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A novel investigational coformulation of prandial insulin and pramlintide improves blood glucose control and reduces body weight in people with type 1 diabetes, early research suggests.

The injectable product combines a novel human prandial (pre-meal) insulin (A21G) with the amylin analog pramlintide. The latter reduces post-meal glucose spikes by slowing gastric emptying, reducing postprandial glucagon production, and increasing satiety.

Source: Medscape

Liraglutide and insulin glargine outperformed glimepiride and sitagliptin as single add-on agents to metformin for treating patients with type 2 diabetes in a multicenter US trial that randomized just over 5000 patients.

The GRADE trial ran for roughly 5 years at 36 US centers and was designed to answer the question of which is the best second-line agent for patients with type 2 diabetes already taking metformin. Results were reported at the virtual American Diabetes Association (ADA) 81st Scientific Sessions.

The comparison included two oral medications — the sulfonylurea glimepiride and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor sitagliptin — and two injectable medications — insulin glargine and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide.

The primary endpoint was change in A1c level and overall glycemic control. Secondary endpoints include changes in weight, as well as cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, and other complications.

The European Commission (EC) has approved cemiplimab (Libtayo) for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic basal cell carcinoma (BCC) who progressed on or could not tolerate treatment with a hedgehog pathway inhibitor (HHI).

The safety profile of cemiplimab has been generally consistent across approved indications. Serious adverse events have been reported in 30% of 816 patients from all four cemiplimab monotherapy pivotal trials, and these led to permanent discontinuation of treatment in 8% of patients.

Immune-related adverse reactions occurred in 22% of patients, and led to permanent discontinuation in 4%. The most common such reactions were hypothyroidism (8%), hyperthyroidism (3%), pneumonitis (3%), hepatitis (2%), colitis (2%) and immune-related skin adverse reactions (2%).

A novel saliva test has been shown to detect HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSSC) with high accuracy in a small study. If the results are validated in subsequent studies, the test has the potential to be used as a screening tool in the general population, say the investigators.

In the small study, the NavDx (Naveris) detected tumor-tissue-modified virus DNA (TTMV) in 43 of 46 plasma samples and in 44 of 46 saliva samples. One plasma sample failed quality control measures, one of each sample type had undetectable TTMV, and one of each type was indeterminate.

Source: Medscape

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis who carry a specific allele of the gene MUC5B have about double the risk of developing interstitial lung disease when compared with noncarriers, according to a large Finnish biobank study presented at the annual European Congress of Rheumatology.

The gain-of-function MUC5B variant, which encodes mucin 5B, was first linked to RA-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) more than 3 years ago. At that time, it was already a known genetic risk factor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the general population. The new data confirm the association in a longitudinal analysis of a large biobank and suggest the association might have clinical utility.

Source: Medscape

Using belimumab after rituximab to treat patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) refractory to conventional therapy not only significantly decreased levels of serum IgG anti-dsDNA antibody levels but also prolonged the time before severe flares of disease occurred in the phase 2b BEAT-LUPUS (Belimumab after B cell depletion in SLE) study.

Source: Medscape

Lifileucel shows promise in metastatic-melanoma patients whose disease had progressed on standard immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and other therapies, according to a small open-label trial. “Lifileucel is a ground-breaking form of cellular immunotherapy that utilizes the immune cells of patients derived from their own tumors as a treatment,

Source: Reuters Health

A 14-day course of hybrid therapy was as effective as 10-day bismuth quadruple therapy, but with fewer side effects, according to results of a randomized trial conducted in Taiwan.

In a prospective, randomized comparative study published in 2017, the eradication rates (93.9%) in patients receiving 14-day bismuth quadruple therapy (pantoprazole, bismuth subcitrate, tetracycline, and metronidazole) were comparable with eradication rates (92.8%) with 14-day hybrid therapy (dual therapy with pantoprazole plus amoxicillin for 7 days, followed by quadruple therapy with pantoprazole, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and metronidazole for 7 days).

Source: Medscape