Biologic Shows Promise in Ongoing Food Allergy Trial
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Omalizumab (Xolair) may be an effective therapy for patients with multiple food allergies, according to an ongoing phase III trial. Most of the first 60 patients with multiple food allergies enrolled in stage one of the OUtMATCH clinical trial were able to tolerate serving-sized portions of those foods a year after receiving […]
Promising Results in First Test of In Utero Enzyme-Replacement Therapy
The first test of in utero enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) proved safe and effective for a baby with infantile-onset Pompe disease, according to a case report. An infant with cross-reactive immunologic material (CRIM)-negative infantile-onset Pompe disease — the most severe end of the disease spectrum — had no cardiac manifestations following treatment, compared to her […]
Monoclonal Antibody Shows Protection Against Malaria
SEATTLE — A monoclonal antibody delivered intravenously was effective in protecting against Plasmodium falciparum infection over a 6-month malaria season in Mali, a phase II placebo-controlled trial showed. Among 330 healthy adults, P. falciparum infection was detected in 35.5% who received a single dose of CIS43LS 10 mg/kg, 18.2% who received a 40-mg/kg dose, and […]
Good, and Safe, Results Tied to Oral Testosterone in Men With Deficiency
MIAMI — Oral testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) seemed safe and effective in men with testosterone deficiency, according to a meta-analysis. Among nine studies that looked at changes in serum total testosterone, only men with testosterone deficiency who took an oral agent — predominantly testosterone undecanoate — saw a significant increase in total testosterone, with a […]
How intermittent fasting affects female hormones: New evidence comes from study of pre- and post-menopausal obese women on the ‘warrior diet’
Intermittent fasting has been shown to be an effective way to lose weight, but critics have worried that the practice may have a negative impact on women’s reproductive hormones. Now, a team of University of Illinois Chicago researchers has published a study in Obesity that brings new evidence to the table. The researchers, led by […]
A Once-Rejected Antibiotic Equals Standard for Complicated Staph Infections
WASHINGTON — Investigational ceftobiprole was just as effective as daptomycin for bacterial bloodstream infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, the phase III ERADICATE trial demonstrated. In the randomized head-to-head comparison, post-treatment success at 70 days was 69.8% with ceftobiprole and 68.7% with daptomycin, meeting prespecified criteria for non-inferiority, Thomas Holland, MD, of Duke University in […]
Opinion | ‘Colonoscopy Is Not Effective if You Don’t Do It’: What We Heard This Week
“Colonoscopy is not effective if you don’t do it.” — George Chang, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, responding to findings from a European colonoscopy trial that suggested potentially less benefit from colon cancer screening than expected. “Our country was founded on a philosophy of individual liberty, and in many spheres of life […]
Fight Cat Allergies With Newest Asthma Drug?
Subcutaneous immunotherapy treatment (SCIT) for reducing cat allergy symptoms appeared to be more effective and longer lasting with the help of tezepelumab (Tezspire), a monoclonal antibody recently approved for severe asthma, results from a phase I/II trial suggested. While the randomized CATNIP trial failed to meet its primary endpoint — a difference in total nasal […]
U.S. Experts Weigh In on Colonoscopy Status in Wake of European Trial
Could a new study that suggests colonoscopy is less effective than expected thwart efforts in the U.S. to get more people screened for colorectal cancer? Medical associations and physicians are weighing in on the subject, noting that they are worried that the results from the randomized NordICC trial, published earlier this week in the New […]
Mitral Valve Repair Devices Go Head-to-Head, and the Top Spot Belongs to…
BOSTON — The Pascal device for edge-to-edge mitral valve repair was as safe and effective as the MitraClip device, the pivotal CLASP IID trial showed. In a pre-specified interim analysis of the first 180 patients enrolled, Pascal was non-inferior for the primary effectiveness endpoint of proportion of patients with mitral regurgitation no worse than 2+ […]