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Study to evaluate safety of PrEP and dapivirine ring in pregnant women

A woman who is eight-months pregnant is the first participant to be enrolled into a study evaluating the safety and acceptability of two different HIV prevention approaches when used during pregnancy -- the monthly dapivirine vaginal ring, which is currently under regulatory review, and a daily antiretroviral (ARV) pill called Truvada, an approach already approved in several countries and commonly referred to as PrEP, short for pre-exposure prophylaxis.

10 Feb 2020

Clinical trial of two investigational drugs for rare, inherited Alzheimer's yields disappointing results

An international clinical trial evaluating whether two investigational drugs can slow memory loss and cognitive decline in people in the early stages of a rare, inherited form of Alzheimer's disease has yielded disappointing results, an initial analysis of the data has shown.

10 Feb 2020

New treatment effective at reversing the manifestations of thyroid eye disease

Patients with thyroid eye disease who used the minimally invasive insulin-like growth factor I blocking antibody, teprotumumab, experienced improvement in their symptoms, appearance and quality of life, according to a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Feb 2020

New plant-based drug shown to help patients with head and neck cancers

In a UCLA-led phase I clinical trial, a new plant-based drug called APG-157 showed signs of helping patients fight oral and oropharyngeal cancers. These cancers are located in the head and the neck.

5 Feb 2020

Promising HIV vaccine fails in a large-scale clinical trial

The human immune deficiency virus (HIV) is an infectious disease that can lead to immunosuppression called acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). For decades, scientists race to discover a vaccine that can help prevent the spread of the virus. The latest trial testing a new experimental vaccine in South Africa end in disappointment after deeming ineffective in preventing infection.

4 Feb 2020

Investigational HIV vaccine not effective in preventing HIV

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped administration of vaccinations in its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an investigational HIV vaccine.

3 Feb 2020

Experimental vaccine could be effective against both Zika and Dengue

Walter Reed army institute of research has shown that a new vaccine against the Zika virus could be effective against both Zika and dengue virus. The study titled, “Potent Zika and dengue cross-neutralizing antibodies induced by Zika vaccination in a dengue experienced donor,” in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

3 Feb 2020

Experts think progesterone could prevent 8,500 miscarriages a year

According to two new studies from the University of Birmingham and Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research, women who have bleeding during early pregnancy and who have had earlier miscarriages could benefit from a course of progesterone, with about 8,500 babies being saved each year.

2 Feb 2020

Patients with type 2 diabetes can achieve cardiovascular protection from use of SGLT2 inhibitors

All type 2 diabetes patient subgroups are likely to achieve cardiovascular protection from the use of SGLT2 inhibitors, according to a large multi-study review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

31 Jan 2020

Study provides insight into how CBD influences the brains of people with psychosis

Published in Psychological Medicine, the research used fMRI scans to examine the brain activity of 13 people with a diagnosis of psychosis under the influence of a single dose of CBD or placebo and 16 controls whilst they were undertaking a memory task.

29 Jan 2020

Zinc acetate lozenges did not reduce duration of common cold in randomized trial

Administration of zinc acetate lozenges to common cold patients did not shorten colds in a randomized trial published in BMJ Open.

28 Jan 2020

Psychedelic drug has enduring antianxiety and antidepressant effects in cancer patients

Following up on their landmark 2016 study, researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that a one-time, single-dose treatment of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy appears to be associated with significant improvements in emotional and existential distress in cancer patients.

28 Jan 2020

Vitamin D in pregnancy reduces risk of enamel defects in offspring

An important randomized trial shows that when vitamin D is supplemented at high doses in the last three months of pregnancy, there is a fall in the occurrence of enamel defects in the deciduous (milk) and permanent teeth of the offspring by half, over the next 6 years, compared to a low dose supplementation. However, the incidence of caries was not affected.

27 Jan 2020

Call for FDA to withdraw preterm birth drug divides doctors and insurers

Doctors fear that the only drug approved to prevent preterm birth, the nation’s leading cause of infant mortality and disability, will no longer be available to expectant mothers.

27 Jan 2020

Non-hormonal options are effective in treating menopause symptoms

The classic symptoms of menopause – hot flashes, sleeplessness, and vaginal dryness – have typically been treated with estrogen therapy. Studies published today report that non-hormonal options are effective, too.

24 Jan 2020

Elagolix drug suppresses ovarian hormone production, prevents heavy menstrual bleeding

About 50 % of women with uterine fibroids--non-cancerous muscle tumors that grow in the uterus--experience heavy menstrual bleeding and other symptoms. Surgery is commonly recommended when these symptoms are severe enough to prompt a woman to seek treatment.

23 Jan 2020

Study finds stress does whiten hair

In most cases, hair starts to gray in the thirties, and becomes pronounced in the fifties, at which time the head is typically crowned with a thatch of white, gray and perhaps some hair of the original color. A new study published January 2020 in the journal Nature, shows that this process is speeded up significantly by acute stress persisting over a period, or by severe trauma.

22 Jan 2020

TBI impairs growth hormone production, disrupting cognition, memory and sleep

More than 2.5 million people in the United States alone experience a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, each year. Some of these people are plagued by a seemingly unrelated cascade of health issues for years after their head injury, including fatigue, depression, anxiety, memory issues, and sleep disturbances.

21 Jan 2020

Medicinal cannabis may not alleviate sleep problems over the long term

Medicinal cannabis might not ease sleep problems in people with chronic pain over the long term, because frequent users might build up tolerance to its sleep-inducing effects, suggests preliminary research published online in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.

20 Jan 2020