‘Speckles’ Within Cancerous Tumors Can Determine Best Treatments

Newsweek: Cancer Breakthrough As 'Speckles' May Reveal Best Treatment
Patterns of "speckles" in the heart of tumor cells could help predict how patients with a common form of kidney cancer will respond to different treatment options, according to research. Nuclear speckles—microscopic structures found in the nucleus of a cell—were first identified more than a century ago. They are believed to intermingle with DNA and play a role in regulating gene activity. "We found that different therapies are more or less effective depending on how the speckles look," said Professor Katherine Alexander of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in a statement. (Randall, 1/2)

The Wall Street Journal: The Mystery Of What’s Causing Young People’s Cancer Leads To The Gut
Researchers have identified a focal point for the forces they suspect of driving up cancer cases in young people: the gut. They are searching people’s bodies and childhood histories for culprits. Rates of gastrointestinal cancers among people under 50 are increasing across the globe. In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men under 50 and second for women behind breast cancer. Each generation born since the 1950s has had higher risk than the one before. (Abbott, 1/3)

Health News Florida: A Study Raises Complex Questions About Unconscious Patients
Questions about how aware brain-injured patients might be have always been wrenching for loved ones. A new study, while shedding light on the unconscious, unfortunately won’t make those questions any easier to handle. An international research team found that about 1 in 4 patients who appear completely unresponsive might, in fact, be conscious but unable to physically show that awareness. (Anderson, 1/2)

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CIDRAP: Paxlovid Tied To Lower Risk Of Hospital Stay, Heart Problems, Death In Adults With Kidney Disease And COVID
The antiviral drug nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) was linked to a lower risk of hospitalization within 30 days and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and death at 1 year in adults with COVID-19 and chronic kidney disease (CKD) or kidney failure, finds a study this week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 1/2)

Newsweek: These Foods Could Help Your Body Fight COVID
Licorice is one of a number of foods that might benefit people with COVID-19, according to research from Iran. A five-day randomized controlled trial tested the effects of taking licorice root extract versus a placebo on 51 adults who were critically ill with COVID-19 and receiving standard treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) of Alzhahra Teaching Hospital, Iran. The group taking licorice left the ICU after an average of 13.1 days while the placebo group stayed for 25 days, suggesting that licorice might be effective against COVID-19. (Willmoth, 1/2)

Stat: Neumora’s Antidepressant Stumbles In First Phase 3 Trial Readout
A new depression treatment developed by startup Neumora Therapeutics failed in a Phase 3 clinical trial — the company’s first late-stage readout. The drug, navacaprant, failed to show a meaningful improvement in depression scores compared to placebo, the company reported Thursday. (DeAngelis, 1/2)

CIDRAP: Survey Finds High Hesitancy Toward Mpox Vaccination In Africa
A survey of African adults found a significant level of hesitancy toward mpox vaccination, both for themselves and for their children, researchers reported this week in eClinicalMedicine. The survey, conducted among 1,832 adults from Uganda, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa from October 1 to 10, 2024, found that 32.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25.4% to 40%) were reluctant to receive the mpox vaccine, and 38.9% (95% CI, 30.2% to 47.6%) of parents were reluctant to have their children vaccinated against mpox. (Dall, 1/2)