Canada Brain Power

Tag: Université de Montréal

  • Discovery of a new therapeutic avenue to protect vision in diabetic patients

    Discovery of a new therapeutic avenue to protect vision in diabetic patients

    This is a Brain Star Award feature of Dr. Sergio Crespo-Garcia, from the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Center. Dr. Crespo-Garcia he is first place winner of the 2024 competition and also the winner of the Marlene-Reimer Award for 2024. Congratulations!

    Diabetes is a silent epidemic with profound complications in the retina, including a profound visual impairment that robs individuals of their ability to connect with the world around them. Dr. Sergio Crespo-Garcia, working as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Przemyslaw (Mike) Sapieha at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Center, has identified a novel therapeutic strategy aimed at reversing diabetic macular edema (DME), a pervasive blinding condition in diabetic patients. This new therapeutic approach has the potential to be applied to other neurodegenerative diseases.

    Specifically, Dr. Crespo-Garcia and his colleagues investigated the role of cell aging (senescence) in the development of diabetic macular edema (DME). They showed that senescent cells play a critical role in driving leakage from blood vessels and neuroinflammation of the retina leading to retinal damage in diabetes. Further, they identified a protein, called B-cell lymphoma extra-large (BCL-xL), as a potential target to selectively eliminate senescent cells. By employing foselutoclax (UBX1325), a small molecule drug, they demonstrated reduction in retinal neuroinflammation and improvement in vascular and neuronal function. Importantly, these preclinical data translated to human trials where patients enrolled in the Phase 1 trial showed a gain in visual acuity – these were patients for whom other treatments were no longer beneficial. Most excitingly, Phase 2 trials are currently underway, and could transform the way we protect vision in diabetic patients.

    Read the full story here: https://canadabrainpower.com/brain-star-award-winner-sergio-crespo-garcia/

    Read the full scientific publication here:

    Crespo-Garcia S, Fournier F, Diaz-Marin R, Klier S, Ragusa D, Masaki L, Cagnone G, Blot G, Hafiane I, Dejda A, Rizk R, Juneau R, Buscarlet M, Chorfi S, Patel P, Beltran PJ, Joyal JS, Rezende FA, Hata M, Nguyen A, Sullivan L, Damiano J, Wilson AM, Mallette FA, David NE, Ghosh A, Tsuruda PR, Dananberg J, Sapieha P. Therapeutic targeting of cellular senescence in diabetic macular edema: preclinical and phase 1 trial results. Nature Medicine 2024 Feb;30(2):443-454. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-02802-4. Epub 2024 Feb 6. PMID: 38321220.

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02802-4

  • New mechanism underlying how we see the world in 3D discovered

    New mechanism underlying how we see the world in 3D discovered

    The Cellular Neurobiology Research Unit led by Dr. Michel Cayouette at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM), and also Full Research Professor, Department of Medicine at Université de Montréal, has identified a key mechanism involved in the growth of nerve cells that are critical to mediate binocular vision, which allows us to see the world in 3D. 

    The marvel of human 3D vision

    To see the world in 3D, our eyes look at an object from two different parts of the retina, a thin layer tissue at the back of the eyes that transforms light into electrical signals used by nerve cells to communicate. The overlap between these two fields of vision allows us to determine the depth, distance and speed of an object and make fast, sometimes life saving decisions. Crucial for this process is the proper growth of nerves from the eye to the brain. When these nerve cells called retinal ganglion cells send projections to the brain via the optic nerve, they either remain on the same side or cross over to the other half of the brain. It is the balance of these projections that allows us to see the world in 3D, but how exactly this is controlled remains poorly understood. 

    In the study, the team of scientists identified a gene called Pou3f1 that acts as a major regulator controlling the expression of dozens of other genes, which together generate the full instructions to ensure retinal ganglion cells send projections that cross to the opposite hemisphere of the brain. Furthermore, the team showed that expression of Pou3f1 in retinal stem cells is sufficient to force them to become retinal ganglion cells sending projections to the optic nerve. 

    The work from the IRCM group published in the journal Cell Reports provides an important advance towards solving this mystery. The research was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

    Read the full story on the Montreal Clinical Research Institute website: How we see the world in 3D.

  • CIHR Health Research in Action: Better sleep may lead to a better fight against Alzheimer’s disease

    CIHR Health Research in Action: Better sleep may lead to a better fight against Alzheimer’s disease

    Research team at Université de Montréal offers insights that may help both detect and treat the disease among patients in the future

    Issue

    More than 750,000 Canadians are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This complex neurodegenerative condition destroys brain cells and causes a gradual deterioration of memory and thinking.

    Research

    A key feature of AD is the development of plaques composed of amyloid beta proteins inside the brain. Researchers at Université de Montréal are studying how fragments of these proteins initially affect neurons in the hippocampus, which blocks communication between neurons and disrupt sleep patterns.

    Impact

    This research could provide new ways to diagnose and monitor the progression of AD. It may also support the use of new interventions that help improve sleep as a treatment for the disease.

    Read the full story on the CIHR website

     

  • Promising new treatment for ALS goes to clinical trials

    Promising new treatment for ALS goes to clinical trials

    After 12 years of research, Dr. Richard Robitaille is hopeful that we’ll soon have a treatment to help people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) regain mobility.

    A new clinical trial is set to start soon, thanks to a $1-million grant from the American ALS Association announced just before Christmas. “I’m still in shock! For me, this grant is recognition of years of hard work,” said Robitaille, a full professor in the Department of Neurosciences in the University of Montreal’s Faculty of Medicine. “Now we will be able to run clinical trials on patients with ALS and ultimately use what we learn to help others suffering from the disease.”

    Read the full story on the Université de Montréal website