COVID Takes Center Stage at Trump Town Hall
Former President Donald Trump offered his take on the history of the COVID-19 pandemic — ranging from its origins, to lockdowns, to his relationship with Anthony Fauci, MD — during a town hall event in Iowa that also touched on Medicare solvency and abortion. During the Wednesday-night event, which was hosted by Fox News and […]
Novel Therapies Show Early Promise in Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancers
Results of two early-phase trials offered a glimpse of promising new agents in the pipeline for advanced gastroesophageal cancer. In a phase II study, incorporating an investigational PD-1 inhibitor and anti-T-cell immunoglobulin and ITM domain (TIGIT) monoclonal antibody into standard first-line chemotherapy showed promising activity in advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, reported Yelena Janjigian, MD, from Memorial […]
Online Gender-Affirming Services Can Be Appealing, Though Often Don’t Take Insurance
MIAMI — Some telemedicine companies offering gender-affirming hormone treatment offered an affordable alternative to traditional care models, a researcher reported at the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) annual meeting. A review of available services from six direct-to-consumer platforms — Folx Health, True U Clinic, QueerDoc, Q, TransClinique, and Plume — found that all […]
CDC: Monovalent Vax Has ‘Limited’ Protection Against BA.4/5 Hospitalization
A monovalent mRNA booster dose offered “limited” protection against COVID-related hospitalizations from the currently circulating Omicron variants, a CDC analysis found, likely due to the waning effects of the vaccines and potentially more immune evasion with BA.4/BA.5. In immunocompetent adults, vaccine effectiveness (VE) against hospitalization with three doses of mRNA vaccine dropped from 69% (95% […]
Mixed Results With Umbilical Cord Milking in Struggling Newborns
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Umbilical cord milking offered some benefits in non-vigorous newborns, but fell short for cutting admission to the neonatal ICU (NICU), according to a large randomized trial. Infants (born at 35-42 weeks’ gestation) who underwent umbilical cord milking were less likely to need delivery room cardiorespiratory support (adjusted odds ratio 0.65, 95% CI […]
Special Shielding Could Fix Cath Lab Staff’s Radiation and Orthopedic Issues
PARIS — An operator shielding system offered body protection rivaling that of standard lead gowns in the catheterization lab, providing a glimpse at a potential tantalizing future where interventional cardiologists can ditch their heavy gear without sacrificing radiation protection. At a center in Australia, an experiment showed that the Rampart shielding system — an adjustable […]
Experts Clash Over Masking Kids in Schools During House Hearing
Expert witnesses offered conflicting perspectives on whether masking children in schools prevents transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during a hearing of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Wednesday. Several Republican committee members said that protecting children from the virus has had unintended consequences for their overall well-being. Cathy […]
Liver Toxicity in Gene Therapy Trials Could Merit Stricter Entry Criteria
An FDA advisory committee offered up lower vector doses, stricter exclusion criteria, and long-term animal studies to grapple with liver toxicities associated with adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-based gene therapies. During the second of four sessions on AAV safety, the Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee (CTGTAC) weighed evidence of hepatotoxicity — ranging from liver […]