Semaglutide Reduced Inflammatory Biomarkers in HIV Patients With Lipohypertrophy
DENVER — People with HIV who received semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) had reduced levels of several inflammatory biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease, a randomized controlled trial showed. After 32 weeks, interleukin (IL)-6 levels decreased by 18.8%, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels decreased by 39.9%, and soluble CD163 levels decreased by 12.3% with the GLP-1 receptor agonist, […]
Novel Regimens Yield High Response Rates for Older, Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients
Older patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma unsuitable for conventional chemotherapy had high rates of durable responses with two brentuximab vedotin (BV; Adcetris) regimens, one that omitted chemotherapy, a small prospective study showed. Brentuximab plus the alkylating agent dacarbazine (DTIC) produced an objective response rate (ORR) of 95% in 22 patients, whereas brentuximab plus nivolumab (Opdivo) […]
Consuming refined carbs might be linked to perceived facial attractiveness
In a new study, participants’ levels of consumption of refined carbohydrates were statistically linked with their facial attractiveness as rated by heterosexual volunteers of the opposite sex. Visine and colleagues at the University of Montpellier, France, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 6, 2024. The Western diet consists of high […]
Is Exercising When You’re Sick Safe Or Can It Help? Experts Weigh In.
LOADINGERROR LOADING Questions about the safety of working out when sick with an upper respiratory infection are a common concern, according to doctors. Many folks pressure themselves to exercise even when they aren’t feeling 100% well — or hope a good workout will help sweat out their illness. (Spoiler alert: It won’t.) It is frustrating […]
Smoking during pregnancy may increase the risk of behavioral disorders in newborns, predicts AI
Although several studies have linked smoking during pregnancy with neurodevelopmental disorders, the results of behavioral experiments in mice prenatally exposed to nicotine have been inconsistent. In a recent study, scientists from Japan developed a deep learning-based framework to automatically observe and classify mice behavior in such experiments, producing more accurate and unbiased results. They show […]
Long COVID May Be Difficult to Identify in MS
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – People with multiple sclerosis (MS) appeared to have a low risk of developing long COVID, but lingering complaints after SARS-CoV-2 infection were difficult to untangle from MS symptoms, registry analyses showed. In studies presented at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, Robert Fox, MD, […]
Vismodegib-RT Regimen Achieves High Rate of Disease Control in Head and Neck BCC
More than 90% of patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the head and neck achieved locoregional control (LRC) with vismodegib (Erivedge) and radiation therapy (RT), a small clinical trial showed. LRC at 1 year was 91% after vismodegib induction therapy followed by concurrent vismodegib and RT. The overall response rate was 63% […]
Xylazine-Laced Fentanyl Overdose: ‘Make Sure They’re Breathing’
With rising reports of the veterinary sedative xylazine — also known as “tranq” — being mixed in with illicit fentanyl, physicians should be aware that the clinical endpoint for “reversing” an overdose should be that the person is breathing, experts said during a CDC call for clinicians. “The idea that people have to wake up […]
PROs for Cutaneous Chronic GVHD After Transplant Tied to Disease Severity, Mortality
Skin-involved chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) had a significant association with long-term impairment of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), which also had a prognostic association with mortality, a multicenter prospective study showed. Patients with sclerotic cGVHD had significantly worse scores on a validated quality-of-life (QOL) instrument compared with those who had epidermal-type cGVHD. Patients with combination GVHD subtypes […]
In TNBC, Pathologic Complete Response May Vary by Race/Ethnicity
Among patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the odds of achieving pathologic complete response (pCR) and improved overall survival (OS) may vary by race/ethnicity, according to results from a retrospective cohort study. Compared with white women, Black women with TNBC were less likely to achieve pCR (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.83-0.95, […]