Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs

NBC News: MRNA Vaccines Show Promise Against Pancreatic Cancer In Early Trial  
Personalized mRNA vaccines show promise as pancreatic cancer treatment, a phase 1 clinical trial published Wednesday in Nature found. Fewer than 13% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer live for more than five years, making it one of the deadliest types of cancer. That is, in part, because around 90% of cases are diagnosed when the disease is already advanced. (Sullivan, 2/19)

MedPage Today: Higher Calcium Intake Linked To Reduced Colorectal Cancer Risk 
Higher calcium intake was consistently associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) across calcium sources and tumor sites, according to a cohort study using data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Among over 470,000 participants who were cancer-free at baseline, higher total calcium intake was associated with a lower risk of CRC, ... reported Erikka Loftfield, PhD, MPH, of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues. (DeBenedette, 2/18)

MedPage Today: First-Ever Prenatal Treatment For Spinal Muscular Atrophy Shows Promise
The first prenatal therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) showed promising results, a case report indicated. More than 2 years after the child was born, no identifiable features of SMA have been observed, reported Richard Finkel, MD, of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and colleagues in a correspondence to the New England Journal of Medicine. (George, 2/19)

Research on flu, covid, RSV, and more —

CIDRAP: Hospital Air Cleaners May Boost Aerosol Spread Of Viruses In Some Areas 
Built-in mechanical ventilation and portable air cleaners (PACs), used by hospitals to help mitigate the spread of viruses, may actually spread viruses and other pathogens in some instances, according to new research from scientists at the University College London (UCL). The findings were recently published in Aerosol Science and Technology. Particle spread was uneven: In some scenarios, particles were reduced by ventilation and PACs by up to 96%. But the authors also noted that neighboring rooms had unexpectedly increased aerosol migration of 29% due to exhaust mechanics. (Soucheray, 2/19)

CIDRAP: New Calculation Method Estimates 380,000 US Flu Hospitalizations In 2022-23 
In the 2022-23 respiratory virus season, 379,300 people in the United State were hospitalized for influenza, with median cumulative state rates of 23.2 to 249.0 per 100,000 people, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led research team reports. The aim of the study, recently published in the American Journal of Public Health, was to develop a way to use hospital-based surveillance to estimate hospitalizations for flu by state, age, and month and, ultimately, improve flu burden estimation. (Van Beusekom, 2/19)

Northwestern Medicine: New Research Reveals Link Between Long COVID And Eye Health
In the study, researchers used advanced imaging techniques to examine the retinas of non-hospitalized long COVID patients from the Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 Clinic and found that patients with long COVID experienced a significant reduction in the density of blood vessels in the back of the eye, compared to healthy individuals. (2/18)

CIDRAP: Reports Describe Good Maternal RSV Vaccine, Drug Uptake In Their First Season
A study today in JAMA Network Open from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), shows a high uptake of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and the RSV-preventing monoclonal antibody nirsevimab among pregnant women seen during the 2023-24 season, the first RSV season the vaccine and drug were available. A second study, also published today in the same journal, looked at patients seen at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and found a lower uptake of maternal RSV vaccine and nirsevimab (Beyfortus) during the same initial season, but more than half of infants studied were protected. (Soucheray, 2/19)