The Rhyothemis princeps Brain Externalization Project

Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide found in brown seaweed that varies in molecular weight and composition. Wakame ( Undaria pinnatifida ) is a brown seaweed commonly consumed in Japan and is a main ingredient in miso soup and is also served as a salad.  Recently it as been reported that fucoidan can inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41421-020-00192-8 Of course it remains to be demonstrated in humans, but it's a start.  ~ Wakame fucoidan could be useful for Covid-19 since it inhibits thrombosis without increasing bleeding time: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22084059/ The  Min et al. (2011) study also found in comparison to wakame fucoidan, fucoidan from bladder wrack inhibited thrombus formation, but bleeding time was prolonged (but not as much as for heparin).  An important caveat when considering the therapeutic potential of seaweed/fucoidan is that there are differences in biological activities in fucoidans from different species as we

 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, fampridine, dalfampridine) has been used to treat episodic ataxia 2 and downbeat nystagmus; so far it does not seem to have been trialed or even suggested for use in multiple system atrophy: "In recent years, advance has been made in the pharmacological treatment of cerebellar disorders, for example episodic ataxia type 2 (EA2) and in adition downbeat nystagmus (DBN), specifically because of the utilization of aminopyridines (AP) [ 10 - 13 ]. This agent is a nonselective blockers of the Kv family, mainly the Kv1.5 voltage-activated potassium channels, thereby prolonging the duration of action potentials in axons because of delayed repolarization [ 14 ]. In vitro studies showed that 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) increases the resting discharge rate and excitability of cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) of the guinea pig cerebellum [ 15 ], and regulates the PC firing in brain slices of the rat [ 16 , 17 ], Due to an increased activity of PC [ 13 ] the GABAe

  Some news on metformin - a study of C. elegans (worms) and human cell cultures found that older individuals had deleterious effects while younger individuals benefited. Co-administering rapamycin alleviated the toxic effects in older individuals: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-11-age-decisive-positive-negative-effects.html   Original research article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-00307-1 I am curious to know if boosting NAD+ would also mitigate the toxicity. Related: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181211113024.htm Coincidentally I also saw yesterday a video presentation on the effects of aging on microRNA production in response to exercise. An enzyme called DICER is involved in RNA processing and it increased in activity in response to exercise; the effect size was found to be much lower in older individuals and the effect is AMPK dependent. https://youtu.be/lN_wJT-EkuA 10:54 there's one young individual at the bottom of the graph - what's up

 "The modern cognitive embodied theory demonstrates that our mental and cognitive processes are embodied in our bodies, depending on our bodies’ specific activity patterns 44 . This means that, cognition is not independent of body movement, but is deeply rooted in the human body and the interaction between the body and our world." https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73679-9

 Continuing with PON2... found a brand new article which is unfortunately paywalled: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33096292/ "Previously, we have demonstrated that β-estradiol-3-benzoate (EB) has a protective effect on the neurodegenerative experimental model of Parkinson's disease. The protective effect is through the induction of the expression of paraoxonase-2 (PON2) in the striatum. ... EB protective effect against MPP + neurotoxicity is related to antioxidant effect of PON2, pro-inflammatory cytokines and GSHR but not to SOD2, catalase, GPX1 or GPX4." Is the effect all due to estrogen, or is there some contribution from benzoate? Maybe it's good I can't access the article, I have a lot of chores to do today ... ~ PON2 and bladder cancer: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28430636/ ~ TMPRSS2 is up-regulated in rats treated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to model PD [ PMID: 30713215 ]. ~ The Potential Role of SARS-COV-2 in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson&