Efficacy News and Research

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NHS England takes too long to commission PrEP for HIV prevention

An effective treatment that can prevent HIV infection and reduce the human and financial costs of the preventable condition is taking too long to be commissioned and made available on the NHS, warns Deborah Gold, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, in an article published by The BMJ today.

7 Jun 2016

Artificial intelligence could refine CAD prognosis

A study shows that machine learning can predict mortality in patients with coronary artery disease with greater accuracy than models based on coronary computed tomographic angiography or clinical variables.

6 Jun 2016

Bacteriophage combinations show therapeutic potential in reducing C. difficile infections

A new University of Leicester study has confirmed the therapeutic potential of bacteriophage combinations to treat highly infectious bacteria C. difficile infections (CDI) while retaining a healthy gut.

6 Jun 2016

Understanding chemotherapy cost differences could help patients in making informed decisions

Costs associated with different breast cancer chemotherapy regimens can vary significantly, regardless of effectiveness, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Understanding cost differences should help guide informed discussions between patients and physicians when considering chemotherapy options.

6 Jun 2016

Experimental drug Rova-T shows safety, efficacy in treating advanced SCLC patients

The experimental "smart-bomb" drug rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T) appears safe and shows efficacy in treating patients with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to results from a first-in-human clinical trial to be presented today by a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researcher at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago.

6 Jun 2016

Stimulating STING pathway to provoke life-extending immune response shows promise in AML

A protein known as STING plays a crucial role in the immune system's ability to "sense" cancer by recognizing and responding to DNA from tumor cells. Injection of compounds that activate the STING pathway directly into solid tumors in mice has been shown in prior studies to result in very potent anti-tumor immune responses.

3 Jun 2016

New mouse model allows researchers to evaluate CD40-antibody drugs effectively

Cancer immunotherapies--drugs that work by making a patient's immune system better at spotting and destroying tumor cells--are increasingly generating headlines. A number of these drugs are now being used for the treatment of melanoma, lung, and kidney cancers, and are showing promise in clinical trials with other diseases as well.

3 Jun 2016

Maternal vaccination against influenza can reduce flu risk in newborns

Each year, influenza causes between 250,000 and half a million deaths around the world. Pregnant women and young infants have a higher risk of complications related to influenza; these complications can easily lead to death.

3 Jun 2016

FDA approves blood-based cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 for NSCLC patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2, a blood-based companion diagnostic for the cancer drug Tarceva (erlotinib). This is the first FDA-approved, blood-based genetic test that can detect epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in non-small cell lung cancer patients.

2 Jun 2016

Experts urge cancer researchers to use old, obese mice for preclinical immunotherapy studies

Researchers should include laboratory mice that are old and obese in their studies of immunotherapy treatments for cancer, according to a review article by Saint Louis University scientists.

2 Jun 2016

Denosumab drug that inhibits RANKL gene can prevent genetic breast cancer

An international team led by researchers at the Austrian Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore discovered that genetically determined breast cancer can be largely prevented by blocking a bone gene. An already approved drug could be quickly available and would then be the first breast cancer prevention drug.

1 Jun 2016

Clinical trial to test safety, efficacy of Roswell Park-developed SurVaxM in multiple myeloma patients

An immune-based therapy developed at Roswell Park Cancer Institute is moving forward with its third clinical trial. The early-stage clinical trial will assess whether SurVaxM — a cancer vaccine developed at Roswell Park — is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma, a rare type of blood cancer.

1 Jun 2016

Ocaliva drug gets FDA approval for primary biliary cholangitis treatment

On Friday, May 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for Ocaliva (obeticholic acid) for the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in adults with an inadequate response to UDCA, or as a single therapy in adults unable to tolerate UDCA.

1 Jun 2016

New research in mice provides better understanding of how HD begins and develops

Mice transplanted with cells grown from a patient suffering from Huntington's disease (HD) develop the clinical features and brain pathology of that patient, suggests a study published in the latest issue of Acta Neuropathologica by CHA University in Korea, in collaboration with researchers at Université Laval in Québec City, Canada.

1 Jun 2016

Additional drug treatment options to prevent migraine may offer hope to sufferers

Preventing or shortening the duration of migraine attacks - established drug treatment options and those that could shape future therapies were discussed at the Congress of European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen.

1 Jun 2016

Majority youths with autism or intellectual disability receive antipsychotics, study finds

About one in ten youths treated with an antipsychotic are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability. Conversely, one in six youths diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has been prescribed antipsychotics.

31 May 2016

Aquatic resistance training improves tibiofemoral cartilage quality in postmenopausal women with knee pain

Postmenopausal women with mild knee osteoarthritis, who may avoid strenuous exercise due to pain, can safely promote cartilage health and improve aerobic fitness with intensive aquatic resistance training.

31 May 2016

Need for standardised guidelines to fight Alzheimer's disease

Some 47 million people worldwide suffer from some form of dementia. Scientists are working feverishly to find a cure for the most common form, Alzheimer's. At the Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Prof Gunhild Waldemar issued an appeal for researchers to work together and draw up standardised guidelines for early identification and treatment of the disease.

31 May 2016

Overcoming barriers in autism research: an interview with Gahan Pandina

There are currently no medications which address the core symptoms of ASD, and a significant barrier to their development is that researchers have historically lacked effective methods for measuring clinical outcomes.

30 May 2016

Trial results underestimate anticoagulant bleeding risk

A study in The BMJ demonstrates that estimates of major bleeding risk in patients taking anticoagulants in clinical trials are unlikely to reflect the reality of clinical practice.

28 May 2016

Efficacy News and Research

NHS England takes too long to commission PrEP for HIV prevention

Artificial intelligence could refine CAD prognosis

Bacteriophage combinations show therapeutic potential in reducing C. difficile infections

Understanding chemotherapy cost differences could help patients in making informed decisions

Experimental drug Rova-T shows safety, efficacy in treating advanced SCLC patients

Stimulating STING pathway to provoke life-extending immune response shows promise in AML

New mouse model allows researchers to evaluate CD40-antibody drugs effectively

Maternal vaccination against influenza can reduce flu risk in newborns

FDA approves blood-based cobas EGFR Mutation Test v2 for NSCLC patients

Experts urge cancer researchers to use old, obese mice for preclinical immunotherapy studies

Denosumab drug that inhibits RANKL gene can prevent genetic breast cancer

Clinical trial to test safety, efficacy of Roswell Park-developed SurVaxM in multiple myeloma patients

Ocaliva drug gets FDA approval for primary biliary cholangitis treatment

New research in mice provides better understanding of how HD begins and develops

Additional drug treatment options to prevent migraine may offer hope to sufferers

Majority youths with autism or intellectual disability receive antipsychotics, study finds

Aquatic resistance training improves tibiofemoral cartilage quality in postmenopausal women with knee pain

Need for standardised guidelines to fight Alzheimer's disease

Overcoming barriers in autism research: an interview with Gahan Pandina

Trial results underestimate anticoagulant bleeding risk

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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