Articles related to CLINICAL STUDY

Plasma P-tau217 significantly predicted longitudinal cognitive decline in both cohorts in this prognostic study of data from two preclinical AD cohort studies involving 171 cognitively unimpaired individuals with cerebrospinal fluid or positron emission tomographic measures of β-amyloid positivity. These findings imply that plasma P-tau217 could be used in clinical trials of novel disease-modifying treatments as a supplement to CSF or PET for participant selection.

Researchers believe that the activity of its flagella, the hair-like projections that help bacteria move around, adhere to, and invade target cells, promotes inflammation in this ‘bacteria x’ species (the name is protected by patent). Previously, the researchers examined fecal samples from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS), discovering a distinct microbiome profile associated with each MS type. The researchers discovered 12 bacterial species that were particularly enriched in the SPMS samples using bacterial DNA extracted from fecal samples from 62 RRMS and 15 SPMS patients. The highest correlation was found between bacteria X levels and patients’ disability levels, as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) researchers were searching a genetic database for compounds that could suppress the expression of genes previously linked to heavy alcohol use. They put apremilast to the test in two animal models with a genetic risk of binge drinking, as well as in mice from other labs. In each case, apremilast reduced alcohol consumption by increasing activity in the nucleus accumbens, the brain region involved in controlling alcohol intake. Scripps Research Institute then assessed 51 patients over 11 days of treatment and discovered that trial participants’ alcohol consumption was reduced from an average of five drinks per day to two.

There were significant state variations in racial and ethnic disparities in TNBC incidence in this cohort study, with Black women in Delaware, Missouri, Louisiana, and Mississippi having the highest rates among all states and racial and ethnic populations. More research is needed to identify factors contributing to the significant geographic variations in racial and ethnic disparities in TNBC incidence in order to develop effective preventive measures, and social determinants of health contribute to the geographic disparities in TNBC risk, according to the findings.

PDE4 is linked to alcohol and nicotine addiction, so the researchers prioritized apremilast, a newer PDE4 inhibitor for psoriasis, as ideal for repurposing and tested it in multiple animal strains and models, as well as a human Phase IIa study. In mouse models of genetic risk for drinking to intoxication, they discovered that apremilast reduced binge-like alcohol intake and behavioral measures of alcohol motivation.

The researchers discovered that 11 of the participants had likely somatic variants at known pathogenic UBA1 positions, and all 11 had clinical symptoms consistent with VEXAS (Vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, Autoinflammatory, Somatic) syndrome. Five people (45 percent) did not meet the criteria for previous rheumatologic and/or hematologic diagnoses associated with VEXAS syndrome, but all 11 had anemia, which was macrocytic in 10 people and had concomitant thrombocytopenia in 10 people. One male patient had a pathogenic variant identified prior to the onset of VEXAS-related signs or symptoms, and two female patients had disease caused by heterozygous variants. A previously unreported UBA1 variant was found in one symptomatic patient, with in vitro data supporting a catalytic defect and pathogenicity. Disease-causing UBA1 variants were found in one of 13,591 unrelated individuals, as well as in one of 4,269 men and one in 26,238 women over the age of 50.