Diarrhea 5, With Tufting Enteropathy, Congenital

IRVINE, Calif., May 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuravax Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering immunotherapy for neurodegenerative disorders, has been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support Duvax, the first dual-target Alzheimer's vaccine, in its entry into human clinical trials. Nuravax, in partnership with the non-profit Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM), secured the award on its very first NIH grant submission, earning top-tier scores. This rare distinction highlights the scientific strength and strategic importance of the Duvax vaccine. The grant, awarded through NIH's highly competitive SBIR Fast-Track program, will fund a critical milestone in the clinical validation of Duvax. An initial portion of the $3 million grant has been allocated to initiate the Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of Duvax as a secondary prevention therapy, with the remaining funds expected later in 2025. "This SBIR grant is a powerful endorsement of our mission to clinically validate and advance Duvax as a first-in-class vaccine for Alzheimer's prevention," said Roman Kniazev, CEO of Nuravax. "While IMM laid the scientific foundation, our focus at Nuravax is on translating that innovation into real-world impact. This funding enables us to move Duvax into clinical trials in the U.S. and brings us one step closer to delivering it as preventive therapy for individuals at risk – before symptoms begin." Duvax is a first-in-class vaccine that targets both amyloid-beta and tau proteins, the two hallmark drivers of Alzheimer's disease, positioning it at the forefront of Alzheimer's research. Unlike conventional treatments, Duvax is designed for use during the preclinical stage, when the disease is silently progressing but before cognitive symptoms appear. "The Phase 1 trial, supported by this SBIR grant awarded to our development and commercialization partner, Nuravax, marks a critical step in translating years of foundational research at IMM into a potential clinical breakthrough," said Dr. Michael Agadjanyan, VP of IMM and Head of Immunology. "Based on strong preclinical data, we at IMM expect Duvax to elicit a robust immune response against both Aβ and tau pathologies, an approach that could fundamentally shift the paradigm of Alzheimer's treatment from symptomatic and disease-modifying treatment (DMT) to secondary preventive therapy for cognitively unimpaired people at risk of disease." The vaccine's use is guided by highly precise and specific blood tests that detect early pathological changes, enabling timely intervention. By clearing toxic forms of amyloid-beta and tau before irreversible damage occurs, Duvax aims to shift the treatment paradigm from symptom management to secondary preventive therapy. About Nuravax Nuravax is a clinical-stage biotech company developing and advancing immunotherapeutic vaccines for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, TBI, and CTE. Focused on early intervention, Nuravax aims to alter disease progression before irreversible damage occurs. The company leads the clinical development, regulatory strategy, and manufacturing of Duvax, a dual-target vaccine licensed from the Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM), a nonprofit dedicated to neurodegenerative disease research. About IMM The Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMM) is a non-profit research organization dedicated to understanding, preventing, and curing chronic human diseases, with a focus on neurodegeneration. IMM is advancing MultiTEP — a universal vaccine platform technology that enables the development of diverse vaccine formats, including DNA, RNA, and recombinant protein-based designs. Disclaimer: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute On Aging of the NIH under Award Number R44AG091903. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. SOURCE Nuravax Inc WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2024. Hockey players’ chances of developing concussion-related brain injury increase with every year they spend on the ice, a new study finds. The odds of having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) increase among hockey players 34% for each year played, researchers reported Dec. 4 in JAMA Network Open . Results show 18 out of 19 National Hockey League players had CTE , a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated concussions, researchers found. However, CTE wasn’t found in a single hockey player who spent fewer than six years competing, researchers report. “Ice hockey players with longer careers not only were more likely to have CTE, but they also had more severe disease,” said researcher Dr. Jesse Mez , co-director of clinical research at the Boston University CTE Center. “We hope this data will help inspire changes to make the game safer as well as help former ice hockey players impacted by CTE get the care they need,” Mez added in a university news release. For the study, they studied the donated brains of 77 deceased male ice hockey players. They also tracked each player’s career, to see how their amateur or professional play might have affected their brain health. They found that 96% (27 of 28) pro hockey players had CTE brain damage. By comparison, only 46% of college and semi-pro players (13 of 28) had CTE, and just 10% of youth and high school players (2 of 21). Interestingly, they found that enforcers did not have a statistically significant higher risk of CTE than other players after accounting for years of play, even though enforcers are meant to engage in more physical and violent play during hockey games. “Enforcers have dominated the CTE conversation, but our findings provide the most evidence for the cumulative amount of play as the predominant risk factor for CTE,” Mez said. “The takeaway here is that non-enforcers are getting CTE as well. Ice hockey players skate quickly, and checking leads to impacts with other players, the ice, boards and glass,” Mez added. “We think years of play is a proxy for these impacts that are harder to measure directly, but are likely what are leading to the disease.” Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

MONDAY, Dec. 2, 2024 -- Concussion -related brain damage can combine with a family history of mental illness to make some athletes and military personnel prone to aggression and violence in middle age, a new study says. People with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are at higher risk of mood changes and dementia, but this study shows that aggression is another risk posed by the condition. “This appears to be a case where together these risk factors add up to a greater risk for aggression than they each do on their own, where people with CTE and a family history of mental illness are much more likely to have aggressive behavior than those with just CTE or just the family history,” researcher Dr. Jesse Mez , an associate professor of neurology with the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, said in a news release. Some individual cases have already highlighted the potential link between CTE and violence. For example, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in jail at age 27 following his conviction for the murder of a friend. Autopsy of his brain revealed it was riddled with CTE damage, particularly in regions associated with decision-making and judgment. In this study, researchers looked at 845 men exposed to repetitive head impacts through contact sports or military service, including 329 who played professional football. All donated their brains to research after death. About 70% had CTE, and 45% had a family history of mental illness, researchers said. The research team interviewed family about each man’s aggressive behavior, and whether any close relatives had ever been diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or any other mood or mental illnesses. Results show that men with CTE and a family history of mental illness were more likely to get into arguments or physical fights with other people. “This relationship was most striking for participants who died between 40 and 59 years old,” Mez said. The association held even after accounting for other risk factors, such as their total years playing contact sports or serving in the military, researchers said. However, people without CTE did not have an increased risk of aggressive behavior, even if they had a family history of mental illness, “The link between a family history of mental illness and aggression may be through a shared genetic background and also through shared environment and common behaviors, such as childhood experiences with family members,” Mez said. “Identifying people who are more likely to show symptoms of aggression based on family history of mental illness would give us a way to predict the consequences of CTE and identify who may benefit most from treatment options,” he added. The new study was published Nov. 27 in the journal Neurology . Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.