NIH-supported findings pave the way for genetic testing, clinical trials, and therapy development Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their colleagues have identified a gene responsible for some inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), which are a group of disorders that damage the eye’s light-sensing retina and threatens vision. Though IRDs affect more than
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in November 2023 that it was investigating a link between receiving CAR T therapy and developing secondary cancers later on, it spurred uncertainty for patients and researchers alike. As many of the more than 30,000 patients who have received the life-saving treatment face new questions about
Researchers isolated SARS-CoV-2 strains, which are drug resistant with mutations to the nsp12 protein that is the target of remdesivir and another variant with mutations to the nsp5 protein, the target of Paxlovid. These mutations help the virus persist in people with compromised immunity despite common antiviral treatments. Individuals with compromised immunity and persistent COVID-19
Patients reported significant reductions in pain that lasted for at least 2 years after the procedure A new study shows that a minimally invasive treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) in the knees may have a lasting benefit of at least 2 years. Published today in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology during Pain Awareness Month, the study of genicular
Study results formed the basis of the therapy’s FDA approval in April 2024 Adults with hemophilia B saw their number of bleeding episodes drop by an average of 71 percent after a single infusion of gene therapy, according to the results of an international Phase III clinical trial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers from the University of
Scientists from UNIGE and HUG have developed CAR-T cells capable of targeting malignant gliomas while preserving healthy tissues. Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor—average survival after diagnosis is less than two years—and current treatments remain ineffective. In recent years, immunotherapies have been giving patients hope, albeit with relatively modest success. A
Fibrin (red) and toxic microglia (green) in the brain of a mouse infected with COVID-19. Image courtesy of Jae Kyu Ryu and Katerina Akassoglou. In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that
In an early Stanford Medicine study, CAR-T cell therapy helps some with intractable lymphoma, but those who relapse have few options. Modifying the therapy’s molecular target improved response. CAR-T cell therapy, which targets a specific protein on the surface of cancer cells, causes tumors to shrink or disappear in about half of patients with large
From electrical stimulation to robotics Most people may not pay much attention to the dizzying array of movements their bodies perform every day. Just in the morning, from sipping a cup of coffee to taking a shower and walking out the front door, the arms and legs execute a range of intricate motions in all
Candidate vaccine could provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. A Phase 1 trial testing the safety of an experimental nasal vaccine that may provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is now enrolling healthy adults at three sites in the United States. The National
