Treatment of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis has been greatly improved by the introduction of biologic therapies such as infliximab (which targets tumour necrosis factor alpha), but at considerable cost. A recent analysis of results from 11 published studies including 829 patients shows that a new and lower-cost biosimilar for infliximab—called CT-P13 (Remsima/Inflectra)—has excellent clinical...
Category: <span>Research Updates</span>
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Protein HMGB1 may be the key to better asthma treatment
A new study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, investigates a potential new approach to designing drugs for the treatment of asthma. Better interventions could be on the horizon. With asthma cases on the rise, research looking at novel drug targets is more important than ever. Asthma causes an individual’s airways to become inflamed...
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Physical therapy proves as effective as surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome
Physical therapy is as effective as surgery in treating carpal tunnel syndrome, according to a new study published in the March 2017 issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy® (JOSPT®). Researchers in Spain and the United States report that one year following treatment, patients with carpal tunnel syndrome who received physical therapy achieved results...
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Asthma drugs could prevent deadly form of pneumonia, research suggests
Researchers Amber Cardani, PhD, and Thomas J. Braciale, MD, PhD, have determined that early administration of two drugs commonly used to treat asthma and allergies may prevent a deadly form of viral pneumonia. Two drugs used to treat asthma and allergies may offer a way to prevent a form of pneumonia that can kill...
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Google Research and Daydream Labs: Seeing eye to eye in mixed reality
Virtual reality lets you experience amazing things—from exploring new worlds, to painting with trails of stars, to defending your fleet to save the world. But, headsets can get in the way. If you’re watching someone else use VR, it’s hard to tell what’s going on and what they’re seeing. And if you’re in VR with...
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Could hearing loss be treated with a shot to the ear?
Scientists can now regrow the inner ear cells that convert sound waves to nerve signals If you’ve ever been warned about listening to too much loud music, then you may have heard that the sound-processing cells in our inner ear are killed by loud noises … and they don’t regenerate. Well, it’s true. Known as hair...
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Fasting-Mimicking Diet Promotes Ngn3-Driven β-Cell Regeneration to Reverse Diabetes
Highlights Fasting mimicking diet induces prenatal-development gene expression in adult pancreas FMD promotes Ngn3 expression to generate insulin-producing β cells Cycles of FMD reverse β-cell failure and rescue mice from T1D and T2D Inhibition of PKA or mTOR promotes Ngn3-driven β-cell regeneration in human T1D islets Summary Stem-cell-based therapies can potentially reverse organ dysfunction and...
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Dietary supplement derived from tree bark shows promise for treating obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a narrowing of the airway that cuts off breathing, and people who are obese are at higher risk for the disorder. MIT researchers have discovered that a dietary supplement called yohimbine reverses the …more Obstructive sleep apnea, which causes people to briefly stop breathing while asleep, affects an estimated...
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Type 2 diabetes prevented in 80 per cent of at-risk patients thanks to repurposed drug
Prediabetes progresses into diabetes in 5-10 per cent of patients within ten years, say researchers. A weight loss drug has reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 80 per cent compared to placebo. The drug, which increases the amount of appetite-supressing hormones produced by the gut, was tested on overweight people with ‘prediabetes’. This...
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La Jolla’s low blood pressure treatment clears key study
Feb 27 (Reuters) – La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co said its lead experimental drug to treat low blood pressure met the main goal of a late-stage study on patients with distributive shock who have not adequately responded to existing treatments. Distributive shock is a state in which the heart is pumping well enough, but the blood...