Omar Ford Quest Diagnostics is diving into a quickly growing segment of liquid biopsy with its latest M&A prospect. The Secaucus, NJ-based company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Haystack Oncology in an all-cash equity transaction. Quest will pay $300 million in cash at closing and Haystack has the potential to obtain up to an additional $150 million in performance milestones. If the deal were to close, then Quest would inherit Baltimore, MD – based Haystack’s minimal residual disease testing technology. MRD testing is a specific category of liquid biopsy that identifies circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in the bloodstream of patients following surgery and treatment for cancer. In a prospective, multi-institution study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2022, an earlier version of the Haystack technology demonstrated the ability to better identify patients with residual disease for adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for stage II colon cancer, thereby reducing ...
In a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers explored the impact of ketogenic dieting on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. Background Due to the escalating obesity levels, the ketogenic (keto) diet has been studied as a potential remedy for overweight patients’ deteriorating weight gain, cardiovascular outcomes, and insulin resistance. Though popular as a comparatively safe, non-pharmaceutical therapy, the long-term effects of the keto diet for weight loss are not fully understood, and most professional medical societies do not advise this regimen. Some individuals on a ketogenic diet may experience a significant rise in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels due to its high saturated fatty acid content. About the study In the present study, researchers described a cohort of patients whose LDL-cholesterol levels rose to an unprecedented level after beginning a ketogenic diet. The team evaluated medical records of patients who ...
The company discontinued about 20 early-stage projects after reviewing their strategic fit and commercial potential. Novartis said Tuesday it will discontinue or license out 10% of its clinical development projects after reviewing their strategic fit and sales potential. The Swiss drugmaker has trimmed its drug pipeline to 136 projects, down by 16 from the 152 disclosed in its fourth quarter earnings report, according to a presentation Tuesday. The biggest cutbacks came to its early-stage projects, with 19 programs cut. Half of those were early-stage programs testing drugs for solid tumors. The move comes one year after Novartis resized its business and narrowed its research focus to five core therapeutic areas — cardiovascular, immunology, neuroscience, solid tumors and hematology. It expects to save at least $1 billion annually by 2024 as a result. “We systematically looked at the pipeline, identified projects that were outside the scope ...
The high rate of obesity has become a growing problem in the modern world. Obesity is associated with the incidence of several comorbidities, such as cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. Despite weight loss being considered the most important remedy for obesity, long-term weight maintenance is also important. Background Metabolic adaptation, i.e., adaptive thermogenesis (AT), could be the key factor preventing long-term weight-loss maintenance. AT causes a decrease in energy expenditure, which is significantly more than the predictions based on reductions in fat mass (FM) or fat-free mass (FFM). Energy expenditure adaptations have been found to last multiple years after a weight loss period. Therefore, after weight loss, a reduction in AT is extremely important for long-term weight loss maintenance. Some factors have been identified to reduce AT, such as physical activity, cold-induced brown adipose tissue activation, tea catechins, and capsaicinoids. Furthermore, high protein (HP) intake was also ...
Arterial stiffness may be a novel risk factor for metabolic syndrome in teens, a paper published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology concludes. The study was conducted in collaboration between the University of Bristol in the UK, the University of Exeter in the UK, and the University of Eastern Finland. The presence of any three of high blood pressure, high trunk fat mass, high fasting glucose, high fasting triglyceride and low fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol describes metabolic syndrome. Arterial stiffness in adolescents measured with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity may potentially cause metabolic syndrome in young adulthood via an increase in fasting insulin resistance and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Image Credit: Andrew Agbaje. The World Health Organization describes metabolic syndrome as the constellation of three or more of the following: abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in US middle-aged adults is 30%, ...
In a recent study published in Preventive Medicine Reports Journal, researchers performed a randomized clinical trial (RCT) to investigate whether adhering to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) with or without limiting calorie intake could improve cognition. Background Obesity, lifestyle choices including diet and exercise, and cardiometabolic comorbidities elevate the risk of cognitive decline. To date, there are no efficient pharmaceutical therapeutics available to prevent, retard, or manage cognitive deficits. However, studies have shown that MedDiet and weight loss benefit cognition, and combining the two may enhance cognitive function. However, RCTs have shown inconsistent results, with either a favorable or negligible impact of nutrition on cognition, warranting further research. About the study In the present three-arm RCT, researchers evaluated the potential cognitive benefit of adhering to MedDiet with or without limiting calorie intake. The Building Research in Diet and Cognition study was conducted between January 2017 and ...
If you have type 2 diabetes, drinking more coffee, tea or plain water may lower your risk of dying prematurely from any cause by about 25%, a new study found. However, drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages raised the risk of heart disease by 25% and the risk of dying from a heart attack or another cardiovascular event by 29%, the study said. Research has shown cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes. “Certain beverages are absolutely more beneficial than others, depending on which type of beverage you’re comparing,” said study author Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “Based on our study I would rank black coffee, unsweetened tea and plain water higher than low-fat milk, fruit juice or artificially sweetened beverages,” he said. “Sugar-sweetened beverages like ...
A new study investigates the risk of electromagnetic interference with pacemakers and defibrillators when using high power electric vehicle chargers. Amanda Pedersen | Apr 19, 2023 With the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, you might be wondering if it’s safe to drive or charge one of these bad boys if you have a pacemaker or defibrillator. According to a new study, presented this week at the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) in Barcelona, Spain, the answer is yes – so long as you don’t place the charging cable directly over your cardiac device, or stay near the charging cable for extended lengths of time. The study was also published in EP Europace, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology, which hosts the EHRA scientific congress. “The new high power charging stations for electric cars have the potential to create strong electromagnetic fields and cause electromagnetic interference in pacemakers and defibrillators, leading them to malfunction,” said study author ...
Investigators also highlighted long-standing concerns that modified devices may bear little resemblance to the device originally FDA-approved. Katie Hobbins | Apr 19, 2023 Recently, a study published in JAMA Network Open reported that high-risk medical devices whose manufacturers file supplements to the FDA so modifications can be made to PMA-approved products are 30% more likely to be the subject of any recall and high-risk Class I recall. Makers of Class III PMA devices are offered five different types of supplements to allow for product improvements. Only one of the supplements — namely, panel track supplements — actually require clinical evidence for implementation and, as such, are the least-used type of the five, (approximately 1%). In contrast, the most used supplement type is a 30-day notice. A 30-day notice is used when a company makes changes to a manufacturing procedure or the way it makes a device. In the study, investigators analyzed devices approved through ...
In a recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers assessed the impact of consuming dietary flavanols on the likelihood of developing frailty. Frailty affects 10% to 15% of older persons and is causally associated with various age-related physiological changes. The need for research in the prevention and treatment of frailty is highlighted by the absence of effective therapies for frailty. Identifying risk factors associated with frailty is crucial for creating interventions that can delay, undo, or prevent its onset. A meta-analysis of several studies found that following a healthy dietary pattern may reduce the risk of frailty onset by 50% to 70%. Flavonoids have the potential to reduce inflammation and frailty development by mitigating the accumulation of oxidative stress and targeting the reduction of age-related senescent cells. About the study In the present study, researchers investigated the relationship between dietary flavonoids, including their subclasses ...
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