Biotech/medical – Lifeboat News: The Blog

Apr 22
2019

A phase I fixed-dose feasibility study of MK615 and gemcitabine in patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer

Background: The medical agent #MK615 is produced from #JapaneseApricot and contains a number of cyclic triterpenes. Antitumor activity of MK615 and its additive effect when combined with gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cell line. MIAPaCa-2 was previously reported by our group. The objective of this phase I trial was to evaluate safety and feasibility of combined MK615 and gemcitabine therapy in patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Conclusions: Combined MK615 and gemcitabine therapy was well-tolerated and showed antitumor activity in patients previously treated without gemcitabine or untreated patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Currently, we are planning phase II trials for elderly or frail people.

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Background: The medical agent MK615 is produced from Japanese apricot and contains a number of cyclic triterpenes. Antitumor activity of MK615 and its additive effect when combined with gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cell line. MIAPaCa-2 was previously reported by our group. The objective of this phase I trial was to evaluate safety and feasibility of combined MK615 and gemcitabine therapy in patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Methods: Patients with untreated pancreatic cancer or those who underwent chemotherapy without gemcitabine were enrolled. Gemcitabine was infused at 1000 mg/m2 over 30 minutes once weekly for 3 weeks of each 28-day treatment cycle. Three packets of MK615 were orally administered daily during each 28-day treatment cycle, until any discontinuation criteria were met. If severe toxicity occurred, dose was reduced. Results: All five patients enrolled were evaluable for toxicity and response. Median age was 72 (54−79) years. Three patients had performance status (PS) 0, one had PS 1, and one PS 2. Three of five patients had been treated with chemotherapy; two with FOLFIRINOX and one with S-1. One of five patients treated had grade 4 neutropenia and two were administered granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. No patient had febrile neutropenia or adverse event leading to death. Relative dose intensity was 96.6% and 69.8% for MK615 and gemcitabine, respectively. No patients had objective response (complete response + partial response), while 2 of 5 patients (40%) had disease control (objective response + stable disease). Conclusions: Combined MK615 and gemcitabine therapy was well-tolerated and showed antitumor activity in patients previously treated without gemcitabine or untreated patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Currently, we are planning phase II trials for elderly or frail people.

Apr 22
2019

Folding Secrets of Protein Unlocked by Artificial Intelligence

A scientist from Harvard has used Ai to create a method for successfully predicting the folded shape of any protein. The work could have massive implications for the design and development of life-saving medicine.

Apr 22
2019

Could antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” become a bigger killer than cancer?

Antibiotics have saved hundreds of millions of lives. But their continued, widespread use has led to mutated bacteria that are resistant to these drugs.

Apr 22
2019

As Brain Organoids Mature, Ethical Questions Arise

…from 2017/2018 that helped me understand the creation of Master Splinter.

Inserting human “mini-brains” into rodents has the potential to broaden scientists’ understanding of neurological disease, but raises quandaries about consciousness.

Apr 21
2019

The University Is Proud and Congratulates Its Graduate Dr. Thabat Al-khatib and Researcher in Applied Neuroscience for Receiving Two Patents of Medicine for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Arab American University congrats and is proud of Dr. Thabat Al-Khatib and researcher in Applied Neuroscience, Dr. Al-Khatib graduated from the Faculty of Sciences and Arts at Arab American University in 2012. She succeeded to add her name on the list of innovators in Britain after the invention of a drug treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and received two patents.

Al Khatib is currently working at the University of Aberdeen – Faculty of Medicine as a researcher in Neuroscience dept. and aspires to be a lecturer in Palestine to add value to students and the community.

Al-Khatib said commenting on the two inventions:

Apr 21
2019

Mobile Sim

Biomedical pictures for April 2019.

Apr 21
2019

Small ‘half-watch’ worn on leg could transform recovery from stroke

Patients recovering from a stroke can slash their risk of blood clots by wearing a small “half wrist-watch” around their leg, a trial has shown.

A study at Royal Stoke University Hospital found the geko device could reduces the risk of clots compared to standard treatment, is comfortable to wear and could save the NHS cash.

Approved for use on the NHS for other conditions, the geko is a battery-powered, disposable, device designed to increase blood flow in the deep veins of the legs.

Apr 21
2019

Scientists advance Creation of ‘Artificial Lymph node’ to fight Cancer, other diseases

In a proof-of-principle study in mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report the creation of a specialized gel that acts like a lymph node to successfully activate and multiply cancer-fighting immune system T-cells. The work puts scientists a step closer, they say, to injecting such artificial lymph nodes into people and sparking T-cells to fight disease.

In the past few years, a wave of discoveries has advanced new techniques to use T-cells – a type of white blood cell – in cancer treatment. To be successful, the cells must be primed, or taught, to spot and react to molecular flags that dot the surfaces of cancer cells. The job of educating T-cells this way typically happens in lymph nodes, small, bean-shaped glands found all over the body that house T-cells. But in patients with cancer and immune system disorders, that learning process is faulty, or doesn’t happen.

To address such defects, current T-cell booster therapy requires physicians to remove T-cells from the blood of a patient with cancer and inject the cells back into the patient after either genetically engineering or activating the cells in a laboratory so they recognize cancer-linked molecular flags.

Apr 21
2019

Scientists Discovered Where Anesthesia Works On the Brain

A medical miracle happened about 170 years ago when scientists discovered general anesthesia that enables millions of patients to undergo invasive, life-saving surgeries without pain. However, in spite of decades of research, scientists cannot understand why general anesthesia works.

In a new study published online in Neuron, scientists believe they have discovered the part of the answer. A team of researchers from a Duke University found that several different general anesthesia drugs knock out the patient by hijacking the neural circuitry that the person falls asleep.

They traced this neural circuitry to a tiny cluster of cells at the base of the brain responsible for churning out hormones to regulate bodily functions, moods, and sleep. The discovery is one of the first to indicate a role for the hormones in maintaining the state of general anesthesia and provides valuable insights for generating newer drugs that could put people to sleep with fewer side effects.

Apr 20
2019

‘Longevity gene’ responsible for more efficient DNA repair

older woman in a swimsuit and cap flexing her muscles at the beach. Rochester researchers have uncovered more evidence that the key to the “Fountain of Youth” may reside in a gene that is found to produce more potent proteins in species with longer lifespans. (Getty Images photo)

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