Patients at risk of atrial fibrillation may need additional monitoring after heart surgery

Atrial fibrillation (AF), an irregular heartbeat that can increase the likelihood of stroke, was detected up to 10 times more frequently in high risk patients recovering from heart surgery who wore a continuous cardiac monitor for a month, compared to patients who had usual follow-up care following their procedure, according to late breaking research presented […]

Arthritis drug may improve Covid-19 survival among elderly patients, says study

A drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis may reduce the risk of dying for elderly patients with Covid-19, and provide a new weapon in the arsenal against the novel coronavirus, according to a study. In the research, published in the journal Science Advances, 83 patients with a median age of 81 and all suffering from […]

RECOVERY Trial Data Monitoring Committee Recommends Continuing Evaluation of REGN-COV2 in All Hospitalized Patients

November 5, 2020 — Regeneron announced today an update from the independent data monitoring committee (DMC) for the United Kingdom-based RECOVERY trial evaluating REGN-COV2 in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. The DMC reviewed available safety and efficacy data for the 15,545 total patients randomized, including the 325 patients who were in the arm randomized to receive […]

Black patients with lupus have three times higher risk of stroke

New research reveals that, in the U.S., Black patients with lupus have a threefold higher risk of stroke and a 24-fold higher risk of ischemic heart disease. The study also found several lupus-specific symptoms that predict stroke and IHD in these patients. Details of the study was presented at ACR Convergence, the American College Rheumatology’s […]

Baricitinib treatment linked to reduced mortality in COVID-19 patients

The rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib can block viral entry and reduce mortality in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, according to translational research by an international team coordinated by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, support the continuation of ongoing randomized clinical trials. “We are pleased to […]

Tezepelumab NAVIGATOR Phase III Trial Met Primary Endpoint of a Statistically Significant and Clinically Meaningful Reduction in Exacerbations in a Broad Population of Patients with Severe Asthma

10 November 2020 — AstraZeneca and Amgen today announced positive results from the NAVIGATOR Phase III trial for the potential new medicine tezepelumab in patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma. NAVIGATOR met the primary endpoint with tezepelumab added to standard of care (SoC) demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically — meaningful1 reduction in the annualised asthma […]

COVID-19 patients infect half of household: CDC study

People who develop COVID-19 infect around half of their household members, with adults only slightly more likely than children to spread the virus, a US government study said Friday. The paper by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the latest to attempt to quantify the household transmission rate of the disease, with […]

GeneTx and Ultragenyx Announce Positive Interim Phase 1/2 Data on Investigational GTX-102 Demonstrating Improvement in Patients with Angelman Syndrome

SARASOTA, Fla. and NOVATO, Calif., Oct. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GeneTx Biotherapeutics LLC and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: RARE), companies partnered in the development of intrathecally administered GTX-102, an investigational treatment for Angelman syndrome, today announced positive interim data from the Phase 1/2 study of GTX-102. Preliminary results from the first five patients treated […]

COVID-19 Patients More Often Have Vitamin D Deficiency

TUESDAY, Oct. 27, 2020 — Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 more often have a vitamin D deficiency than population-based controls, and in COVID-19 patients, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) is inversely associated with some inflammatory parameters, according to a study published online Oct. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. José L. Hernández, Ph.D., from the […]