The persistent breathing issues that plague some COVID-19 survivors, known as ‘long COVID,’ may be due to microscopic processes that continue to damage lungs even after the acute infection is over, new findings suggest. Researchers studied blood and bronchoalveolar fluid samples from 38 patients who still had breathing problems at least three months after they were discharged from hospital.
Source: Medrxiv.org
A new monoclonal antibody discovered and developed at the National Institutes of Health safely prevented malaria for up to 9 months in people who were exposed to the malaria parasite. The small clinical trial is the first to show an antibody capable of preventing malaria in people. A total of 25 participants received at least one dose of an antibody named CIS43LS, and four of them received a second dose. Among adults who had never had malaria infection or vaccination, CIS43LS prevented malaria.
Source: NEJM
Icotinib is a highly selective, first-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved in China as first-line monotherapy in patients with NSCLC with somatic EGFR mutations. Following complete resection of EGFR-mutant stage-II to -IIIA non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), icotinib significantly improves disease-free survival and has fewer side effects than chemotherapy, according to interim results of a phase-3 trial underway in China.
Source: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Physicians wearing white coats were rated as significantly more experienced and professional than peers wearing casual attire. Regardless of their attire, however, female physicians were more likely to be judged as appearing less professional and were more likely to be misidentified as medical technicians, physician assistants, or nurses, found research published in JAMA Network Open.
A white coat with scrubs attire was most preferred for surgeons (mean preference index, 1.3), whereas a white coat with business attire was preferred for family physicians and dermatologists (mean preference indexes, 1.6 and 1.2, respectively; P < .001.
While casual attire, such as fleece or softshell jackets emblazoned with the names of the institution and wearer, has become more popular attire for physicians in recent years.
Source: JAMA Network
Approved by the FDA in late January 2021, CAB/RPV LA (cabotegravir/rilpivirine) is considered an optimization strategy for individuals with HIV whose virus is suppressed by oral ART and who might prefer monthly injections versus daily oral therapy. While there are various reasons why patients might wish to switch to a long-acting injectable, one of the primary concerns is adherence. Of note, the guidance points to phase 3 clinical study findings that suggest high levels (86% to 91%) of patient satisfaction with CAB/RPV LA, which portends a promising future for this therapeutic approach.
With regard to patient preference, recommendations focus on the need to thoroughly discuss several critical requisites with potential candidates, including a 4-week lead-in daily oral ART course (CAB [Vocabria] 30 mg, RPV [Edurant] 25 mg) before initiating a loading dose. Patients should be advised of the potential for development of resistance should dosing be interrupted for any reason (CAB and RPV have extended half-lives ranging from mean 5.6-11.5 weeks for CAB and 13-28 weeks for RPV), as well as the need to return to oral bridging therapy if subsequent injections are not administered within the 7-day window period. If the maintenance dose is delayed beyond 2 months, a loading dose and restart is necessary.
CAB/RPV LA therapy is administered into opposing gluteal muscles (CAB into one gluteus medius and RPV into the contralateral gluteus medius) and injection-site pain beginning 1 day post-injection and lasting 3-4 days is common.
Source: Medscape
Correcting endothelial dysfunction in both human tissue and an elastase-induced murine model of emphysema shows promise in stopping and reversing the course of the disease, according to an international group of researchers.
EC loss and dysfunction were also hallmarks of emphysematous lungs harvested from the elastase-treated mice. The team found that intravenous delivery of healthy lung ECs from genetically identical mice reversed these phenotypes.
“We also found,” continued Dr. Racanelli, “that removing a specific molecule from the cells had a similar result.” In particular the researchers observe that “Leucine-rich a-2-glycoprotein- 1 (LRG1) was a driver of emphysema, and deletion of Lrg1 from endothelial cells rescued vascular rarefaction and alveolar regression.” LRG1 upregulation, they note ,”directly correlated with severity of the COPD phenotype.”
Source: Journal of Experimental Medicine
A case report describes a novel helmet device that generates a noninvasive oscillating magnetic field and that shrunk a glioblastoma tumor by about a third.
The patient had end-stage recurrent glioblastoma and had undergone all standard therapy options. He wore the device for 5 weeks but died from an unrelated injury, so the treatment period was cut short.
A brain scan showed a 31% reduction of contrast-enhanced tumor volume, and an autopsy of his brain confirmed the rapid response to the treatment.
Source: Frontiers in Oncology
Internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents support the high transmission rate of the delta variant and put the risk in easier to understand terms. The documents also show that breakthrough infections in the vaccinated make people about as contagious as those who are unvaccinated. In addition to being more transmissible, the delta variant likely causes more severe COVID-19 illness.
Source: Medscape
In patients with advanced liver cancer who were unresponsive to lenvatinib, adding gefitinib (an EGFR inhibitor) led to a clinically meaningful response in a proof-of-concept study. 12 patients with advanced liver cancer who were unresponsive to lenvatinib treatment showed meaningful clinical responses after treatment with lenvatinib plus geftinib. Specifically, after 4-8 weeks of combination treatment, four patients had a partial response, four had stable disease and four showed disease progression.
Source: Reuters Health
Upregulation of urinary thromboxane B2 may be a new marker of aggressive prostate cancer in African American men, a group that bears a disproportionately high burden of lethal prostate cancer.
Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) is a platelet- and cyclooxygenase-derived eicosanoid that has been linked to metastasis. Dr. Stefan Ambs and colleagues with the National Cancer Institute investigated the role of TXA2 in the development of lethal prostate cancer in African American (AA) and European American (EA) men.
Using mass-spectrometry, they measured urinary 11-dehydrothromboxane B2 (TXB2), a stable metabolite of TXA2, in 977 men with prostate cancer (490 AA and 487 EA) and 1,022 controls (479 AA and 543 EA). During a median follow-up of 8.4 years, 246 men with prostate cancer died.
Source: Reuters Health
