Efficacy News and Research

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Study shows how common drug paralyzes the parasites that cause elephantiasis

For years, many scientists and medical professionals likely misunderstood how a commonly prescribed medication for elephantiasis battled the disease, but a new study sets the record straight.

18 Aug 2020

Daily cranberry intake could reduce H. pylori infections

A new clinical trial found consuming cranberry juice containing 44 mg of proanthocyanidins (or "PACs") per 240-mL serving twice daily for eight weeks resulted in a 20% reduction in the H. pylori infection rate in Chinese adult participants, when compared to those consuming lower amounts of juice and a placebo.

18 Aug 2020

When a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine arrives, who should be vaccinated first?

This new study by the researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, Tacoma and published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 describes one viewpoint concerning the optimized allocation of the vaccine, showing that under different efficacy scenarios, either the old or the young may be the best candidates for initial vaccination.

18 Aug 2020

Combination therapy effective for patients with cholangiocarcinoma marked by BRAF mutations

In a Phase II trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the combination of dabrafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, and trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, achieved a 51% overall response rate (ORR) in patients with cholangiocarcinoma marked by the BRAF V600E mutation.

18 Aug 2020

Pigs appear to be immune to SARS-CoV-2

Now, a team of researchers at Kansas State University aimed to determine if pigs are potential carriers of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

18 Aug 2020

3D printing technology rises to the frontlines to fight against COVID-19

The prevalence of the highly infectious coronavirus disease, COVID-19, has caused massive health and socio-economic upheavals worldwide.

17 Aug 2020

Wits University begins South African trial of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

NVX-CoV2373 is produced by the biotech company, Novavax (Maryland, U.S.A). Novavax is a late-stage biotechnology company that develops next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases.

17 Aug 2020

New clinical practice guidelines on optimal management of patients with COPD

A subcommittee of the American Thoracic Society Assembly in Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology has released new clinical practice guidelinesto help advise clinicians on the optimal management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic hypercapnia. Hypercapnia is the buildup of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream.

17 Aug 2020

New type of immunotherapy extends survival of mice with triple negative breast tumors

Immunotherapies for cancer - treatments that prime the immune system to attack tumors - are valuable weapons in the anti-cancer arsenal. But some cancers are more difficult to target with this strategy than others.

17 Aug 2020

With COVID vaccine trial, rural Oregon clinic steps onto world stage

From the outside, it appears to be just another suburban allergy clinic, a tidy, tan brick-and-cinder-block building set back from a busy highway and across the road from an auto parts store.

17 Aug 2020

U.S. scientists to create coronavirus strain for human challenge trials

Now, a team of scientists in the United States plans to create a coronavirus strain that can be used for human challenge trials, a controversial type of study wherein health volunteers would be vaccinated and intentionally infected with the virus.

16 Aug 2020

PARP inhibitor can successfully treat a subset of advanced prostate cancer patients

Results from an international clinical trial found that men with advanced prostate cancer who have mutated BRCA1/BRCA2 genes can be treated successfully with a targeted therapy known as rucaparib, resulting in recent FDA approval.

15 Aug 2020

Frequently used serology test may not detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, shows study

Two different types of detectable antibody responses in SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) tell very different stories and may indicate ways to enhance public health efforts against the disease, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

15 Aug 2020

Nanoparticle carriers expand the effectiveness of gene therapies for human eye diseases

NIBIB-funded researchers have created nanoparticles for successful gene therapy of a mouse model of macular degeneration.

15 Aug 2020

Preexisting drug shows promise as a weapon against SARS-CoV-2 virus

First appearing in late 2019 in Wuhan City, China, the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to cause sickness and death across the globe.

14 Aug 2020

Preliminary Mayo Clinic results from convalescent plasma in 35,322 patients

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports the preliminary results of the US Expanded Access Program (EAP) for CP. The EAP aimed to facilitate access to CP as well as to evaluate the safety of this therapy. However, the current study reports the results of an initial assessment of this agent.

14 Aug 2020

De novo designed SARS-CoV-2 nanoparticle vaccine

In light of the continuing threat to public health, social functioning, and economic activity posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are working urgently to bring out a vaccine that is both safe and effective, and capable of mass production. A new paper published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 shows that such a vaccine may be produced by using arrays of one severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) protein on a nanoparticle platform.

14 Aug 2020

Engineered capsids for improved gene delivery to the retina and cornea

A rational design approach created novel variants of adeno-associated viral (AAV) capsids.

13 Aug 2020

Synthetic nanobodies prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of researchers from the University of California San Francisco has created a powerful nasal spray or inhaler that can provide high-grade protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The report is presently available on the bioRvix* preprint server.

13 Aug 2020

Researchers discover how gut bacteria help the immune system to battle cancerous tumors

Researchers with the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases at the Cumming School of Medicine have discovered which gut bacteria help our immune system battle cancerous tumors and how they do it.

13 Aug 2020