What would help or hinder patient participation in mitochondrial disease clinical trials?
As clinical trials gear up with the aim of attaining the first FDA-approved treatments for mitochondrial disease, a new study reports for the first time what patients and families say would motivate them for or against participating in such research trials. Based in malfunctions in mitochondria, the tiny structures within cells that act as biological batteries, mitochondrial disease is a highly variable collection of energy deficiency disorders that can affect nearly any and all organs and systems - at any age.
Read more ...
New approach to immunotherapy leads to complete response in breast cancer patient
A novel approach to immunotherapy developed by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has led to the complete regression of breast cancer in a patient who was unresponsive to all other treatments. This patient received the treatment in a clinical trial led by Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Surgery Branch at NCI's Center for Cancer Research (CCR), and the findings were published June 4, 2018 in Nature Medicine. NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health.
Read more ...
New drugs could also be deployed against lung and pancreatic cancers
A new anti-cancer drug may be effective against a wider range of cancers than previously thought. Using a mouse model and samples taken from cancer patients, a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has shown that a new class of drugs known as SHP2 inhibitors is also effective against aggressive, hard-to-treat tumors such as lung and pancreatic cancers. Clinical trials currently underway had previously excluded patients with these cancers.
Read more ...
Antidepressant use may contribute to long-term population weight gain
Researchers at King's College London have found that patients prescribed any of the 12 most commonly used antidepressants were 21% more likely to experience an episode of gain weight than those not taking the drugs, (after adjusting for other factors which might affect this result). The full research is published in the BMJ.
Read more ...
Stroke prevention drug combo shows promise
If you've had a minor stroke or a transient ischemic stroke (TIA), taking the clot-preventing drug clopidogrel along with aspirin may lower your risk of having a major stroke within the next 90 days, according to new research published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Read more ...
Research suggests a 15-minute 'daily mile' could enhance health of the world's children
Policymakers should consider introducing The Daily Mile to improve the health and fitness of schoolchildren around the world, according to new research led by the Universities of Stirling and Edinburgh. The first study of the popular Daily Mile initiative - which involves children taking a 15-minute break from class to do physical activity - has confirmed it improves fitness, body composition and activity levels in participants.
Read more ...
Not enough women included in some heart disease clinical trials
Women are underrepresented in clinical trials for heart failure, coronary artery disease and acute coronary syndrome but proportionately or overrepresented in trials for hypertension, atrial fibrillation and pulmonary arterial hypertension, when compared to incidence or prevalence of women within each disease population, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Read more ...