The guidance focuses on respiratory pathogens, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new initiative to help countries better prepare for future pandemics. The new ‘Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats Initiative’ incorporates the latest tools and approaches for shared learning and collective action established during the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent public health emergencies, according to WHO. The initiative’s first module focuses specifically on responding to the threat or arrival of respiratory pathogens, including influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. This will enable countries to critically review, test and update their respiratory pandemic planning efforts to ensure they have the functional capacities and capabilities in place. A process is currently underway to identify the next group of pathogens, such as arboviruses, to be addressed under this initiative. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said: “Preparedness, prevention, and ...
Researchers have found the “Eat, Sleep, Console” (ESC) care approach to be more effective than using the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool (FNAST) to assess and manage opioid-exposed newborns, according to a national, randomized controlled clinical trial. Newborns cared for with ESC were medically ready for discharge approximately 6.7 days earlier and 63% less likely to receive medication as part of their treatment, compared to newborns cared for with FNAST. ESC prioritizes non-pharmacologic approaches to care, such as a low-stimulation environment, swaddling, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. ESC also encourages parental involvement in the care and assessment of their infants. These findings are based on the hospital outcomes of a large and geographically diverse group of opioid-exposed infants. A two-year follow-up study of a subset of infants is ongoing. The current findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Medical care for newborns who were ...
By LabMedica International staff writers One of the methods for treating bladder cancer involves the use of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, followed by a radical cystectomy only for patients who do not achieve a complete response. Those who do achieve a complete response are closely monitored following chemotherapy and/or radiation and undergo radical cystectomy if cancer reoccurs. However, radical cystectomy is a significant operation that necessitates urinary diversion, leading to life-altering consequences. Now, a new blood test may enable bladder cancer patients to avoid a precautionary cystectomy after immunotherapy treatment. Scientists at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI, Amsterdam, Netherlands) in collaboration with Inivata (Cambridge, UK) have demonstrated that a novel technique can improve the prediction of tumor recurrence. In the study, the scientists examined the blood of bladder cancer patients who had undergone immunotherapy. These patients were part of a high-risk group with an increased likelihood of disease recurrence, placing ...
Through data-analysis, researchers found that people taking long siestas had higher body mass indexes and were more likely to have metabolic syndrome than those who did not take siestas. It is a common custom in some countries for individuals to take a siesta or midday nap. Sleeping during the middle of the day has the potential to affect sleep quality, cognitive function, and metabolic processes. However, the relationship between siestas and metabolic health is not well understood. A new study led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, assessed more than 3,000 adults from a Mediterranean population, examining the relationship of siestas and siesta duration with obesity and metabolic syndrome. The researchers found that those who took siestas of 30 minutes or longer (long siestas) were more likely to have a higher body mass index, higher blood pressure, and ...
Pfizer on Thursday gained U.S. approval of its newest pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for use in children and infants, helping it compete with a rival shot from Merck & Co. that won a similar OK last year. Pfizer’s vaccine, called Prevnar 20, is designed to protect against infection by 20 strains of the bacteria — seven more than the company’s prior Prevnar 13 version. It has been approved in adults since 2021. Last July, Merck won approval in children of its Vaxneuvance vaccine, which protects against 15 strains. Both companies could soon face more competition as the market has sparked interest from other drugmakers. While vaccines for the bacterial infection are widely available, thousands of cases still lead to hospitalization and death in the U.S. each year. In response, Pfizer, Merck and others have worked to develop new shots that offer better protection, particularly against strains that weren’t ...
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 ...
By LabMedica International staff writers Bladder cancer is often fatal, and survival rates have not improved in the past 30 years. Although immunotherapy has revolutionized bladder cancer treatment, it has significant limitations, as most patients do not respond to the therapy. Checkpoint immunotherapy drugs, which enable the body’s immune system to recognize tumors, are effective for only about 20% of bladder cancers. However, it is unclear which patients will benefit and why these drugs are not more effective for all patients. In a breakthrough that could enhance bladder cancer patients’ survival, researchers have now developed a biomarker signature test to predict which tumors will be responsive to immunotherapy. In the new study, scientists at Northwestern Medicine (Chicago, IL, USA), along with multiple international collaborators, identified three types of tumors that could respond to immunotherapy and two that could not. By employing a combination of gene expression profiling, mutations, and spatial ...
Medicare will cover the new Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi for all patients eligible under the medication’s label if the Food and Drug Administration fully approves the drug in July, a federal official told members of Congress on Wednesday. The official, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure testified before Congress Wednesday for the first time since her confirmation as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Brooks-LaSure faced pointed criticism from Democrat and Republican members of the House Subcommittee on Health over Medicare’s controversial coverage policy for new Alzheimer’s treatments. The Food and Drug Administration approved Leqembi, which is a collaboration by Biogen and Eisai antibody treatment, on an expedited basis in January. Twice-monthly intravenous infusions of the drug, generically known as lecanemab, have shown promise in slowing the progression of early Alzheimer’s disease. But Medicare, which primarily provides health coverage to senior citizens, currently will only cover the ...
ChatGPT can be a useful tool for patients who are seeking medical information and guidance, but the artificial intelligence tool can’t fully replace the value of a human physician – it says so itself. “While I am a language model that has been trained on a vast amount of information, I am not a licensed medical professional and I am not capable of providing medical diagnoses, treatments, or advice,” the chatbot wrote in response to a question from CNN. Still, new research published this week suggests that physicians may have some things to learn from the chatbot when it comes to patient communication. A panel of licensed health care professionals assessed responses to about 200 different medical questions posed to a public online forum, including patient inquiries about medical diagnoses, need for medical attention and more. Responses from ChatGPT were “preferred over physician responses and rated ...
As the nation’s public health emergency expires on May 11, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop reporting its color-coded Covid-19 Community Levels as a way to track the spread of the infection. Instead, the CDC will keep tabs on Covid-19 largely by tracking hospitalizations in some areas, according to a source familiar with the agency’s plans. This is much the same way the agency tracks other respiratory infections, such as the flu. Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator: it generally takes a person a week to 10 days to be hospitalized with a Covid-19 infection. So the switch may mean that the nation is losing its capacity for the earliest warning of an uptick in spread. However, wastewater testing in communities and for air travelers will continue and is expected to close some of those early warning gaps. “We’re not ...
Go to Page Go
your submission has already been received.
OK
Please enter a valid Email address!
Submit
The most relevant industry news & insight will be sent to you every two weeks.