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Category: biotech/medical – Page 654

First three patients in the trial showed dramatic responses within days

A collaborative project to bring the promise of cell therapy to patients with a deadly form of brain cancer has shown dramatic results among the first patients to receive the novel treatment. In a paper published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Mass General Cancer Center, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, shared the results for the first three patient cases from a phase 1 clinical trial evaluating a new approach to CAR-T therapy for glioblastoma (GBM). The trial, known as INCIPIENT, is designed to evaluate the safety of CARv3-TEAM-E T cells in patients with recurrent GBM. Just days after a single treatment, patients experienced dramatic reductions in their tumors, with one patient achieving near-complete tumor regression. In time, the researchers observed tumor progression in these patients, but given the strategy’s promising preliminary results, the team will pursue strategies to extend the durability of response.

“This is a story of bench-to-bedside therapy, with a novel cell therapy designed in the laboratories of Massachusetts General Hospital and translated for patient use within five years, to meet an urgent need,” said Bryan Choi, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon and associate director of the Center for Brain Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy, Cellular Immunotherapy Program, Mass General Cancer Center and Department of Neurosurgery. “The CAR-T platform has revolutionized how we think about treating patients with cancer, but solid tumors like glioblastoma have remained challenging to treat because not all cancer cells are exactly alike and cells within the tumor vary. Our approach combines two forms of therapy, allowing us to treat glioblastoma in a broader, potentially more effective way.”

Revealing a Hidden Threat: Researchers show Viral Infections pose Early Heart Risks

In a potentially game-changing development, scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have revealed a new understanding of sometimes fatal viral infections that affect the heart.

Traditionally, the focus has been on heart inflammation known as myocarditis, which is often triggered by the body’s immune response to a viral infection.

However, a new study led by James Smyth, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, sheds new light on this notion, revealing that the virus itself creates potentially dangerous conditions in the heart before inflammation sets in.

Best Solution to Detect Deepfakes? Use AI

This post is also available in: he עברית (Hebrew)

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence make it increasingly harder to detect deepfake voices, and the solution might actually come from AI itself.

Scientists at Klick Labs were inspired by their clinical studies using vocal biomarkers to help enhance health outcomes and created an audio deepfake detection method that taps into signs of life like breathing patterns and micropauses in speech.

Diagnostic Challenges and Treatment Approach to Seronegative Autoimmune Encephalitis

Diving into the complexities of Seronegative Autoimmune Encephalitis — a journey through diagnostic hurdles and treatment paths. Discover more: 👉 https://bit.ly/3TwTulh ✨

Seronegative autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a rare, immune-mediated inflammatory syndrome that presents with a wide spectrum of neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as cognitive impairment, seizures, psychosis, focal neurological defects, and altered consciousness. This disease process presents with no identifiable autoimmune antibodies, which leads to uncertain diagnosis, delayed treatment, and prolonged hospital admissions. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of AE should not be delayed, as early recognition and treatment leads to improved outcomes and disease reversibility for these patients. In this study, we present a case report of a 77-year-old male who presented with acutely altered mental status. This patient underwent an extensive workup and demonstrated no signs of clinical improvement throughout a prolonged hospital admission.

Scientists Working on Pill You Can Take Instead of Exercising

The future is going to be so lazy, yet so cut.

As next-generation weight-loss treatments like Wegovy and Zepbound continue to fly off the shelves, scientists are busy working on a medicine that could mimic the effects of exercise.

As explained in an American Chemical Society press release, trials thus far on SLU-PP-332, the potentially groundbreaking compound in question, show that it seems “capable of mimicking the physical boost of working out.”

“We cannot replace exercise; exercise is important on all levels,” Bahaa Elgendy, an anesthesiology professor at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis who serves as the principal investigator of the new compound, said in the press release. “If I can exercise, I should go ahead and get the physical activity. But there are so many cases in which a substitute is needed.”

Periodontal Bacterium Implicated in Aggressive Colon Cancer

A recent study published in Nature reveals a potential link between a type of bacteria associated with dental plaque and treatment-resistant colorectal cancer. The Gram-negative, anaerobic bacterium, Fusobacterium nucleatum, was found in 50% of tumors tested, suggesting it may protect tumor cells from cancer-fighting drugs. This discovery opens avenues for new treatments and screening methods. Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, is increasingly affecting younger demographics, with cases doubling among those younger than age 55 between 1995 and 2019. While the study doesn’t directly tie the bacterium to this trend, its implications raise questions about its role in rising cases among younger individuals. F. nucleatum has been suspected in colorectal cancer growth. It possesses two subspecies, one of which is capable of evading immune response and promoting tumor formation. These findings suggest a potential mechanism for its journey from the oral cavity to the colon, defying stomach acid’s toxic effects. Future research may explore developing antibiotics targeting specific bacterial subtypes or using genetically modified bacteria for targeted drug delivery into tumors. Understanding the microbiome’s role in cancer risk represents a crucial frontier in cancer research. Click here to read more.

Sequences in the ‘Dark Genome’ Could be Used to Diagnose Cancer Earlier

The human genome is primarily composed of long stretches of repeat nucleotides that do not code for protein (only about two percent of the human genomes does code for protein). This mysterious, non-protein-coding DNA was once disregarded as junk DNA, but scientists have begun to find sequences of importance within this ‘junk,’ which is now sometimes called genomic ‘dark matter.’ Some of these sequences appear to have important regulatory functions, and can control the expression of some protein-coding genes. But studying these sequences can be extremely challenging, particularly because they are not like protein-coding genes that can be studied with standard techniques.

But scientists have now found a great use for the dark genome. Reporting in Science Translational Medicine, researchers created a method to reveal elements of the dark genome in cancerous tissue and in the bloodstream, as fragments called cell-free DNA (cfDNA). These bits of DNA are lost from tumors and they move around the body in the bloodstream. This technique may eventually help scientists or clinicians identify cancer or monitor the progress of treatment.

New Protein Found to Mediate Immune Cell Response

The immune system is a complex network of various cell types all working cohesively to identify and eliminate foreign invaders. Unfortunately, if a disease is strong enough or our immune system is not well equipped to accurately target the disease, we get sick until the immune system builds a strong enough immune response toward it. A great example includes vaccine biology. We are given an attenuated form of a disease and our body, not exposed to it before, will recognize the markers on the outside of the virus and make antibodies against it. Consequently, the immune system will build up a strong enough immune response to completely eradicate the disease from the body and also maintain memory cells that will instantly recognize future exposures of the same disease.

Different immune cells play various roles that effectively elicit an immune response. Innate immunity is the first barrier against disease. Cells in this barrier are non-specific and target a broad range of diseases but are less potent. Additionally, they take the protein or antigen from the disease and present it to more specific and effective immune cells in the adaptive immune system. These highly specific cells are mainly responsible for killing or lysing the disease. Cells in the adaptive immune system include T cells and B cells. T cells are a broad cell population with different responsibilities within each T cell subset. However, CD8+ T cells are the classic T cell subtype solely responsible for lysing foreign or invading cells. The field of T cell biology is ever expanding as scientists discover new ways to improve their function and effectively target disease.

A recent article published in the Journal of Immunology, by Dr. Tadashi Matsuda and others, discovered that a new protein, known as STAP-1, improves T cell activation. Matsuda, senior author on the paper, is a Professor and Principal Investigator at Hokkaido University in Japan. His work focuses on T cell biology and intracellular components of cellular immunity. Signal-Transducing Adaptor Protein-1 or STAP-1 was implicated as a mediator between intracellular proteins and eliciting an immune response. Interestingly, STAP-1 upregulates T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated T cell function and increased inflammatory response. Matsuda and others found that STAP-1 generates the activation of downstream signaling pathways associated with stronger T cell activity. While this may have seemed like a great marker to improve immune response, the team also discovered that knocking out STAP-1 reduces autoimmune disorder symptoms. Therefore, treatment application is context dependent.

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