Reframe Daily: Tonsil surgery lowers kids’ blood pressure; gene-silencing shot helps weak nerves in mice

Reframe Daily—curated by Christin Chong (neuroscience PhD, Buddhist chaplain, healthtech strategy consultant)—delivers optimistic and credible healthtech updates you won’t find in most popular news outlets, from sources scientists and healthcare providers read and trust.

Today in one sentence: A gene-silencing shot helped weak nerves and muscles recover in a mouse motor-neuron disease; scientists found the first step that makes gluten trigger celiac disease; an RNA switch sparked new blood-vessel growth and restored limb blood flow in mice; a low-dose statin calmed artery inflammation and slowed aortic aneurysms in a Marfan model while a CT sign tracked risk; and a randomized trial showed tonsil-and-adenoid surgery lowered blood pressure in kids with mild sleep-breathing trouble.

Christin’s note: I’m traveling to Iceland and the UK end of this week! Looking forward to sharing videos with you with new scenery. 😀 Here’s one from the vault: back in January 2024, I got quite sick and found a supplement that helped me get back on my feet. I wrote about the experience here

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Good news: A mouse study showed a targeted gene-silencing shot helped damaged nerves and muscles recover in a rare adult-onset motor-neuron disease.

Peripherally administered androgen receptor–targeted antisense oligonucleotide rescues spinal pathology in a murine SBMA model. 

Market readiness: 😊 (preclinical mouse study; promising but needs human trials)

Good news: Scientists pinpointed how gluten becomes “extra visible” to the immune system in celiac disease, suggesting a new way to block the first step of the attack.

DC-expressed tissue transglutaminase promotes antigen presentation via LRP1, contributing to celiac disease pathogenesis.

Market readiness: 😊 (mechanism work in cells/animal models; drug target identification stage)

Good news: A newly identified RNA switch in vessel muscle cells boosted new blood-vessel growth and blood flow after limb ischemia in mice—pointing to future options for saving limbs.

A smooth muscle cell lncRNA controls angiogenesis in chronic limb-threatening ischemia through miR-143-3p/HHIP signaling. 

Market readiness: 😊 (preclinical target validation; no human trial yet)

Good news: In a Marfan syndrome model, researchers showed artery-wall inflammation drives aneurysm growth—and that a low dose of pitavastatin calmed the inflammation and slowed enlargement. They also derived a CT marker that could help track risk.

Perivascular inflammation in the progression of aortic aneurysms in Marfan syndrome.

Market readiness: 😊😊 (repurposed, approved drug but evidence here is in mice; imaging metric needs human validation)

Good news: Using data from a randomized trial in kids with mild snoring-related sleep-breathing issues, early adenotonsillectomy improved cardiovascular risk markers by lowering blood pressure.

Adenotonsillectomy and Blood Pressure in Children With Mild Obstructive Sleep-Disordered Breathing: An Exploratory Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. 

Market readiness: 😊😊😊😊😊 (standard U.S. surgery; finding refines benefits for a broader group)

Thank you for taking the time to take care of yourself and your loved ones.