Clinical

A US medical team said Thursday they had reconstructed a human ear using the patient's own tissue to create a 3D bioimplant, a pioneering procedure they hope can be used to treat people with a rare birth defect.  The surgery was performed as part of an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the implant for people with microtia, in which the external ear is small and not formed properly.AuriNovo, as the implant is called, was developed by the company 3DBio Therapeutics while the surgery was led…

An experimental cancer-killing virus has been administered to a human patient for the first time, with hopes the testing will ultimately reveal evidence of a new means of successfully fighting cancer tumors in people's bodies.  The drug candidate, called CF33-hNIS (aka Vaxinia), is what's called an oncolytic virus, a genetically modified virus designed to selectively infect and kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones.In the case of CF33-hNIS, the modified pox virus works by entering cells and duplicating itself.…

Prosecutors on Friday rested their case against Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani— the top deputy and close confidant to Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes —as the government seeks another fraud conviction against the leaders of the defunct blood-testing startup. Over nine weeks that included testimony from 24 witnesses in San Jose, Calif., prosecutors sought to convince a jury that Mr. Balwani conspired with Ms. Holmes to defraud investors and patients about the startup’s…

Results of STOP-COVID19 trial for severe illness reported at the ATS 2022 international conference. Credit: ATSBrensocatib did not improve the clinical status of patients hospitalized with severe <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>SARS-CoV-2</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the official name of the virus strain that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19).…

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first nonprescription test that can detect Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The test, developed by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, can be sold directly to consumers online or at retail. A person can collect a nasal-swab sample themselves before sending the sample to Labcorpfor analysis. The test, called the Labcorp Seasonal Respiratory Virus RT-PCR DTC Test, searches for and amplifies the genetic materials of multiple viruses to…

Companies including Chevron Corp. , Quest Diagnostics Inc. and Ernst & Young LLP are pushing to narrow proposed cybersecurity rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission in the private sector’s latest attempt to shape a growing array of regulations by Washington. In comments on rules proposed by the SEC, businesses in recent days have urged the agency to harmonize its deadline of four business days to disclose security incidents with similar rules from…

U.S. health authorities and researchers are investigating why some people who appeared to recover from Covid-19 after taking Pfizer Inc.’s antiviral pill developed symptoms again soon after. Paxlovid is supposed to treat the newly infected, keeping them out of the hospital. Within two weeks of appearing to get better, however, some users experienced cold-like symptoms such as sore throat and cough, according to physicians and published case reports. The rebound cases haven’t resulted in…

A cryoelectron microscopic reconstruction model of the Epstein-Barr virus gp350-ferritin nanoparticle. Credit: Geng Meng, Purdue UniversityThe National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has launched an early-stage clinical trial to evaluate an investigational preventative vaccine for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). EBV is the primary cause of infectious mononucleosis (“mono”) and is associated with certain cancers and autoimmune diseases. The Phase 1 study is…

An experimental drug being clinically investigated for its effects on body weight in obese and overweight people has delivered record-breaking weight loss for participants in the trial – on par with surgical options, the company behind the drug suggests.  Tirzepatide, developed by American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), is a once-weekly injection that promotes weight loss by mimicking the effects of natural hormones called incretins. These hormones lower blood sugar after we eat, in addition to…