IBD and Preterm Birth Risk; Leprosy Bacteria Promote Liver Growth; COVID and IBD
Histological inflammation and clinical disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were risk factors for preterm birth, especially in the case of ulcerative colitis. (eClinicalMedicine) Leprosy-causing bacteria (Mycobacterium leprae) promoted growth in healthy liver tissue in armadillos and may be able to help renew aging or injured livers. (Cell Reports Medicine) For older IBD patients […]
Opinion | Doctor Dives Into Online Therapy
I’ve had my share of therapy. My mother was a clinical psychologist, and I grew up around the concepts of consciousness and the unconscious, growth and awareness, and “authenticity” before “authenticity” was even a buzzword. I’m quite certain she did some sort of therapy on me during my childhood. I remember vividly her briefcase with […]
Genetic Testing for Opioid Use Disorder Heads to FDA Advisors
On Thursday, members of the FDA’s Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology Devices Advisory Committee will meet to discuss AvertD, a prescription genetic risk assessment tool for opioid use disorder (OUD). AvertD detects the presence or absence of 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to help identify adults with an increased genetic risk of OUD. It’s intended […]
Targeted Combo Flops as First-Line Treatment in Advanced Breast Cancer
PARIS — A novel combination failed to improve the clinical benefit rate (CBR) in advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) compared with chemoimmunotherapy, a randomized trial showed. Adding the anti-CD73 antibody oleclumab to durvalumab (Imfinzi) and chemotherapy led to clinical benefit (response plus stable disease) in 43% of patients by 24 weeks as compared with 44% […]
Routine Stress Testing Didn’t Offer Benefits to High-Risk Patients Post-PCI
BARCELONA – Routine functional testing after percutaneous cardiac interventions (PCI) did not boost clinical outcomes at 2 years in high-risk patients, according to the POST-PCI trial. The composite endpoint of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina was experienced by 5.5% of patients who got routine functional testing versus 6.6% in […]
Can Paxlovid, Molnupiravir Benefit Hospitalized COVID Patients Too?
During the Omicron BA.2 wave, antivirals molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) appeared to have clinical benefit in hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who did not require oxygen therapy, a retrospective cohort study from Hong Kong showed. For patients who were treated with the antivirals within 2 days of hospitalization, a 52% and 66% lower risk of […]
Opinion | Keep Our Foot on the Gas for Clinical Trial Diversity
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked rapid innovation and adoption of new methodologies and practices across clinical trials. It also allowed the world to see the difficulty of ensuring diversity and access to those trials — a challenge we’ve faced for many years. Innovators in biopharma, life-science technology companies, and clinical research organizations (CROs) partnered with the […]
Acupuncture May Help Reduce Urinary Incontinence Episodes, Symptoms in Women
Acupuncture reduced episodes and symptoms of urinary incontinence in women, according to a meta-analysis of 10 clinical studies. Various forms of acupuncture significantly reduced episodes of stress urinary incontinence (SUI, P<0.00001), episodes and symptoms of urge urinary incontinence (UUI, P=0.01 to P<0.0001), and resulted in higher rates of patient-reported SUI cure (P=0.0007). The benefits came […]
Despite Extensive Evaluations, Long COVID Causes Remain Unclear
Clinical and immunologic evaluations of people with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) — otherwise known as long COVID — showed a high burden of persistent symptoms but most cases pointed to no specific cause, NIH researchers reported. Fatigue, labored breathing, chest discomfort, parosmia, headache, insomnia, memory impairment, anxiety, and impaired concentration were the most […]
Diet type can increase potentially harmful gas in the gut
Published in Clinical Nutrition, researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School looked at colonic hydrogen sulfide — a toxic gas in the body that smells like rotten eggs — production in people in response to animal- and plant-based diet interventions. “Although the role of hydrogen sulfide has long been a subject of great interest […]