A nationwide study in the USA has found that amyloid PET significantly influences clinical management, including the use of medications and counselling, of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Changes in management were observed in about 60% of...
E-cigarette use disrupts normal immune response to viral infections, in women particularly
This preliminary study investigated differences in immune response between non-smokers and people who use cigarettes or e-cigarettes by inoculating 47 participants with live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV). They found that at baseline, e-cigarette use disrupted normal immune response to viral...
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Early Treatment with Selexipag Most Effective
New post-hoc analyses from the large-scale GRIPHON trial assessing selexipag in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) demonstrate that early, aggressive treatment after diagnosis is associated with the greatest benefits, irrespective of background therapy [1]. Around a third of PAH patients currently...
First-ever effective treatment of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1a
PXT3003 is the first treatment for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1a (CMT1A) that is effective, safe, and well tolerated. This was demonstrated in the pivotal phase 3 trial PLEO-CMT. PXT3003 is a novel oral fixed-dose combination of baclofen, naltrexone, and D-sorbitol,...
Ibudilast affects brain atrophy in PPMS, not SPMS
In the randomised phase 2 trial SPRINT-MS, the effect of ibudilast on brain measures of integrity was evaluated in both primary and secondary progressive MS (PPMS and SPMS). Results of a post-hoc analysis suggested that the effect of ibudilast on...
Post-study immunotherapy confounds primary survival outcome
An exploratory analysis of the phase 3 MYSTIC trial suggests that the high rate of subsequent post-study immunotherapy received by patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who previously received chemotherapy, confounded the primary overall survival (OS) outcome. Durvalumab...
Head-to-head comparison of two ALK inhibitors
Brigatinib showed a statistically and clinically relevant improvement in PFS vs crizotinib in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor-naïve, ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This was the result of the first interim analysis from the ALTA-1L study comparing the...
Reduction in coronary artery disease in psoriasis patients treated with biologic therapies
Treating psoriasis with biologic drugs that target the immune system can reduce early plaque buildup that clogs arteries, restricts blood flow, and leads to heart attacks and stroke. The association between psoriasis and occlusive cardiovascular events was noted originally nearly...
Secukinumab maintains improvements in psoriasis through 5 years of treatment
At the 2019 AAD meeting, 5-year follow-up data from the extension cohort of the phase 3 core trials ERASURE/FIXTURE was presented that showed that the IL-17A blocker secukinumab maintains long-term high levels of efficacy[1, 2]. Patients from the ERASURE/FIXTURE trials...
DNA of sperm taken directly from testicles of infertile men is “as good as sperm from fertile men”, possibly opening way for new treatment
Sperm DNA from the testicles of many infertile men is as good as that of ejaculated sperm of fertile men. This may explain a major cause of male infertility and opens the possibility of using sperm taken directly from the...