Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Research Roundup: COVID Antibodies; Malaria; Autism; Lymphoma; Gonorrhea
CIDRAP: NIAID Enrolling Participants In Two COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Trials
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) yesterday announced that it is enrolling participants for two phase 3 trials of two different monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19. The trials are enrolling healthy adults at risk for infection due to close contact at work or home, and the investigations are part of the COVID-19 Prevention Network recently established by NIAID, the group said in a news release. Anthony Fauci, MD, NIAID's director, said the network is designed to conduct large-scale trials rapidly and efficiently. (8/11)
Nature Medicine: The Potential Public Health Consequences Of COVID-19 On Malaria In Africa
In the present study, we attempt to quantify the potential impact of the spread of COVID-19 on Plasmodium falciparum malaria morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and across SSA using mathematical models of COVID-194 and malaria9. We assume that one disease does not directly influence the transmission or severity of the other, but that COVID-19 impacts malaria via the response to the epidemic and its repercussions on health systems. Predictions of the timing and magnitude of COVID-19 epidemics across African countries are highly uncertain and will vary according to how individual countries respond to COVID-19. (Sherrard-Smith et al, 8/7)
American Academy of Pediatrics: Primary Care Autism Screening And Later Autism Diagnosis
A majority of children were screened for ASD, but disparities exist among those screened. Benefits for screen-positive children are improved detection and younger age of diagnosis. Performance of the M-CHAT can be improved in real-world health care settings by administering screens with fidelity and facilitating timely ASD evaluations for screen-positive children. Providers should continue to monitor for signs of ASD in screen-negative children. (Carbone et al, 8/1)
Nature Medicine: A Peripheral Immune Signature Of Responsiveness To PD-1 Blockade In Patients With Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
PD-1 blockade is highly effective in classical Hodgkin lymphomas (cHLs), which exhibit frequent copy-number gains of CD274 (PD-L1) and PDC1LG2 (PD-L2) on chromosome 9p24.1. However, in this largely MHC-class-I-negative tumor, the mechanism of action of anti-PD-1 therapy remains undefined. We utilized the complementary approaches of T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing and cytometry by time-of-flight analysis to obtain a peripheral immune signature of responsiveness to PD-1 blockade in 56 patients treated in the CheckMate 205 phase II clinical trial (NCT02181738). (Zumla Cader et al, 8/10)
CIDRAP: Molecular Test Targets Ciprofloxacin-Susceptible Gonorrhea
Experts in antibiotic resistance and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have long been worried about the growing resistance to the antibiotics used to treat gonorrhea. And with the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of gonorrhea in recent years, those concerns have taken on a new urgency. (Dall, 8/10)
