R&D

WHO strongly advises against antibody treatments for COVID-19 patients

The antibody drugs sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab are not recommended for patients with COVID-19, says a WHO Guideline Development Group of international experts in The BMJ.

These drugs work by binding to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, neutralising the virus's ability to infect cells.

Mucosal antibodies in the airways protect against omicron infection

High levels of mucosal antibodies in the airways reduce the risk of being infected by omicron, but many do not receive detectable antibodies in the airways despite three doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. These are the findings of a study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital in Sweden.

Drug turns cancer gene into "eat me" flag for immune system

Tumor cells are notoriously good at evading the human immune system; they put up physical walls, wear disguises and handcuff the immune system with molecular tricks. Now, UC San Francisco researchers have developed a drug that overcomes some of these barriers, marking cancer cells for destruction by the immune system.

Breaking down proteins: How starving cancer cells switch food sources

Cancer cells often grow in environments that are low in nutrients, and they cope with this challenge by switching their metabolism to using proteins as alternative "food". Building on genetic screens, an international team of scientists could identify the protein LYSET as part of a pathway that allows cancer cells to make this switch. Their findings are now published in the journal Science.

Malaria booster vaccine shows durable high efficacy in African children, meeting WHO-specified 75% efficacy goal

Researchers from the University of Oxford and their partners have today reported new findings from their Phase 2b trial following the administration of a booster dose of the candidate malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M™ - which previously demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77% over the following 12 months in young west African children in 2021.

Strict COVID lockdowns in France improved cardiovascular health

A new paper in European Heart Journal - Digital Health, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that social-distancing measures like total lockdown have a measurable impact on vascular health. The study compared the impact on the health of people living in a partial vs. a total lockdown during the beginning of COVID-19.

Stem cell-gene therapy shows promise in ALS safety trial

Cedars-Sinai investigators have developed an investigational therapy using support cells and a protective protein that can be delivered past the blood-brain barrier. This combined stem cell and gene therapy can potentially protect diseased motor neurons in the spinal cord of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal neurological disorder known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Research & Development

WHO strongly advises against antibody treatments for COVID-19 patients

Mucosal antibodies in the airways protect against omicron infection

Drug turns cancer gene into "eat me" flag for immune system

Breaking down proteins: How starving cancer cells switch food sources

Malaria booster vaccine shows durable high efficacy in African children, meeting WHO-specified 75% efficacy goal

Strict COVID lockdowns in France improved cardiovascular health

Stem cell-gene therapy shows promise in ALS safety trial

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