COVID-19 rebound after taking Paxlovid likely due to insufficient drug exposure
Paxlovid is the leading oral medication for preventing severe cases of COVID-19 in high-risk individuals. However, symptoms returned in some patients after treatment was completed, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a health advisory on this so-called "COVID-19 rebound."
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Novel drug combo activates natural killer cell immunity to destroy cancer cells
Most skin cancer drugs that activate the immune system work by triggering immune cells, called T cells, to attack tumors, but when T cells are activated for too long, they can wear out and cease to function. A new study led by Penn State College of Medicine scientists finds that another type of immune cell - natural killer cells - can be harnessed to pick up the slack when T cells no longer work and may also reinvigorate T cells to attack melanoma tumors.
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Broadly neutralizing antibodies could provide immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants
Two broadly neutralizing antibodies show great promise to provide long-acting immunity against COVID-19 in immunocompromised populations according to a paper published June 15 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM). The antibodies were effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern tested and could be used alone or in an antibody cocktail to diminish the risk of infection.
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A new technology offers treatment for HIV infection through a single injection
A new study from Tel Aviv University offers a new and unique treatment for AIDS which may be developed into a vaccine or a one time treatment for patients with HIV. The study examined the engineering of type B white blood cells in the patient's body so as to secrete anti-HIV antibodies in response to the virus.
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Proteomic study of 2,002 tumors identifies 11 pan-cancer molecular subtypes across 14 types of cancer
A new study that analyzed protein levels in 2,002 primary tumors from 14 tissue-based cancer types identified 11 distinct molecular subtypes, providing systematic knowledge that greatly expands a searchable online database that has become a go-to platform for cancer data analysis by users worldwide.
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Sanoff offers perspective on a promising rectal cancer study in the New England Journal of Medicine
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center's Hanna K. Sanoff, MD, MPH, is the author of a viewpoint in the New England Journal of Medicine that provides a perspective on the evolving treatment of rectal cancer. She offers prospects for future treatment of the disease in light of encouraging findings from a study published in the journal that found the immunotherapy drug dostarlimab was especially effective in a phase II clinical trial of a dozen patients with a subtype of rectal cancer.
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Blocking enzyme could hold the key to preventing, treating severe COVID-19
Blocking an immune response-related enzyme holds promise in preventing or treating severe COVID-19 symptoms by reducing inflammation, tissue injury and blood clots in the lungs, new research in mice suggests.
Scientists who have long studied this molecule’s functions in bacterial infections traced development of extensive lung damage in infected mice to heightened levels of the enzyme triggered by the invading SARS-CoV-2 virus.