Regeneron’s COVID-19 Antibody “Cocktail” Granted Emergency Use Authorization by FDA
Before patients can be treated with REGEN-COV2 under the EUA, they must weigh at least 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds) and be deemed at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. That high-risk category includes adults who are ages 65 or older, or who have chronic medical conditions.
Abnormal MicroRNAs Could Link Brain Injury with Alzheimer’s
Research suggests that a build-up of abnormal microRNAs could be behind the increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease seen in patients who have experienced traumatic brain injury.
Researchers Activate Antiviral Immune Pathways in Triple Negative Breast Cancers
The study shows that endogenous mis-spliced RNA in tumor cells mimics an RNA virus, leading tumor cells to self-destruct as if fighting an infection.
Autoantibodies in COVID-19 Promote Blood Clots
About half of the patients who were very sick with COVID-19 were exhibiting a combination of high levels of both the dangerous antibodies and super-activated neutrophils, which are destructive, exploding white blood cells.
Lab-on-a-Chip Infection Test Could Lead to Novel Portable Diagnostics
Dubbed TriSilix, the chip performs a miniature version of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing on bodily fluids, feces, or environmental samples, according to the scientists at Imperial College London who developed the new technology.
Regeneron, Moderna Return Encouraging Early Data on COVID-19 Clinical Trials
Moderna said its vaccine candidate produced neutralizing antibodies in older and elderly adults, while Regeneron said REGN-COV2 rapidly reduced viral load as well as time to alleviate symptoms in non-hospitalized patients.
SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Decrease Three Months After Infection
The study is one of the first longitudinal analyses to show that people who were seropositive—that is, they had produced antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19—become seronegative, which means there were no detectable antibodies after a certain point.
SARS-CoV-2 May Gain Brain Entry via the Nose
Autopsies have shown the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and protein in anatomically distinct regions of the nasopharynx and brain, suggesting it enters the brain through the nose, and may inform diagnosis and measures to prevent infection.
Rapid PCR-Based Test Developed to Detect Pneumonia in Patients with Severe COVID-19
Normally, confirming a pneumonia diagnosis requires growing bacterial samples from patients in a lab, which is time-consuming. The new test can identify 52 different pathogens, and can be done in around four hours, without needing to grow the bacteria.
Language Algorithms Shed Light on How Viruses Like SARS-CoV-2 Mutate to Avoid Immune System
The researchers trained a natural language processing model to analyze patterns found in genetic sequences, which allowed it to predict new sequences that have new functions but still follow the biological rules of protein structure.
Prime Time for the Microbiome
With some positive results in the clinic, there are other encouraging signs the field is maturing and branching into other therapeutic areas such as oncology.
RNA for Medical Analysis
From Mendelian disorders to COVID-19, academic and industrial scientists use these nucleic acids to help diagnose diseases.
Top Women in Precision Medicine
In our second installment of women making their mark in the field, Clinical OMICs interviews Bonnie Anderson of Veracyte, Tina Hambuch of Invitae, and Cindy Perettie of Foundation Medicine.
Saving Baby Nathan
California Medicaid’s pilot program Project Baby Bear delivers better outcomes at lower cost via rapid whole-genome sequencing of critically ill newborns.
Payer Policies not Sole Reason for Inconsistent Utilization of Genomic Testing
A report from the Personalized Medicine Coalition found significant variability in the use of genomic testing for patients not only from state to state, but also within states.