful purification. Then, pomegranate peel extract was incorporated into the matrix. Throughout the study, a series of physicochemical and biological characterizations were performed to better understand the structure and behavior of the material.

An in vitro assay was conducted using human adipose-derived stem cells with a formulation of simvastatin at different concentrations (0.3%, 0.6%, and 1.2%) that did not alter the structure of the gel and are technically safe. All concentrations increased osteoinduction within 14 days, with an even more pronounced effect after 21 days. This corroborates the potential of the material for treating periodontitis.

“Overall, the results were very encouraging for us. We observed that the developed biomaterial has great potential for future applications in treating periodontitis and in other areas as well, especially since it involves a material that has received little attention in the scientific literature for biomedical use,” says Duek.

“Despite these promising results, we’re continuing to move forward with new studies to more thoroughly evaluate the efficacy and safety of the system,” she adds.

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe

Journal

Polymer Bulletin

DOI

10.1007/s00289-026-06358-w

Article Title

Jackfruit latex-pomegranate extract biomaterial incorporated with simvastatin as a potential osteoinductive system for periodontal applications