Categories : Emergency MedicineTags :

Potential New Treatment for Sepsis Shows Promise in Trial

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Griffith University researchers may have unlocked the secret to treating sepsis, with a Phase II clinical trial in China successfully concluding with promising results.

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Griffith University researchers may have unlocked the secret to treating sepsis, with a Phase II clinical trial in China successfully concluding with promising results. The sepsis drug candidate, a carbohydrate-based drug called STC3141, was co-developed by Distinguished Professor Mark von Itzstein AO and his team from Griffith’s Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, and Professor Christopher Parish and his team at The Australian National University.

“The trial met the key endpoints to indicate the drug candidate was successful in reducing sepsis in humans,” Professor von Itzstein said.

STC3141 was administered as an infusion via a cannula and counteracted a significant biological molecule release phenomenon which occurred in the body during the course of sepsis.

The small-molecule experimental drug was a carbohydrate-based molecule and could treat sepsis by reversing organ damage.

Sepsis was known to affect millions of hospitalised patients across the world each year and occurred when the body’s immune response to an infection attacked and injured its own tissues and organs.

“When sepsis is not recognised early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death,” Distinguished Professor von Itzstein said.

The trial, conducted by Grand Pharmaceutical Group Limited (Grand Pharma), involved 180 patients with sepsis, one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability worldwide.

Currently, there is no specific anti-sepsis therapy available, and sepsis is considered a clinical unmet need.

Professor von Itzstein said Grand Pharma would now look to progress to a Phase III trial to continue testing the efficacy of the novel treatment.

“It’s hoped we could see the treatment reach the market in a handful years, potentially saving millions of lives,” he said.

Executive Director of the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, Professor Paul Clarke, said: “I am thrilled to see the results of the trial which ultimately aims to save lives.”

“The Institute and its researchers collectively work on translational research to deliver real and immediate impacts both in Australia, and globally to transform lives.”

Source: Griffith University

Categories : CancerTags :

Strong Evidence for Effectiveness of Metastasis-directed Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer

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Metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) significantly improved outcomes in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer, according to a new study from researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center published today in Lancet Oncology.

The study is a first-of-its-kind meta-analysis of individual patients across all available randomised clinical trials evaluating the addition of metastasis-directed radiation therapy to standard-of-care treatment.

According to corresponding author Chad Tang, MD, associate professor of Genitourinary Radiation Oncology, gathering level one evidence of the benefits of MDT in this cancer type has been a challenge due to several factors. Most significant among them are that only a small number of patients have oligometastatic cancer – meaning they have multiple metastases but not enough to be considered widely metastatic – and the relative indolence of oligometastatic disease.

“If we can identify and treat this disease in the narrow window before it spreads too far, we know that patient outcomes are significantly better. But gathering this data is difficult,” Tang said. “By bringing together all available patient data from randomized clinical trials, we have provided the best evidence to date that MDT improves patient outcomes.”

What is MDT and what is the significance of this study on oligometastatic prostate cancer?

Broadly, MDT can include multiple treatment approaches. In this setting, the most common form of MDT is radiation therapy, which targets metastases at a stage when cancer has begun to spread but hasn’t yet spread widely. This approach potentially brings several benefits to patients, such as delaying the time to progression and limiting the need for more aggressive therapies that will further impact quality of life.

The most common form of MDT is stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a type of very precise radiation therapy. In previous studies, like the Phase II EXTEND trial presented in 2024, MDT significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS). 

These and similar findings have led to widespread adoption of MDT in the oligometastatic setting, despite the lack of level one evidence.

To try and address that lack of data, researchers from several institutions created a global consortium, known as X-MET, to gather the data from all randomized trials for analysis at MD Anderson. Individual patient data from seven trials were ultimately included in this meta-analysis, known as WOLVERINE.

What were the results of the study?

This study, which included 574 men, showed a significant benefit for the patients receiving the MDT arm in PFS, radiographic PFS, and castration resistance-free survival.

Patients in the MDT arm gained a median of 7.6 months before disease progression, 4.9 months before radiographic disease progression, and 2.5 months before developing castration-resistance disease, compared to patients receiving standard of care alone. These findings were consistent across the individual trials and in the aggregated data.

Additionally, there were no significant differences in safety between the treatment arms. No grade five toxicities were observed in either arm, and any adverse effects above grade two were similar between the two arms.

“We hope that this dataset will lay the groundwork for future Phase III trials, which hopefully will show an overall survival benefit for these patients,” Tang said. “However, what this data does already show is the best evidence to date that MDT significantly benefits patients without adding any notable safety risks.”

Source: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Categories : Cancer IT in HealthcareTags :

AI Treatment Advice Diverges with Physicians’ in Late Stage HCC

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LLMs tended to prioritise tumour-related factors whereas physicians prioritise liver function when providing treatment recommendations

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Large language models (LLM) can generate treatment recommendations for straightforward cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that align with clinical guidelines but fall short in more complex cases, according to a new study by Ji Won Han from The Catholic University of Korea and colleagues published January 13th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.

Choosing the most appropriate treatment for patients with liver cancer is complicated. While international treatment guidelines provide recommendations, clinicians must tailor their treatment choice based on cancer stage and liver function as well as other factors such as comorbidities.

To assess whether LLMs can provide treatment recommendations for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that reflect real-world clinical practice, researchers compared suggestions generated by three LLMs (ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude) with actual treatments received by more than 13,000 newly diagnosed patients with HCC in South Korea.

They found that, in patients with early-stage HCC, higher agreement between LLM recommendations and actual treatments was associated with improved survival. The inverse was seen in patients with advanced-stage disease. Higher agreement between LLM treatment recommendations and actual practice was associated with worse survival. LLMs placed greater emphasis on tumor factors, such as tumor size and number of tumors, while physicians prioritized liver function.

Overall, the findings suggest that LLMs may help to support straightforward treatment decisions, particularly in early-stage disease, but are not presently suitable for guiding care decisions for more complex cases that require nuanced clinical judgment. Regardless of stage, LLM advice should be used with caution and considered as a supplement to clinical expertise.

The authors add, “Our study shows that large language models can help support treatment decisions for early-stage liver cancer, but their performance is more limited in advanced disease. This highlights the importance of using LLMs as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, clinical expertise.”

Provided by PLOS

Categories : Cancer DermatologyTags :

Research Finds Protein Behind Radiotherapy-induced Skin Damage

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The protein Dickkopf 3 plays a key role in the development of radiation-induced fibroses – and could be a promising target for novel therapies

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Radiotherapy is one of the main treatment forms for cancer. Among its most common side effects is skin damage, right up to chronic inflammations and fibroses. At present, such long-term damage can only be treated symptomatically and leads to thickened, painful, or sensitive skin for months to years after the radiation treatment. A team led by LMU immunologist Professor Peter Nelson (LMU University Hospital) and Roger Sandhoff and Peter E. Huber from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has identified a protein called Dickkopf 3 (DKK3) as a main cause of long-term skin damage after radiotherapy – a decisive step for the development of novel, more targeted therapy options.

The results were published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.

By investigating mouse models and human cells and tissue samples, the researchers demonstrated that DKK3 is activated after radiotherapy in a certain group of skin cells that are responsible for skin renewal. This activity triggers a chain reaction which promotes inflammations and the formation of scar-like tissue and leads to chronic skin damage. The key findings were driven by the work of LMU students, Li Li and Khuram Shehzad. Their efforts were essential in identifying DKK3 as the critical molecular mediator and in establishing the mechanistic framework presented in the paper. “We also observed similar processes in the kidney,” says Nelson. “This indicates that the activation of DKK3 is a fundamental mechanism that promotes fibrosis in various tissues.”

According to the researchers, these findings underscore that DKK3 represents a promising new treatment target. “Drugs that block DKK3 could one day help prevent or reduce long-term skin damage after radiotherapy and thus improve the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors,” says Nelson. The researchers are currently investigating, moreover, whether this approach could also contribute to the prevention of scar formation in other organs.

Source: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Categories : TransplantsTags :

New Monthly Infusion Could Replace Daily Immunosuppressants for Kidney Transplants

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Monthly infusion could replace daily drug regimen with a less toxic treatment that improves renal function.

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Anew study offers hope that kidney transplant patients could one day have a monthly treatment instead of multiple pills every day. The new treatment also may reduce side effects and increase the lifespan of the donor organ.

Currently, patients who have had a kidney transplant must take a cocktail of pills every day for the rest of their lives. These standard immunosuppressants prevent the immune system from attacking the new organ, but over time may damage kidney function and become less effective.

Plus, standard immunosuppressants are also lead to diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and weight gain that can lead to transplant patients skipping doses, noted the study’s first author Flavio Vincenti, MD, professor of medicine and surgery in the Division of Nephrology at UC San Francisco. Other side effects include fatigue, muscle weakness, sexual dysfunction, hair loss, and sleeplessness.

Patients showed improvement

In the phase 2 pilot study, 23 patients received infusions of belatacept and dazodalibep, proteins that disrupt the immune system’s attack on the new organ but that do not affect non-immune cells the way standard treatment does.

Kidney function improved in all patients who completed the study and was similar for those who experienced organ rejection. No patient experienced rejection due to antibodies produced by the immune system, which is a major cause of transplant failure. Results were published Feb. 3 in the American Journal of Transplantation.

“We would hope to see better medication compliance with the new regimen since it does not involve taking multiple medications every day,” Vincenti said.

Study patients received standard immunosuppressants at first, but these were discontinued by day 28 in favour of the infusions for the remainder of the 48-week study.

Two of the first three patients experienced organ rejection, which was effectively treated and the rejection reversed. Drug frequency and dosing were revised in response for the remaining patients, 13 of whom completed the study. Seven patients withdrew due to acute kidney rejection, side effects, or for unspecified reasons.

The next phase of the study will determine if these early findings are replicated in a large patient pool, said senior author Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at Duke University School of Medicine.

“We hope that most patients can be spared the toxic effects of immunosuppressants, which would be reserved for those with certain high-risk factors,” said Kirk.

Source: University of California San Francisco

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

Men’s Heart Attack Risk Climbs by Mid-30s, Years Before Women

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Decades-long US study suggests prevention and screening should start earlier in adulthood

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Men begin developing coronary heart disease – which can lead to heart attacks – years earlier than women, with differences emerging as early as the mid-30s, according to a large, long-term study led by Northwestern Medicine.

The findings, based on more than three decades of patient follow-up, suggest that heart disease prevention and screening should start earlier in adulthood, particularly for men.

“That timing may seem early, but heart disease develops over decades, with early markers detectable in young adulthood,” said study senior author Alexa Freedman, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“Screening at an earlier age can help identify risk factors sooner, enabling preventive strategies that reduce long-term risk.”

Older studies have consistently shown that men tend to experience heart disease earlier than women. But over the past several decades, risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes have become more similar between the sexes. So, it was surprising to find that the gap hasn’t narrowed, Freedman said.

To better understand why sex differences in heart disease persist, Freedman and her colleagues say it’s important to look beyond standard measures such as cholesterol and blood pressure and consider a broader range of biological and social factors.

Tracking heart disease from young adulthood

The study analysed data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, which enrolled more than 5100 Black and white adults ages 18 to 30 in the mid-1980s and followed them through 2020.

Because participants were healthy young adults at enrollment, the scientists were able to pinpoint when cardiovascular disease risk first began to diverge between men and women. Men reached 5% incidence of cardiovascular disease (defined broadly to include heart attack, stroke and heart failure) about seven years earlier than women (50.5 versus 57.5 years).

The difference was driven largely by coronary heart disease. Men reached a 2% incidence of coronary heart disease more than a decade earlier than women, while rates of stroke were similar and differences in heart failure emerged later in life. “This was still a relatively young sample – everyone was under 65 at last follow-up – and stroke and heart failure tend to develop later in life,” Freedman explained.

Beyond traditional risk factors

The scientists examined whether differences in blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, smoking, diet, physical activity and body weight could explain the earlier onset of heart disease in men. While some factors, particularly hypertension, explained part of the gap, overall cardiovascular health did not fully account for the difference, suggesting other biological or social factors may be involved.

A critical age: 35

One of the most striking findings was when the risk gap opened. The scientists found that men and women had similar cardiovascular risk through their early 30s. Around age 35, however, men’s risk began to rise faster and stayed higher through midlife. Heart disease screening and prevention efforts often focus on adults over 40. The new findings suggest that approach may miss an important window.

The authors highlight the relatively new American Heart Association’s PREVENT risk equations, which can predict heart disease starting at age 30, as a promising tool for earlier intervention.

By Ben Schamisso

Source: Northwestern University

Categories : Cancer

More People in the US Are Living 5 Years After Cancer Diagnosis

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Northwestern experts explain the new milestone and what it means for patients and the future of research

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The American Cancer Society recently released its 2026 statistics report, showing for the first time that 70% of people diagnosed with cancer in the US survive at least five years.

The report highlights especially large survival gains for some of the deadliest cancers, including myeloma, liver cancer and lung cancer, reflecting advances in lifestyle change, early detection, research and targeted therapies.

Northwestern Now spoke to three Northwestern oncologists about what the survival milestone means for patients and the future of research.

For the remaining 30%

“This is a major improvement from the past and the outcome of important cancer research. The challenge is now how we can get the same outcome for the remaining 30% of patients, and how we can do that as soon as possible.”

– Dr. Leonidas Platanias, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University

Through decades of sustained investment

“Behind every statistic in this report is a person, a family and a life reshaped by cancer. The progress we’re seeing is real, and it exists because of decades of sustained investment in cancer research that has led to earlier detection, more effective treatments and more personalized care. Critically, as more patients survive cancer, success must be measured not just in years added, but in the quality of those years. Our responsibility now is to keep going. Continued support for research is not optional; it’s the reason these gains are possible, and it’s how we ensure that every patient has a chance at a longer, fuller life.”

– Dr. Mohamed Abazeed, chair and professor of radiation oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Considering quality of life

“We need to think about survivorship beyond survival,” Abazeed said. “As more patients live longer with or after cancer, quality of life, functional outcomes, and long-term toxicity become central clinical priorities, not just survival at five years.”

By Ben Schamisso

Source: Northwestern University

Categories : UncategorizedTags :

New Study Reveals that Sex Hormones Reset Circadian Clocks

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The findings may shed new light on disruptions to the circadian clocks during menstruation, pregnancy and menopause

Disruptions to circadian clocks can lead to a wide range of health problems, from sleep disturbances to diabetes and cancer. But there has been no certainty about the identity of the body’s substances that can “shift” these clocks forward or backward and, when altered, potentially cause such disruptions.

A new study from Prof Gad Asher’s lab at the Weizmann Institute of Science, now published in Nature Communications, reveals that sex hormones play a central role in aligning the cellular clocks with one another and with the environment. The research team, led by Drs Gal Manella, Saar Ezagouri and Nityanand Bolshette, showed that female sex hormones – especially progesterone – together with the stress hormone cortisol, have a dramatic effect on the clocks.

It is already known that circadian clocks are affected not only by external signals such as sunlight but also by signals carried through the bloodstream. Until now, however, these blood-borne signals had not been fully mapped, and there was no certainty about the component within the clock that serves as their “point of entry.” The reason: Researchers lacked a precise method for tracking the clock’s response to different signals over a full 24-hour cycle.

In recent years, Prof Asher’s lab – an international leader in studying the molecular mechanisms of circadian clocks – developed an ingenious method that uses an array of human cells each representing a different “time of day.” It resembles a wall lined with clocks showing the current time in major cities around the world. The new approach enabled the researchers, for the first time and with unprecedented precision, to map how the cellular clocks are synchronized by blood-borne signals.

In addition to uncovering the influence of sex hormones, the study revealed that the clock component receiving these signals is the protein Cry2, rather than Per2, as previously believed.

The “ticking” of a circadian clock inside a human cell over the course of 24 hours. A fluorescent marker allows scientists to tell “what time it is” at any given moment

“The levels of sex hormones change throughout life – during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, hormone therapy, contraceptive use and various disease states. These conditions are also known to be associated with disturbances to circadian clocks,” Asher notes. “Our new findings suggest that these disturbances are linked to interactions between sex hormones and the mechanisms that synchronize circadian clocks.”

Source: Weizmann Institute of Science

Categories : Lab Tests and Imaging Respiratory DiseasesTags :

Point-of-care Rapid Tests can Improve Screening for Latent Tuberculosis

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A new test shows promising results for detecting latent tuberculosis infection in resource-limited settings. This is according to a study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

“This test can help more people with latent tuberculosis to be detected and receive preventive treatment, especially in rural areas in countries with limited resources,” says last author Lina Davies Forsman, a researcher at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet.

Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. To reduce the number of new cases, infected individuals with latent infection must be detected and offered preventive treatment to avoid active tuberculosis, which can spread the disease to others.

Currently, latent tuberculosis is often diagnosed using a laboratory test called QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus. This test involves several steps and can take one to two days before the results are available, as well as requiring advanced laboratory infrastructure and trained personnel. This makes it difficult to carry out tests in areas with a high prevalence of tuberculosis where access to laboratories and trained personnel is limited.

Results within 15 minutes

In the new study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet, together with colleagues in Vietnam, have therefore compared this test with another test, TB-Feron. This is a point-of-care test that provides results within 15 minutes and does not require an advanced laboratory or trained personnel.

The study included 345 adult participants in Hanoi, Vietnam, divided into three groups: people with confirmed tuberculosis, people in the same household as people with infectious tuberculosis, and people with no known exposure to tuberculosis. All were tested with both TB-Feron and the established laboratory test QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus.

The results show that TB-Feron has high sensitivity – 88 percent of individuals with expected positive results were correctly identified. The corresponding figure for QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus was 92 percent.

However, the specificity, i.e. TB-Feron’s ability to rule out tuberculosis infection in healthy individuals, was moderate at 70 percent. The corresponding figure for QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus was 96 percent.

Among household contacts, the concordance between TB-Feron and the established test was good, with 92 percent concordance for positive samples.

“It is promising that TB-Feron works so well in an environment with a high disease burden. The test is patient-friendly and easy to use, with rapid same-day results, making it useful in primary care,” says Han Thi Nguyen, pulmonologist and doctoral student at the same department and first author of the study.

The researchers also investigated the reliability of TB-Feron by comparing results from two different groups with laboratory staff. No systematic differences were observed, indicating good reproducibility.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

Categories : NeurologyTags :

Antidepressants not Linked to Serious Complications from TBI

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Taking certain antidepressants at the time of a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not associated with an increased risk of death, brain surgery or longer hospital stays, according to a study published on January 28, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, researchers looked at serotonergic antidepressants, which treat anxiety and depression by increasing serotonin activity in the brain. These included selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).

“Concerns have previously been raised that serotonergic antidepressants might increase the risk of bleeding in the brain or complicate early recovery after traumatic brain injury,” said study author Jussi P. Posti, MD, PhD, of the University of Turku in Finland. “However, our study found no evidence to support those concerns.” The study included 54 876 people in Finland who were 16 or older when hospitalised with a TBI. A total of 14% used serotonergic antidepressants at the time of the TBI.

Researchers reviewed national prescription records for preinjury antidepressant use and medical records to determine how many people died within a month, whether they needed emergency brain surgery, and how long they stayed in the hospital. A total of 4105 people died within a month. This included 7.6% of those taking antidepressants and 7.5% of people who did not. After adjusting for factors such as age, sex and other health conditions, researchers found people taking antidepressants before injury were no more likely to die within a month than those not taking them.

Antidepressant users were slightly less likely to require emergency brain surgery to relieve pressure or bleeding in the brain and prevent further damage. Of the total participants, 6.8% of the antidepressant users and 8.6% of those who did not use antidepressants needed emergency brain surgery. After adjustments, antidepressant users had an 11% lower risk. The amount of time in the hospital was the same for both groups.

“These findings provide reassurance for people who take antidepressants that antidepressant use does not appear to worsen early recovery after traumatic brain injury,” said Posti. “Future studies should examine whether these results hold true for long-term recovery and across different health care settings.”

A limitation of the study was that it was conducted only at hospitals and health care centres in Finland, so results may vary in other areas. The study was supported by the Finnish government, the Paulo Foundation, Paavo Nurmi Foundation, Research Council of Finland, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation and Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research.

Source: American Academy of Neurology