Why does everyone see little people? The mushroom that intrigues brain researchers
What is the connection between a Lilliputian mushroom, brain syndromes, and the dish served to former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen? Is the promising company Karyopharm, which develops cancer treatments, heading toward insolvency? And what will the Israeli company Remepy do with the 36 million dollars it raised? This week in biomed.
Hallucinations resulting from the consumption of psychoactive substances are usually a personal matter, depending on memories, emotions, and the situation. But people who consumed a mushroom of the species Lanmaoa asiatica report the same hallucination: they see little people, regardless of the time, place, or culture they come from.
A surprising study recently published in the journal Mycologia may be the key to understanding the phenomenon. In the genetic sequencing of 53 species of the mushroom, no genes encoding known psychoactive substances were found. Science is excited by the possibility that this mushroom contains an unknown substance that acts on the brain, which could reveal new mechanisms to us, just as the discovery of cannabis revealed the endocannabinoid system.
The Lilliputian mushroom, as it is sometimes called, is a relative of the porcini mushroom, and it grows mainly in China and the Philippines. In its growing regions, it is part of the menu, as it does not cause hallucinations after cooking. In 2023, during a visit to China, Janet Yellen, former US Treasury Secretary, was served a stew with the mushroom. Despite initial concern, the little people did not come to bother the Secretary.
Those who consume the mushrooms without cooking them describe hallucinations that include creatures about 7 cm tall, in vivid colors, that seem like part of reality: walking on the plate, moving the cutlery, bending down to pass under doors. In short, the spectacle of the books "The Borrowers".
In rare cases, those same little people appear following various syndromes, such as Todd's syndrome (Alice in Wonderland syndrome) - a visual distortion in people with migraines or head injuries; visual distortion syndrome among people who are going blind; or alcohol withdrawal and the use of drugs like amantadine for Parkinson's. Understanding the genetics of the mushroom and finding the active psychoactive substance in it may allow us to understand what the brain mechanism is, thanks to which some people see specifically the little people also in other syndromes.
Heading toward insolvency? The fall of the cancer drug company
Karyopharm, founded in the USA by a team led by the Israeli Dr. Sharon Shacham and also active in Israel, has fallen into a cash flow distress. The company, which develops cancer drugs, announced that the money in the coffers, in the amount of 65.8 million dollars, will be enough for it only until this coming September. If there are no pleasant surprises by then, it will not be able to meet the terms of a loan it took, which requires a certain amount of cash in the coffers, and it may enter insolvency.
Shacham and her partner Michael Kauffman, who founded the company, left it in 2022. Today it is managed by Richard Paulson. According to him, he is looking for solutions to the problem and the conversations with the lenders are good.
Karyopharm was a great promise, which was partially fulfilled. It is known mainly for the drug Xpovio, which was approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma and lymphoma. The company recorded revenue of 30 million dollars from the product in the second quarter, similar to last year, and it intends to expand it to additional indications. Last May, the FDA canceled the product's approval for the treatment of lymphoma. For myeloma, it is approved as a late-line treatment under certain conditions, and the company's reports state that competition in the field is increasing. Against the backdrop of sales that are not growing significantly, the company is recording heavy expenses, among other things to service its debt.
Karyopharm went public in 2013 with a valuation of more than 400 million dollars and recorded a return of 200% until the peak in 2014. Now, it records a negative return of 99% from the IPO price, and its value stands at only 44 million dollars. Its workforce has also shrunk. The company currently employs 228 people, compared to 442 at the beginning of 2022.
Although the announcement of the risk of insolvency led to only a slight decrease in the stock, in July, a trial for endometrial cancer did not meet its goals and the stock lost about 70% of its value in one day. The company hopes that its product will be approved as part of a combination treatment for myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow cancer.
On the way to a Parkinson's trial: Israeli Remepy raised 36 million dollars
Remepy, which develops hybrid drugs (a drug combined with software) for brain and mental diseases, announced the raising of 36 million dollars. With this, the total amount raised by the company reaches 62 million dollars.
The company has aroused great interest since its establishment in 2022. It was founded by Dr. Michal Tsur-Shalev (founder of the successful high-tech companies Cyota and Kaltura), Eran Etam (also one of the founders of Kaltura), Or Shoval, who came from a role in the Intelligence Corps, and Prof. Amir Amedi, a brain researcher from Reichman University. Its board of directors included former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who worked at Cyota with Tsur-Shalev, and the senior Israeli at the German company Merck, Dr. Danny Bar-Zohar.
Remepy provides cognitive exercises to those taking various drugs with the goal of creating a combined effect on the disease. It has a collaboration with the German Merck, for the development of a combined treatment with a drug of the company for rare cancerous tumors. The amount raised now will be used by the company mainly for a phase III trial of the combined product with a drug for Parkinson's. The company also intends to expand collaborations with pharmaceutical companies.
The current round was led by O.G. Venture Partners and M Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Merck KGaA, and existing investors in the company participated in it.
The solution of researchers from Shaare Zedek for a dangerous side effect
Researchers from Shaare Zedek Hospital found a solution that will allow more patients to take a common drug for heart rhythm disorders without fear. They developed a method for the early detection of pulmonary toxicity that is created as a result of taking the common drug Pacerone. This is a life-threatening side effect that can appear in about 5% of patients on the drug, which is considered very effective. Today there is no test or clear symptoms that indicate the development of pulmonary toxicity before the damage is created.
Researchers developed an advanced CT scan in which it is possible to better identify the deposition of iodine from the drug in the tissues. The results of the test showed that about 26% of the patients were defined as having a high probability of the disease, while the rest could continue to take the drug with much less fear. The article was published in the journal Respirology.
The study was led by Dr. Naama Bogot, director of the Heart-Chest Imaging Unit at the Radiology Institute, Dr. Nissim Arish, a senior physician at the Lung Institute and director of the Sleep Laboratory, and Dr. Moshe Rav-Aha, director of the Pacemaker Unit and Syncope Service at the Integrated Heart Center.
