How Hamas made show of force for hostage swap — despite Israel killing 17,000 terrorists

 Despite losing more than 17,000 fighters in a relentless 15-month-long war campaign, Hamas rallied dozens of armed and masked terrorists to present an intimidating front for TV cameras during Sunday’s release of three Israeli hostages.

The men — wearing green headbands, military fatigues and sunglasses — were supported by a braying mob of Palestinians in Gaza City’s Saraya Square as they surrounded the Red Cross vehicles carrying hostages Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher

The harrowing video was broadcast to the world, and offered a glimpse at something the US and others have been warning about: Hamas has not only survived Israel’s invasion and relentless bombing campaign after the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, it is rebuilding.

Israel said that it has killed nearly 70% of Hamas’ terrorists, but the Biden administration warned this month that the group has been able to attract enough new recruits to completely replenish its numbers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the war will not end until Hamas is eradicated — something he repeated last year following the assassinations of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and his successor, Gaza chief and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya SInwar.

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Hamas operaties and their supporters filled out Gaza City’s Saraya Square in an apparent show of forces to Israel and the world.

Yet the Israeli military’s advancements were constantly undermined by Hamas’ ability to quickly replace its leadership and rebuild its forces by making use of the nature of the prolonged war.

Sinwar’s younger brother, Mohammed, is currently in charge of the group and has put his focus on rebuilding Hamas through the promise of food and revenge to a new generation of fighters convinced that Israel is to blame for the 15-months of devastation in Gaza.

“We are in a situation where the pace at which Hamas is rebuilding itself is higher than the pace that the IDF is eradicating them,” Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

“Mohammed Sinwar is managing everything.”

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The terrorists maintained a parade-like procession out of central Gaza for the hostages.ZUMAPRESS.com

Arab officials told the outlet that Hamas may have recruited thousands of new operatives in recent months, by using the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to its advantage.

The group — which Israel says routinely intercepts and steals humanitarian deliveries — has been promising its new recruits food and medicine.

Hamas members are even going as far as attending funerals of Palestinians killed in the war in the hopes of winning over angry mourners.

The fruits of those efforts have been on display in northern Gaza, where the IDF failed to remove Hamas’ presence despite clearing out the area multiple times during the war.

Sunday’s hand off, which was carried out smoothly despite an eight hour delay, shocked viewers who witnessed the sea of Hamas terrorists escorting the Red Cross vehicle out as their supporters cheered on in an almost parade-like procession at the center of Gaza City.

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Shocking video showed the terrorists hurrying the women into the Red Cross vans amid of sea of their operatives and supporters.APAImages/Shutterstock

The image was a direct message to Israel and the world that Hamas is still around and capable of governing Gaza despite months of devastation, according to CNN analysts Mick Krever and Eugenia Yosef.

Following the hostage exchange, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar admitted that the Jewish state has yet to meet its goal of dismantling Hamas — which was thought to have 25,000 armed terrorists on Oct. 7.

Western allies have long warned that Israel underestimated Hamas’ military numbers, with out-going US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealing last week that the terror group has likely reclaimed all its losses.

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US officials estimate that Hamas has recouped nearly all their losses after 15-months of war.AP

“We’ve long made the point to the Israeli government that Hamas cannot be defeated by a military campaign alone,” Blinken said during a speech before the Atlantic Council.

“Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back, Hamas militants regroup and reemerge because there’s nothing else to fill the void,” he added.

“Indeed, we assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost.”

Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2006, shows no sign that it will relinquish power once the initial cease-fire agreement concludes.

Hamas’ continued presence in Gaza has been the main point of contention in Israel’s parliament, with Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir resigning from office last week in protest of the cease-fire agreement, which he said should not go through until Israel wipes our Hamas entirely.

Critics, including Blinken, said Hamas’ strength shows there is no military solution to the war in Gaza — which Hamas-controlled health officials say has killed nearly 47,000 people.

That figure does not distinguish between terrorists and civillians.

“This deal forfeits the IDF’s hard-won achievements in the war, involves withdrawing forces from Gaza, and halts the fighting in a manner that capitulates to Hamas,” Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party said in a statement.

Gvir’s resignation upended Netanyahu’s hold on power in Knesset, with the opposition, who has blamed the premier for the prolonged war, expected to hold a vote to replace him once the hostage negotiations conclude.

https://nypost.com/2025/01/20/world-news/how-hamas-rebuilt-its-numbers-and-made-a-show-of-force-for-the-hostage-swap/

'Joint Chiefs chair says he plans to stay on under Trump'

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., who President Trump had threatened to fire once in power, on Monday said he plans to remain the country’s highest-ranking military official.

“That’s my plan,” he told reporters while leaving the U.S. Capitol Building, as reported by CNN.  

Brown, who attended Trump’s inauguration ceremony in the Capitol rotunda, for months has been the target of Trump’s and his associates’ vows to immediately fire U.S. military leaders who they view as too focused on diversity initiatives.

Among those attacking Brown was Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, who said on a podcast in early November that Brown, who is Black, needed to be fired. 

“First of all, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI woke s–t has got to go,” Hegseth said on the “Shawn Ryan Show.”

That rhetoric seemed to change after Trump and Brown met in a luxury box at the Army-Navy football game in December.

NBC News reported at the time that the two spoke one-on-one for about 20 minutes and that Trump was “changing his tone” on the four-star general.

A picture later released by Trump’s camp made its rounds on social media showing the two sitting side-by-side in conversation at the game.

Brown became only the second Black man to serve as the Joint Chiefs chair on Oct. 1, 2023, joining the late Colin Powell. The chair typically serves a four-year term, meaning Brown could stay in the role potentially until Sept, 30, 2027.

Trump has an acrimonious relationship with retired Gen. Mark Milley, who Trump appointed to the role during his first term. Milley has publicly feuded with Trump, and was among those who received last-minute pardons from President Biden on Monday.

A former Air Force combat pilot who eventually rose through the ranks to become the service’s chief of staff, Brown made waves when he released an emotional video addressing the 2020 protests across the U.S. sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“I’m thinking about how full I am with emotion, not just for George Floyd, but for the many African Americans that have suffered the same fate as George Floyd,” Brown said in the video. “I’m thinking about our two sons and how we had to prepare them to live in two worlds.” 

He continued: “I’m thinking about my Air Force career where I was often the only African American in my squadron or, as a senior officer, the only African American in the room.”

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5096565-gen-cq-brown-stays-chairman-trump/

What CNN's Loss In The Florida Defamation Case Says About American Journalism

 “Your credibility with me … is about none.”

Those words to CNN counsel by Judge William Henry also clearly spoke for the Florida jury which, on Friday, awarded $5 million for Navy veteran Zachary Young and approved an additional amount, still to be determined, for punitive damages.

The CNN loss is only the latest in a series of media cases that have reversed decades of case law where the media largely prevailed under highly protective legal standards. It says a great deal about the state of modern journalism and its unrelenting efforts at self-destruction.

In “The Indispensable Right,” I discuss the radical shift in American journalism that occurred with the rejection of neutrality and objectivity in favor of advocacy journalism. J-schools now teach that objectivity is a dated concept. As former New York Times writer (and now Howard University journalism professor) Nikole Hannah-Jones has explained, “All journalism is activism.”

After interviewing more than 75 media leaders, Leonard Downie Jr., former Washington Post executive editor, and Andrew Heyward, former CBS News president, detailed how media leaders view neutrality and objectivity as dated concepts that inhibit social and political agendas.

The public’s response to this trend has been both predictable and pronounced. The famous “Let’s Go, Brandon” incident after a NASCAR race, after all, was more of a criticism of the media than of Joe Biden — a “Yankee Doodling” of the press for its distortion of facts.

Revenue and ratings for media outlets have plummeted, although there are other contributing factors. During the trial, CNN host Jake Tapper was challenged for his testimony that he “doesn’t pay attention to ratings.” That does not appear to be the case at the network, which is cratering and desperately trying to reverse the ratings plunge. CNN has reportedly lost half of its viewership, hitting lows not seen in three decades.

The jury clearly believed, as the network’s slogan claims, that “This is CNN.” That is probably the reason it will soon award punitive damages. However, this is not just CNN. The case itself highlighted everything wrong with modern media.

The segment aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on Nov. 11, 2021, and trashed Young in a story about Afghans being preyed upon by groups promising to get them out of the country amid the disastrous withdrawal of U.S. forces. Tapper told his audience ominously how CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered that “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.”

Marquardt detailed how “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and need to pay “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” and then named Young and his company as examples.

The trial revealed internal messages from Marquardt that he wanted to “nail this Zachary Young motherf—–” and thought the story would be Young’s “funeral.” After promising to “nail” Young, CNN editor Matthew Philips responded that he was “gonna hold you to that cowboy!” CNN senior editor Fuzz Hogan described Young as “a s—.”

As often occurs today, CNN allegedly gave Young only two hours to respond before the story ran. It is a typical ploy of the press to claim that they gave someone a chance to respond. The call often comes at the end of the day to create the appearance of fairness.  Nevertheless, Young did respond to the chagrin of CNN producers and made clear that key elements of the story were untrue.

CNN’s defense in court was a case study in how not to defend a defamation lawsuit. It included a series of self-inflicted wounds, delivered in front of the jury. However, it is only the latest loss for major media, given recent courthouse setbacks for the New York Times, NBC, and Deadspin. ABC News recently settled its own defamation case out of court, and previously Fox News paid a massive settlement.

Nevertheless, some outlets appear to be doubling down in the hope that they can ride anti-Trump coverage back to robust ratings. Last week, NBC announced that it was bringing Yamiche Alcindor to the White House press corps. Alcindon, who also worked for PBS, was widely criticized for often preceding questions with attacks on conservatives or over-the-top praise for Joe Biden or Democrats. While others saw raw political bias, Alcindor explained that it was her job to use journalism to bend the “moral arc toward justice.”

For decades, the media found ample protection within the protective shell created by the Supreme Court after New York Times v. Sullivan. The Court sought to create “breathing space” for the media by articulating a standard that now applies to both public officials and public figures. The demanding standard requires a showing of “actual malice,” where the media had actual knowledge of a statement’s falsity or showed reckless disregard for whether it was true or false.

The string of media losses reflects a change not in the law but in the media itself. As the press increasingly engages in advocacy journalism, reckless disregard for the truth is becoming the norm, as shown in the CNN case. It could get worse.

Some have questioned the extension of this protective standard to cases involving public figures, which encompasses anyone who has achieved a modicum of fame in business, sports, or other pursuits. A couple of justices have also expressed skepticism about why non-public figures should shoulder such a burden when people lie about them.

Meanwhile, the public is abandoning legacy media at a run, turning to new media in the form of blogs and citizen journalists. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of such a citizen journalist in a criminal case — a woman known as La Gordiloca (loosely translated as “fat, crazy lady”). Describing her as a “swearing muckraker who is upending border journalism,” the New York Times admitted that La Gordiloca “reflects how many people on the border now prefer to get their news.”

The rise in citizen journalists in new media and advocacy journalism in legacy media will only likely increase the number of such cases in the coming years. For mainstream media, the skepticism that they are facing in society is now becoming equally evident in courts. To paraphrase Judge Henry, their credibility with the public is about none.

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Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University 

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/what-cnns-loss-florida-defamation-case-says-about-american-journalism

Molecular mechanism of ergothioneine, mushroom compound may lead to prolonged health

 Many people wish not only to live as long as possible, but above all to do so without any health restrictions. However, with increasing age, the risk of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's or sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and muscle strength with age) also increases.

Research into aging is therefore increasingly focusing on the time during a person's lifetime when they are healthy. Under the leadership of the Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften (ISAS), a team of researchers from the University of Belgrade (Serbia), the University of Cambridge (UK) and Heidelberg University has now shown that the natural substance ergothioneine improves the health span of aging animals.

Other collaborators are researchers in Berlin, Munich, France, Italy and Spain. The international team describes their results and the underlying molecular mechanism in Cell Metabolism.

Ergothioneine is a natural compound found in certain fungi such as oyster or shiitake mushrooms as well as fermented foods. The amino acid is often marketed as a dietary supplement or as an ingredient in cosmetics with "anti-aging" effects. Even though there are indications of the health-promoting and cell-protective properties of ergothioneine, the underlying mechanism of action was previously unknown.

"Our analyses now finally provide clarity about the mechanism and also show that ergothioneine has promising therapeutic potential for the prevention of age-related diseases," reports Dr. habil. Miloš Filipović, corresponding author and head of the ERC Sulfaging research group at ISAS.

Mobility, stress resistance and endurance

For the publication, the researchers studied several animals, including the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (a nematode). The group at ISAS observed that treatment with ergothioneine from young adulthood not only extended the lifespan of the worms, but also increased their mobility as well as their resistance to stress and reduced age-related biomarkers.

"As the animals got older, the contrast with the control group became more significant. In addition, we did not observe any undesirable side effects—nor did other studies," says Dr. Dunja Petrovic, whose doctoral project at ISAS led to the publication.

The project partners at the University of Belgrade were also able to observe these positive effects in mammals. For three weeks, they treated six nine-month-old rats with a daily dose of about 10 milligrams of ergothioneine—roughly the same amount contained in 4.5 grams of dried oyster mushrooms.

Compared to the control group, the rats' endurance did not only improve, but muscle mass, vascularization (formation of new small blood vessels) of the muscle tissue and the number of muscle stem cells also increased. All of which could make the substance interesting in connection with the prevention of sarcopenia, for example.

Protective hydrogen sulfide

The researchers investigated the molecular mechanisms behind their observations using mass spectrometry analyses. Based on human and mouse cell cultures, they were able to show that ergothioneine acts as an alternative substrate for the enzyme cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE). This enzyme plays a central role in the production of the gaseous signaling molecule hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), which protects cells from oxidative stress through the process of persulfidation.

Reduced persulfidation is associated with aging, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Previously in 2019, a team led by Filipović already showed that persulfidation decreases with age, but can be positively influenced by reducing food intake.

The new research results complement the previous findings: Ergothioneine stimulates persulfidation, especially that of a specific enzyme, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). This increased activity of GPDH in turn boosts the formation of NAD+—a known coenzyme that has a positive effect on the lifespan.

"The human body is not able to produce ergothioneine itself. However, such a specific utilization mechanism suggests that it is very important for us," summarizes Petrovic. Researchers in Heidelberg, Cambridge and at ISAS were able to independently confirm the CSE-dependent mechanism of ergothioneine action.

Due to the promising results, the researchers also tested the effects of a five-day treatment with ergothioneine on a group of young rats. A daily dose of about 10 milligrams of the substance led to a significant increase in endurance, as well as a significantly increased NAD+ level in the blood serum.

"This indicates that ergothioneine influences the metabolism in a similar way to performance-enhancing agents," says Filipović. He is planning to do a study with healthy human subjects to investigate this very potential.

More information: Ergothioneine improves healthspan of aged animals by enhancing cGPDH activity through CSE-dependent persulfidation, Cell Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2024.12.008. www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/f … 1550-4131(24)00490-X

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-molecular-mechanism-ergothioneine-decoded-mushroom.html

Psychological profiles associated with mental and brain health in middle-aged and older adults

 As humans age, their brain function can progressively decline and they become more vulnerable to developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. Dementia and other progressive neurological conditions can significantly impair their memory, thinking skills and daily functioning, significantly reducing their quality of life.

Many psychology and neurological studies have tried to identify biological markers and lifestyle factors that can contribute to the development of dementia. Yet the contribution of psychological characteristics (e.g., traits, emotional well-being and cognitive resilience) to a decline in mental functions remains poorly understood.

Researchers at University of Barcelona, University College London (UCL), Normandy University and other institutes across Europe recently set out to fill this gap in the literature, by trying to determine whether specific sets of psychological characteristics relate to brain health in middle and late adulthood. Their paper, published in Nature Mental Health, identified three key psychological profiles that were linked to different cognitive and mental health trajectories after middle-age.

"Psychological characteristics are associated with varying dementia risk and protective factors," wrote David Bartrés-Faz, Harriet Demnitz-King and their colleagues in their paper. "To determine whether these characteristics aggregate into psychological profiles and whether these profiles differentially relate to aging health, we conducted a cross-sectional investigation in two independent middle-aged and older adult cohorts, supplemented by longitudinal analyses in the former."

Bartrés-Faz, Demnitz-King and their colleagues used a person-centered approach, an analysis method designed to group individuals based on some shared characteristics, to analyze the questionnaire responses of 750 middle-aged and 282 older adults who were surveyed as part of the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative. They were ultimately able to uncover three main profiles that grouped together specific psychological characteristics.

The participants of this study were surveyed again 2–3 years later, to determine whether their mental health and brain function had declined. Interestingly, the researchers found that the three distinct profiles they uncovered were linked to different levels of cognitive and brain decline.

"Using a person-centered approach, three profiles emerged in both cohorts: those with low protective characteristics (profile 1), high risk characteristics (profile 2) and well-balanced characteristics (profile 3)," the researchers wrote. "Profile 1 showed the worst objective cognition in older age and middle age (at follow-up), and most rapid cortical thinning. Profile 2 exhibited the worst mental health symptomology and lowest sleep quality in both older age and middle age."

Overall, the results of this study suggest that psychological characteristics, such as the tendency to worry, neuroticism, self-reflection, extraversion, agreeableness, and so on, are in fact associated with the extent to which people's mental and brain health declines with aging. The three distinct profiles they uncovered were found to be linked to different mental health outcomes.

The first profile, marked by some degree of worrying and neuroticism, with a lack of openness, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and purpose in life, was found to be linked to the greatest level of cognitive decline and cortical thinning (i.e., a marker of brain aging). The second profile, which was marked by high levels of brooding, worrying and neuroticism, as well as self-reflection and very little openness, conscientiousness and purpose in life, was associated with the worst mental health outcomes and poorer sleep quality.

The third profile was the most psychologically "well-balanced," as it was marked by some degree of brooding but low worrying and neuroticism, as well as considerable levels of self-reflection, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and purpose in life. Notably, this profile was found to be associated with the best cognitive and mental health outcomes at follow-up (i.e., when the participants were surveyed again a few years later).

These results offer new insight about the psychological factors that could contribute to a decline in brain function and mental health in the later stages of life. In the future, the work by Bartrés-Faz, Harriet, Demnitz-King and their collaborators could pave the way for further research focusing on the psychological profiles they uncovered and their contribution to aging-related neurological disorders.

"We identified profile-dependent divergent patterns of associations that may suggest two distinct paths for mental, cognitive and brain health, emphasizing the need for comprehensive psychological assessments in dementia prevention research to identify groups for more personalized behavior-change strategies," wrote Bartrés-Faz, Demnitz-King and their colleagues.

More information: Psychological profiles associated with mental, cognitive and brain health in middle-aged and older adults. Nature Mental Health(2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44220-024-00361-8.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-uncovers-psychological-profiles-mental-brain.html

Gardenia plants may hold chemical key to regenerating diseased human nerves

 Gardenias are known for their rich, earthy fragrance, waxy petals and brilliant white color that contrasts with the deep emerald green of their leaves. The plant has long been prized by herbalists, seekers of food and fabric dyes, and even pharmaceutical companies.

Now, a collaborative team of scientists at several research centers in the United States has found that a compound known as genipin, derived from the gardenia plant called Cape jasmine, can prompt nerve regeneration. Neurons damaged and stunted by disease find new life in the lab when exposed to the plant-derived compound.

The chemical comes from the fruit of this extraordinarily versatile plant. Gardenia shrubs, in general, are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. But the plants are propagated globally by horticulturists and amateur gardeners who are most familiar with the flower's beauty and the intoxicating scent of their perfume.

Genipin is being studied as a potential treatment for a rare degenerative nervous system disorder that is caused by a gene mutation. The condition is known as familial dysautonomia, which becomes evident during infancy. The hypothesis of this relatively large cadre of regenerative medicine researchers is that genipin from the humble gardenia plant—known scientifically as Gardenia jasminoides—possesses the secret to effective treatment.

"Familial dysautonomia is a devastating disorder caused by a homozygous point mutation in the gene ELP1," writes Dr. Kenyi Saito-Diaz in a study published in Science Translational Medicine. "Familial dysautonomia specifically affects development and causes degeneration of the peripheral nervous system."

While the central nervous system is comprised of the brain and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system is made up of all nerves branching off the spinal cord, extending to every part of the body.

Familial dysautonomia impacts the development and survival of the nervous system, including autonomic and sensory neurons. These critical nerve cells in affected patients don't develop properly and degenerate over time, leading to serious neurological and cardiac symptoms.

To date, genipen has been tested only in lab dishes and animal models, but the compound appears capable of combating key hallmarks of the inherited condition. Saito-Diaz, a regenerative medicine researcher in the Center for Molecular Medicine at the University of Georgia in Athens, reports that findings so far suggest the team may be on the trail of a potential therapeutic. Currently, doctors have nothing curative to offer familial dysautonomia patients.

Finding a therapeutic that impacts nerve growth is a worldwide research priority, not only for familial dysautonomia, but because a "high percentage of the world's population suffers from nerve degeneration or peripheral nerve damage," Saito-Diaz added.

"Despite this, there are major gaps in the knowledge of human peripheral nervous system development and degeneration. Therefore, there are no available treatments," Saito-Diaz declared.

Familial dysautonomia initially impacts breathing, the regulation of body temperature, blood pressure, and the ability to form tears. As the disease advances, patients can develop abnormal heart rhythms, spinal curvature, an inability to feel pain, vision loss, poor control of breathing, especially during sleep, and a heightened susceptibility to lung infections. A range of other severe symptoms are also associated with the condition, doctors say.

Geneticists at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio report that, while rare, the condition is most prevalent among people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. In the United States, familial dysautonomia is estimated to affect 1 in 10,000 Ashkenazi Jews. In Israel, 1 in 3,700 people are diagnosed with the condition at birth, according to Cleveland Clinic data.

Gardenia-derived compounds, meanwhile, have played a long and storied role in folk and conventional medicine. For centuries, traditional healers in China have turned to gardenia plants as a source of medicinal compounds capable of treating depression, inflammation and insomnia. Gardenia plants were also long prized among the Chinese for the yellow dye from their seeds.

In the 1980s, Japanese scientists discovered a blue dye derived from a fruit, also produced by Gardenia jasminoides plants. The family of flowering shrubs includes the common gardenia, Cape jasmine and Gardenia Augusta, among others.

Isolation of the blue dye paved the way for a series of exciting discoveries, including genipin, which chemically is an iridoid glycoside. The compound is used to improve the texture and shelf life of certain foods. Additionally, it is being studied as a cancer medication because of its ability to prompt apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death.

Saito-Diaz and colleagues discovered genipin serendipitously while screening a library of 640 compounds for candidates that can protect sensory neurons from degeneration. They happened upon genipin, produced by the fruit of Gardenia jasminoides.

In the laboratory, the team found that it wasn't apoptosis that genipin caused when neurons were exposed to it. In lab dishes, the compound not only restored proper development of sensory neurons from patients with familial dysautonomia, but it also prevented the cells' early degeneration. Genipin also improved peripheral nerve formation in two mouse models of familial dysautonomia. The team surmised that genipin's therapeutic effects are tied to the compound's ability to promote cross-linking in the extracellular matrix.

Most important among its powerful activities, the team of U.S. researchers found that when added to cultures of nerve cells, genipin boosted the regeneration of severed axons into healthy sensory and cortical neurons.

Saito-Diaz and a large team of colleagues from the University of Georgia worked with collaborators at the University of Tennessee; Icahn School of Medicine's Institute for Regenerative Medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital; Weill Cornell Medical College, and the Center for Stem Cell Biology at Sloan Kettering Institute, all three in New York City.

These results "make [genipin] an interesting compound for future applications in nerve regeneration in the [peripheral nervous system] and possibly prevention of peripheral neuropathies," Saito-Diaz concluded.

More information: Kenyi Saito-Diaz et al, Genipin rescues developmental and degenerative defects in familial dysautonomia models and accelerates axon regeneration, Science Translational Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adq2418

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-01-gardenia-chemical-key-regenerating-diseased.html