News & Comment

Most clinical trials to determine optimal tuberculosis (TB) treatment regimens have been carried out in adults. A recent randomised control clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine compared the response in children following 4 or 6 months of standard first-line anti-TB treatment and found it to be similar.

A number of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell-based therapies are now approved by the FDA for the treatment of cancer. A study published in Nature found that CAR T cells are still present in two patients who remain cancer-free over a decade after they received CAR T cell therapy as part of a clinical trial.

Space flight takes its toll on the human body. A recent study in Nature Medicine sought to characterise the physiological mechanisms through which anaemia arises in astronauts on long-duration space flight.

The causes of multiple sclerosis are unclear, but viral infection has been proposed as a possible trigger. A longitudinal analysis in a large cohort published in Science found that the risk of multiple sclerosis increased 32-fold following infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Drugs can modify the microbiome and, reciprocally, the microbiome can impact drug efficacy. A recent study in Nature identifies a potential mechanism through which oral and gut bacteria selectively inhibit the antidiabetic drug acarbose.

High ambient temperatures are associated with adverse health effects and increased death. A recent article published in The BMJ found an association between extreme heat and an increase in the number of visits to the emergency department by adults in the USA.

The most common complication after surgery is surgical site infection. A recent randomised controlled clinical trial published in The Lancet compared the rate of infections following four different wound closure regimes in low-income and middle-income countries.

HPV infection causes the majority of cases of cervical cancer but can be prevented via vaccination. A new study in The Lancet reports a substantial reduction in cervical cancer incidence after the introduction of the HPV immunisation programme in England.

People with psychiatric disorders often experience sleep problems. A recent post hoc cross-sectional study in PLoS Medicine used movement readings from participants’ wrists to assess their sleep and then investigated associations with several psychiatric disorders.

Air pollution is a major cause of poor health and premature death, but evidence on the impact of changing levels of air pollution on mortality rates is scarce. A recent study in The BMJ shows that relocating to an area with improved air quality is associated with decreased mortality.

High levels of salt in the diet have been associated with high blood pressure and poor cardiovascular health. A recent trial in The New England Journal of Medicine investigates whether a salt substitute could decrease the rate of strokes, other cardiovascular events and deaths in a high risk population.

Reducing energy intake is known to result in weight loss. However, there is a need for real-world data on the impact of specific interventions to reduce energy intake. A recent trial in PLOS Medicine evaluated whether reductions in portion size and in the availability of high energy foods in workplace cafeterias could reduce energy consumption.

Regenerative medicine may offer strategies to alleviate the debilitating symptoms of osteoarthritis and delay the time to joint replacement. In a study now published in Science Translational Medicine, Acevedo Rua and colleagues provide evidence of the therapeutic potential of autologous nasal chondrocyte-derived cartilage grafts in repairing arthritis-damaged knee joints.

Improvements in life expectancy have stalled over the last ten years in England, prompting research into the underlying causes. A recent study in The Lancet Public Health examines the relationship between cuts to local government funding and mortality in England.

KRAS is one of the most commonly mutated oncogenes in lung cancer but has long been considered undruggable. With the recent FDA approval of sotorasib, supported by positive phase II trial data now published in The New England Journal of Medicine, this is no longer the case.

Dengue virus is transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and causes the disease known as dengue. In a trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Utarini and colleagues report that release of wolbachia-infected A. aegypti populations in a dengue endemic area reduces the number of symptomatic cases and of hospitalisations.

Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) deposition in the brain is an early feature of Alzheimers’ disease. In a phase II clinical trial recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Mintun and colleagues report on the safety and efficacy of an antibody targeting Aβ peptide in amyloid plaques for the treatment of participants with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.

In patients with high cholesterol and at risk of cardiovascular disease, inhibitors of PCSK9 are useful in lowering lipid levels but must be dosed regularly. A recent study in Nature by Munsunuru and colleagues explores the possibility of permanently disrupting PCSK9 expression via in vivo CRISPR gene editing in non-human primates, with long-lasting reductions in LDL cholesterol.