Blood cancers like multiple myeloma have long been considered incurable, but in the last decade, the development of precision immunotherapy treatments has offered patients months or even years of extended life. One such treatment, known as CAR-T cell therapy, turns immune system T cells into killers of cancer cells. They have been so transformative that
A comprehensive review of all the evidence available from randomized controlled trials of COVID 19 vaccines up to November 2021 has concluded that most protect against infection and severe or critical illness caused by the virus. The review, performed by a collaboration of independent, international experts, and published in Cochrane Library also found there was
Scientists have identified a drug that can be repurposed to prevent COVID-19 in research involving a unique mix of ‘mini-organs’, donor organs, animal studies and patients. The research, published today in Nature, showed that an existing drug used to treat a type of liver disease is able to ‘lock’ the doorway by which SARS-CoV-2 enters our
In a new study, researchers sought to determine the percentage of COVID-19 patients discharged from the hospital who had a type of fibrotic lung damage, known as interstitial lung disease, that requires ongoing follow-up care. These patients had varying degrees of COVID-19 severity at hospital admission. In a new study published online in the American
Less is known about the impact of Covid-19 infection among children compared to adults. Why do children experience milder symptoms on average compared to adults? Do children experience Long Covid, and what makes them different? What is MIS-C and what is its prevalence? A recent perspective published by Science explores current research and provides answers to these
LMU researchers demonstrate in a zebrafish model that two proteins prevent scar formation in the brain, thereby improving the ability of tissue to regenerate. Whereas cells regularly renew themselves in most endogenous tissues, the number of nerve cells in the human brain and spinal cord remains constant. Although nerve cells can regenerate in the brains
A cross-institutional effort between researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Duke University has yielded exciting progress in the search for new therapeutics against Covid-19. Where much of our current anti-SARS-CoV-2 arsenal is built around the virus’ spike (S) protein, many other proteins contribute to the viral life cycle as well. This includes the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which
Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have found that severe COVID-19 is associated with an imbalance in an important immune system signaling pathway. The discovery helps explain at the molecular level why some people infected by SARS-CoV-2 develop a potentially fatal systemic inflammation. It also paves the way to the development
Are the currently approved antibody therapies used to treat individuals at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease also effective against currently circulating viral variants? A recent study by researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ) – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg shows that the Omicron sub-lineage BQ.1.1, currently on the rise
Researchers have engineered a family of adeno-associated viral vectors that cross the blood-brain barrier in primate models. Gene therapies can treat, even potentially cure, certain genetic diseases, but it is challenging to deliver the treatments to the parts of the body where they are needed. Researchers have engineered viruses called adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to deliver
