StemCell Therapy

The combustible combination of lightning, a record-setting heat wave, a weeks-long dry spell and gale-force winds on Sunday afternoon, July 31, contributed to Baker Countys biggest wildfire so far this year.

The Big Rattlesnake fire burned 425 acres in the remote Powder River Canyon between Thief Valley Reservoir and Highway 203, and for a few hours posed a threat to several homes.

The Baker County Sheriffs Office issued a Level 2 evacuation notice be prepared to leave at a moments notice for five or six homes on the west side of Highway 203 on Sunday evening, and a Level 1 notice be ready for the possible need to evacuate for residents east of the highway along Miles Bridge Road.

No one was evacuated, and no structures were damaged, said Jason Yencopal, the countys emergency manager. The evacuation notice was canceled for areas east of the highway on Monday morning, Aug. 1, and reduced to Level 1 for homes west of the highway, Sheriff Travis Ash said.

There are three levels of evacuation notice. Under Level 3, which was not initiated for the Big Rattlesnake fire, residents are told to leave immediately.

Ash said on Monday morning that the preliminary evacuation notices were given as a precaution mainly due to the strong winds that initially caused the fire, which was reported a little before 5 p.m., to grow rapidly.

When the wind calmed later Sunday evening, the fire activity also slowed, Ash said.

Jonathan Dunbar, fire duty officer for the Bureau of Land Managements Vale District, said the fire did not grow overnight Sunday into Monday.

Crews will continue to secure the perimeter and mop up today, Dunbar said in a press release Monday morning.

Rancher grateful for fast work by firefighters

Mike McGinnis smelled the smoke and watched the powerful gusts bending the grass near the ranch he and his wife, Nicky, own just west of Highway 203 between the Powder River and Medical Springs.

McGinnis feared that if the flames crossed the Big Creek canyon, which is between his home and where the fire started, those winds could quickly push the fire toward his house and outbuildings.

But later on Sunday evening the wind shifted direction, he said, blowing the flames back toward areas that had already burned.

McGinnis said the fire didnt get closer than about a mile to his home.

On Monday morning McGinnis said he was grateful for the amazing response by firefighters, many of them volunteers from local districts.

You just cannot say enough about these rural volunteer firefighters, McGinnis said. Theyre willing to put everything on the line. Were blessed with a great community. People truly care. Its a great feeling.

McGinnis said he was home when the storm that sparked the fire passed through.

Terrain blocks his view of the spot where the lightning bolt struck, but McGinnis said a neighbor, John Wirth, saw the lightning and phoned after seeing the smoke rising.

Wirth said he was driving on Blue Mountain Ridge Road, which follows a spine of high ground east of Highway 203, when he saw the thunderstorm approaching.

Wirth said when lightning threatens he usually tries to find an elevated vantage point to watch for downstrikes and the fires that are likely to start as a result. He said he has seen that happen several times.

On Sunday evening, Wirth said he could see flames within just a few seconds of the bolt hitting west of Big Creek.

Its just about immediate fire, he said. Theres a lot of fuel, and there was a lot of wind then.

On Monday morning, McGinnis said he was watching through binoculars as firefighters worked on the blaze, which seemed to be mainly out, although he did see some smoke.

Theyre doing a great job, he said.

Winds caused major concern

Although there are no weather stations close to the fire, the wind gauge at the Baker City Airport recorded a peak gust of 62 mph at 7:38 p.m. on Sunday.

Winds propelled a dust cloud from a fallow field just north of Baker City a little after 7 p.m.

Buzz Harper, chief of the Keating Rural Fire Protection District, estimated winds were gusting between 45 and 50 mph when he arrived Sunday evening.

Colby Thompson, chief of the North Powder Rural Fire Protection District, said the wind direction shifted four times while he was working on the fire Sunday evening.

Three single-engine aircraft dropped retardant ahead of the fire on Sunday evening, said Larisa Bogardus, public affairs officer for the Bureau of Land Managements Vale District.

Harper served as incident commander for areas along Highway 203, and he assigned fire trucks to protect the McGinnis ranch and several other homes west of the highway, which leads north through Pondosa and Medical Springs to Union.

The trucks were reassigned later on Sunday evening after the threat eased, Ash said.

Highway 203 was closed temporarily except for fire vehicles and local traffic.

Everybody did really well, Harper said on Monday morning. We had a lot of resources.

He credited the Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police for helping notify residents about evacuation levels, and the Oregon Department of Transportation for coordinating the highway closure.

Harper said the Sheriffs Offices mobile communications trailer was also a benefit to the multiple agencies that responded.

Fuels have dried during recent rainless stretch

The fire started about half a mile north of the Powder River and about a mile west of Big Creek.

Both the river and the creek flow through deep, steep canyons.

The fire burned in dense thickets of sagebrush, with lighter fuels on ridgetops, Bogardus said.

Fuels have dried considerably during a lengthy rainless stretch that followed the damp, cool spring.

The Baker City Airport has recorded just 0.08 of an inch of rain scarcely enough to dampen the ground since June 4.

Phil Whitley, chief of the Medical Springs Rural Fire Protection District, said rain fell in the area Sunday evening, but amounts were generally meager.

The fire burned on both public and private land, Bogardus said.

The area includes sage grouse habitat, she said.

The fire is within the BLMs 5,880-acre Powder River Canyon Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The agency manages the public land to protect raptor and wildlife habitat and scenic qualities, according to a BLM press release.

On Monday morning, six fire engines were working on the fire and two 20-person crews were en route, Bogardus said.

Single-engine tankers and helicopters were available if needed, she said.

Whitley, who lives near Medical Springs, said he saw several lightning bolts before receiving a page on his radio about the fire.

Whitley said seven volunteers from the Medical Springs district assembled. They tried to reach the fire from a dirt road that leads west from Highway 203, but Whitley said the road, which descends into the Big Creek canyon, crosses the creek and continues west up the Powder River, was too rough to negotiate with a truck laden with water.

Whitley said crews from other agencies were able to get to the fire via that route later.

Thompson, chief of the North Powder Rural Fire Protection District, said volunteers from the department used a bulldozer to make the road passable to fire engines, including four from the North Powder district. A total of 17 volunteers from the district worked on the fire Sunday, Thompson said.

A major focus initially was to protect the McGinnis ranch, Whitley said.

Their home was closest to the fire, and the powerful winds, which were shifting direction frequently, made it difficult to predict where the fire was moving, Whitley said.

Other agencies that responded to the Big Rattlesnake fire include the Baker Rural Fire Protection District, Lookout-Glasgow Rangeland Fire Protection Association and Eagle Valley Rural Fire Protection District.

Other, smaller fires reported

Lightning from a series of thunderstorms that moved through the region Sunday afternoon and evening sparked at least two other, much smaller, blazes.

One burned a quarter of an acre about 2.5 miles north of Anthony Lakes.

The other burned less than a tenth of an acre near the Kelly Mine, about 2 miles north of Bourne.

The combination of hot temperatures a record high was set at the Baker City Airport on July 29, and the record tied on July 30 and lack of rain has resulted in rapidly rising fire danger.

The Energy Release Component, a measurement of how fast a fire would spread, had been below average for most of the summer for each of the six regions that the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center in La Grande monitors.

But over the last week of July that figure, which is updated daily, climbed above average in each region.

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Wind-fanned lightning fire prompted precautionary evacuation notices near Medical Springs Sunday evening - Baker City Herald

Aliria Rosa Piedrahita de Villegas should have developed Alzheimers disease in her 40s and died from the disease in her 60s because of a rare genetic mutation.

Instead, she lived dementia-free into her 70s, and now her brain is yielding important clues about the pathology of dementia and possible treatments for Alzheimers disease.

As researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and other centers first described in 2019, the woman, from Medellin, Colombia, was a member of an extended family with a mutation in a gene labeled PSEN1. The PSEN1 E280A mutation is autosomal dominant, meaning that only a single copy of the gene is required to cause disease. Carriers of the mutation typically exhibit symptoms of Alzheimers in their 40s or 50s, and die from the disease soon after, but this woman did not begin to show signs of Alzheimers until her early 70s. She died in 2020 from metastatic melanoma at the age of 77.

The key difference in the Colombian womans ability to fend off the disease for three decades appeared to be that in addition to having the PSEN1 E280A mutation, she was also a carrier of both copies of a mutation known as APOE3 Christchurch.

This exceptional case is an experiment designed by nature that teaches us a way to prevent Alzheimers: lets observe, learn, and imitate nature.

Francisco Lopera, director of the Neuroscience Group of Antioquia in Medelln, Colombia.

The APOE family of genes control production of apolipoproteins, which transport lipids (fats) in blood and other bodily fluids.The APOE2 variant is known to be protective against Alzheimers dementia, while the APOE4 variant is linked to an increased risk for the disease.

APOE3, the most common variant, is not typically associated with either reduced or increased risk for Alzheimers.

This is a ground-breaking case for Alzheimers disease and has already opened new paths for treatment and prevention, which were currently pursuing with some collaborators. This work is now bringing light into some of the mechanisms of resistance to Alzheimers disease says investigator Yakeel T. Quiroz

Quiroz is director of theMulticultural Alzheimer Prevention Program (MAPP) at Mass General, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, andPaul B. and Sandra M. Edgerley MGH Research Scholar 2020-2025.

As Quiroz and colleagues now report in the neuropathology journalActa Neuropathologica, the woman did, in fact, have pathologic features of Alzheimers disease in her brain, but not in regions of the brain where the hallmarks of Alzheimers are typically found.

This patient gave us a window into many competing forces abnormal protein accumulation, inflammation, lipid metabolism, homeostatic mechanisms that either promote or protect against disease progression, and begin to explain why some brain regions were spared while others were not, says Justin Sanchez, co-first author, and an investigator at MGH Neurology.

Researchers identified in Alirias brain a distinct pattern of abnormal aggregation or clumping of tau, a protein known to be altered in Alzheimers disease and other neurologic disorders.

In this case, the tau pathology largely spared the frontal cortex, which is important for judgment and other executive functions, and the hippocampus, which is important for memory and learning. Instead, the tau pathology involved the occipital cortex, the area of the brain at the back of the head that controls visual perception.

The occipital cortex was the only major brain region to exhibit typical Alzheimers features, such as chronic inflammation of protective brain cells called microglia, and reduced levels of APOE expression.

Thus, the Christchurch variant may impact the distribution of tau pathology, modulates age at onset, severity, progression, and clinical presentation of [autosomal dominant Alzheimers disease], suggesting possible therapeutic strategies, the researchers write.

It is seldom that we have nice surprises while studying familial Alzheimers disease brains. This case showed an amazingly clear protected phenotype. I am sure our molecular and pathologic findings will at least suggest some avenues of research and elicit hope for a successful treatment against this disorder. says co-first author Diego Sepulveda-Falla, research lead at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany.

This exceptional case is an experiment designed by nature that teaches us a way to prevent Alzheimers: lets observe, learn, and imitate nature, concludes Francisco Lopera, director of the Neuroscience Group of Antioquia in Medelln, Colombia. Lopera is a co-senior author and the neurologist who discovered this family and has been following them for the last 30 years.

Quiroz is a co-senior author of the report, along with Kenneth S. Kosik, University of California, Santa Barbara; Lopera, and Sepulveda-Falla. Sanchez contributed equally to the study.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, MGH Executive Committee on Research (MGH Research Scholar Award), Alzheimers Association, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Universidad de Antioquia, the Werner Otto Stiftung, and the Gernam Federal Ministiry of Education and Research.

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Alzheimer's-defying brain offers clues to treatment, prevention - Harvard Gazette

Health awareness

In this Teal Talks episode, TV host and cancer survivor Samantha Harris leads the conversation about the advances in cancer screenings and early prevention with three renowned cancer specialists

You may know Samantha Harris from hosting eight seasons of Dancing with the Stars and her many years on Entertainment Tonight, but shes also a cancer survivor or cancer thriver, as she prefers to be called.

At age 40, Harris was diagnosed with stage II invasive breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. Since her diagnosis, the Emmy-winning TV personality has become a fierce advocate for living a healthier life to help prevent chronic diseases like cancer.

We need to be our own best health advocates by knowing our body so we can recognize any changes and then find the right expert in the medical field to assess if there is or isnt something to worry about, said Harris, whos been in remission since October 2014.

In episode 5 of Teal Talks, Harris sits down with Dr. Laura Makaroff, SVP, prevention and early detection, American Cancer Society, and Mercks Dr. Scot Ebbinghaus, VP, late-stage oncology, and Steve Keefe, AVP, global clinical development, oncology, to discuss cancer prevention and advances in screening.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 18% of cancers in the U.S. are related to modifiable risk factors, and thus could be preventable.

Screening tests are another component of cancer prevention. Certain screenings aim to find cancer before it causes symptoms and when it may be easier to treat. There arent currently screening tests for every type of cancer, but there are several tests that health agencies recommend for breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancers.

Cancer screening recommendations vary from country to country, so its important to talk to your doctor about which tests are right for you.

There are some people who fit a high-risk category because they have a family history of cancer or some other inherited condition and might need to start screening earlier or do a different kind of screening test than the average-risk population, said Makaroff. Its an important topic to bring up with your doctor and make sure that you, as a patient, know to ask the right questions.

[Source: American Cancer Society]

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant interruption to cancer screening services. In the U.S., it is estimated that 9.4 million cancer screenings were missed from January through July 2020 vs the same period in 2019.

Theres no one-size-fits-all type solution to get things back on track, said Keefe. But community outreach can help get peoples awareness about the importance of screenings back on track and help reassure people that when they return to the doctors office or clinic, precautions will be in place to help keep them safe from COVID-19.

Despite some of the dire statistics around cancer care disruptions, the health care industry gained some valuable lessons from the pandemic.

One of the things that the pandemic has taught us is that we can reach our patients even if they cant come into the doctors office, Ebbinghaus said. Being able to leverage telemedicine to counsel patients and arrange for testing could really help improve cancer preventative care.

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Experts discuss importance of cancer screenings and early detection - Merck

All samples will be referred through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network

All samples will be referred through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and the Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network

After being the first laboratory in Tamil Nadu to initiate COVID-19 testing and having tested about 31 lakh samples so far, the Department of Virology, King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research (KIPMR), will now test samples for monkeypox.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, who inspected the facilities at the laboratory on Thursday, told reporters that clinical specimens collected from the skin, lesions, urine, serum/plasma would be tested for monkeypox at the 123-year-old KIPMR.

According to a release, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)/National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, trained the laboratory, along with 15 facilities in the country, to initiate monkeypox testing. All samples would be referred through the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine/the Regional Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme network to KIPMR and tested by real-time PCR. The sample should be accompanied with the clinical history.

There would be parallel testing at NIV, Pune, and the results would be released after confirmation by NIV, Pune, initially, the release said.

Monkeypox has been reported in 77 countries. In India, four cases have been reported so far and there has been no case in Tamil Nadu, he said.

Samples of two persons who had returned from Canada and the U.S. were sent for testing to NIV, Pune, after they developed lesions on the face last month. Both samples were negative for monkeypox. There has been no case of monkeypox in Tamil Nadu so far, he said.

He added that there was mass fever screening at the international airports. An advisory was issued to screen passengers travelling from the 77 countries or on transit. They were screened for symptoms, including for lesions, he said.

The Department of Virology of KIPMR is a World Health Organization (WHO)-National Polio Laboratory, a WHO reference laboratory for measles and rubella and an ICMR/DHR regional influenza referral laboratory as well. It also serves as the State-level Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory under ICMR/DHR, the release said.

Health Secretary P. Senthilkumar, Director of Medical Education R. Narayana Babu, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine T.S. Selvavinayagam and Director of KIPMR Kaveri were present.

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King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research to test samples for monkeypox - The Hindu

Key populations provide valued contribution to development of new WHO guidelines

In 2020 the global key population networks including the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), the Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), the Network of Sex Worker Projects (NSWP) and the Global Action for Gay Mens Health Rights (MPACT) were commissioned by WHO to conduct values and preferences research within their communities in relation to HIV, viral hepatitis and STI services. This research has been used to inform the development of the new WHO Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations, launched on 29 July 2022 at AIDS2022 in Montreal, Canada.

To celebrate the launch of these important guidelines for improving the health and rights of the key populations in relation to HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs, INPUD reached out to several study participants from the community of people who use drugs and asked them to briefly reflect on why the key populations values and preferences research is important and what the new guidelines mean in the context of their lives. Here are extracts of their responses:

Why is it important to include the values and preferences of key populations living with and affected by HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs in the development of the WHO Key Populations Guidelines?

For people from marginalized and criminalized communities it often feels like no ones really listening to the knowledge we have to offer. Involving key populations in the development of the guidelines was critical to ensuring that lived and living experience was embedded within the guidelines not just being asked to make some comments after the guidelines are already developed. That happens way too often and it is tokenistic.

Involving the community is important for lots of reasons, including that peers are best placed to detect and identify stigma and discrimination. By making sure that the language of the guidelines is stigma-free and non-discriminatory, it establishes the standard we expect from health professionals using the guidelines and providing services. It is a practical way to show why our community must be at the heart of these kinds of processes.

Peers are clued into the real world settings of living with or being at risk of HIV, viral hep and STIs, where the clinical meets the real world. We will not achieve the elimination of HIV and viral hepatitis without the valuable perspective, insights, and expertise of peers.

Do WHO Key Population Guidelines such as these make a tangible difference in the lives of people living with and affected by HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs, including people who inject drugs?

As a trans person who injects drugs and is living with HIV, I feel empowered through the consultation process to inform the guidelines. I was able to contribute to the global response to HIV, viral hep, and STIs with something much bigger than myself and my work at the community level.

We are always talking about ways we can use policies and guidelines like these for our advocacy on behalf of people who use drugs. For example, we can use them to demand better services or human rights, but we can also use them to check against current guidelines, services and programmes and advocate for improvements.

Sometimes documents like these can seem far from our everyday lives as people who inject drugs, but if those providing harm reduction and other health services to people who inject drugs are aware of the guidelines and use them, it can really change the way we experience those services by removing some of the barriers.

The 2016 WHO Consolidated Guidelines focused on HIV, the revised Guidelines will focus on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs among key populations. Was this shift important in your view?

The shift beyond HIV to include viral hepatitis and STIs brings a more holistic perspective of the interactions between belonging to priority populations and various risk factors HIV doesn't operate in a vacuum.

A lot can be shared and learnt by collaborating across infectious diseases at government, community, research, and clinical levels. Issues of human rights, criminalization, stigma, and discrimination all impact HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs. The experience of stigma is a shared experience across the priority communities.

Many of us are affected by multiple conditions and experiences and there are so many intersectionalities, as a queer woman of colour who injects drugs, it just makes sense to bring a wider lens to these issues rather than trying to put people into narrow boxes.

What can be done to make people who inject drugs globally more aware of the new Key Population Guidelines?

Well, community conversations are always a good place to start.

People who inject drugs are highly networked. It's important to consistently and constantly remind people who inject drugs about their inherent worth; we are beautiful human beings that deserve to be loved, have our human rights upheld, and be treated with respect, understanding, and compassion. The guidelines support these key messages.

Acknowledgement: we thank INPUD for conducting the interviews and writing this article and to the INPUD study participants who generously gave their time and offered their views.

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Consolidated guidelines on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations - World - ReliefWeb

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SCYNEXIS, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCYX), a biotechnology company pioneering innovative medicines to overcome and prevent difficult-to-treat and drug-resistant infections, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Companys submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to expand the label of BREXAFEMME (ibrexafungerp tablets) to include the prevention of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC). The FDA granted the submission Priority Review and assigned the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target decision date as November 30, 2022.

If approved for this second indication, BREXAFEMME, an oral non-azole therapy, would be the first and only product approved in the U.S. for both the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and the prevention of RVVC, defined as three or more infections in a 12-month period.

The FDAs acceptance of this submission is excellent news for patients, and it brings us another step closer to our vision of addressing significant unmet needs in womens health, said Marco Taglietti, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of SCYNEXIS. Our pivotal CANDLE study was the basis of the sNDA submission, and we look forward to presenting details of these data to the medical community.

SCYNEXIS will present CANDLE study results this week at the Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology (IDSOG) Annual Meeting being held in Boston August 4-6, 2022.

Ibrexafungerp is designated by the FDA as a qualified infectious disease product (QIDP), allowing for a six-month priority review.

About BREXAFEMME(ibrexafungerp tablets)

BREXAFEMME is a novel oral antifungal approved for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), also known as vaginal yeast infection. Its mechanism of action, glucan synthase inhibition, is fungicidal againstCandidaspecies, meaning it kills fungal cells.BREXAFEMME was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 1, 2021. The approval was supported by positive results from two Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center studies (VANISH-303 and VANISH-306), in which oral ibrexafungerp demonstrated efficacy and a favorable tolerability profile in women with VVC. BREXAFEMME represents the first approved drug in a new antifungal class in over 20 years and is the first and only treatment for vaginal yeast infections which is both oral and non-azole.

INDICATION

BREXAFEMME is a triterpenoid antifungal indicated for the treatment of adult and postmenarchal pediatric females with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC).

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

The recommended dosage of BREXAFEMME is 300 mg (two tablets of 150 mg) twice a day for one day, for a total treatment dosage of 600 mg. BREXAFEMME may be taken with or without food.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact SCYNEXIS, Inc. at 1-888-982-SCYX (1-888-982-7299) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 orwww.fda.gov/medwatch.

For more information, visitwww.brexafemme.com. Please clickherefor Prescribing Information.

About SCYNEXIS

SCYNEXIS, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCYX) is a biotechnology company pioneering innovative medicines to help millions of patients worldwide overcome and prevent difficult-to-treat infections that are becoming increasingly drug-resistant. SCYNEXIS scientists are developing the companys lead asset, ibrexafungerp, as a broad-spectrum, systemic antifungal for multiple fungal indications in both the community and hospital settings. SCYNEXIS launched its first commercial product in the U.S., BREXAFEMME(ibrexafungerp tablets). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved BREXAFEMME on June 1, 2021. In addition, clinical investigation and development of oral ibrexafungerp for the prevention of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and the treatment of life-threatening invasive fungal infections in hospitalized patients is ongoing. For more information, visitwww.scynexis.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release regarding expected future events or results are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements regarding: progressing filing of an sNDA for RVVC, of ibrexafungerp, its potential use by physicians and patients in multiple healthcare settings. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited, to: risks inherent in SCYNEXIS' ability to successfully develop and obtain FDA approval for ibrexafungerp for additional indications, including the IV formulation of ibrexafungerp; unexpected delays may occur in the timing of acceptance by the FDA of an NDA submission; the expected costs of studies and when they might begin or be concluded; SCYNEXIS need for additional capital resources; and SCYNEXIS' reliance on third parties to conduct SCYNEXIS' clinical studies and commercialize its products. These and other risks are described more fully in SCYNEXIS' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including in each case under the caption "Risk Factors," and in other documents subsequently filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they were made. SCYNEXIS undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

CONTACT:

Investors:Irina KofflerLifeSci Advisorsikoffler@lifesciadvisors.com

Media:Debbie EtchisonSCYNEXISDebbie.Etchison@scynexis.com

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SCYNEXIS Announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration - GlobeNewswire

The pandemic, which has held the United States and almost every other country in its grip, should have taught us valuable lessons about how to manage a public health emergency, but it seems we are making some of the same mistakes we made not even three years ago, when the SARS-CoV-2 virus started to spread.

It is now clear: Preparedness alone does not guarantee a rapid response. With Covid-19, and now monkeypox, we were too slow to respond. It was as if we are sitting in a turbo-charged Ferrari, capable of massive acceleration, but instead only idling in the driveway.

Cavalry culture

Over the past three years, we have witnessed something counterintuitive. It was predominantly wealthy countries that were hit hardest during the Covid-19 pandemic. They had some of the highest death rates, despite their enormous resources.

While there are many reasons for this, including misinformation, lack of public trust, and the entangling of public health and politics, I think there is something else, as well: We have adopted what I call a "cavalry culture." We wait for the cavalry to ride in and rescue us, instead of taking smaller preventive steps -- such as establishing modern and reliable data systems, mastering our supply chain along the way, and acting early to head off the outbreak in the first place.

There are a couple of important axioms in public health. One is, by the time you think you must act to contain an outbreak, it is already too late. And, if you think you are overreacting, you are probably reacting just the right amount. In the case of Covid, and now monkeypox, we seem to have forgotten those basic public health principles. And, the real question now seems to be: When will the government finally hit the gas pedal on our highly tuned Ferrari?

I don't want to suggest any of this is easy. There are significant issues of uncertainty and unpredictability. Much like a hurricane forming at sea, we often don't know exactly where or how hard it will hit. We want to be measured, calm in our response and to cause as little disruption as possible. We want to be thoughtful and gather as much information as is available.

And therein lies one of our biggest problems: basic data. I have often wondered, how is it that a numbers-driven, high-tech country like the United States can't get basic data right?

Data disaster

As long as I've been reporting on the Covid pandemic, I have always had to offer the caveat that case numbers are probably off, sometimes wildly so. We have probably never had a clear vision on just how widely the virus was spreading at any given time in the United States, and going into the fall 2022, the situation isn't really any better.

"First, there's a lack of data access needed to understand where disease outbreaks are spreading. This is due to data collection limitations that Congress needs to fix," said Dr. Tom Frieden, president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and a former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He said there is also a need to update analog systems and connect them to each other -- getting them to speak the same language. Right now, it's the Tower of Babel.

"Second, we lack sufficient numbers and, in some cases, skills of people and systems at the federal, state and local levels that can deliver services and communicate effectively with communities. Finally, we are in perpetual panic and neglect funding cycles," he said.

As a result of all of the things Frieden is describing, our current data collection and reporting system leaves important information fractured into dozens of states and territories, and thousands of county pieces for the CDC to puzzle together.

"I have been struck as we at CDC are now conquering another public health challenge -- monkeypox -- as to how little authority we at CDC have to receive the data," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told the Washington Post.

Walensky is talking about basic data, like where the vaccine has gone, who has been vaccinated, whether the vaccine is working, and even monkeypox case data like who is getting infected, their age and race/ethnicity. Why might this be so?

"States don't routinely share vaccine doses administered data with the federal government -- Covid was really the first time that we were able to successfully put data use agreements in place," Claire Hannan, the executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, told CNN. Part of the reason is because "states have laws in place to protect identifiable information."

Some information has been getting to the CDC, but it is challenging to get and incomplete. The CDC director told the Washington Post, "We have been speaking to our state and local partners probably at least three times a week, all of them. ... That is not how you synthesize data. We need ... standardization of those data, and we need to have those data come to us in a standardized fashion so that they can be connected, we can compile them and rapidly report them out. We cannot at CDC collect the data and make informed decisions by calling 64 jurisdictions, and honestly, 3,000 counties."

The CDC is currently working on agreements that would broaden the agency's access to states' data, as they successfully did with Covid. Hannan explained, "The need to quickly get the [monkeypox] vaccine out left no time to get data sharing agreements in place."

But even if those agreements were in place, it still doesn't mean the states' ability to actually obtain vaccine doses would be made any easier. That's because the states wouldn't be using the same data system for ordering and tracking doses they generally use. Because the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response are in charge of monkeypox vaccine distribution, there would be yet another data system involved.

"They were asking states to request the vaccine using paper forms and email," said Hannan. "They were asking states to complete forms [with fillable fields] on those who were receiving the vaccine and return these forms to the federal government."

The problem was there weren't even the right fields for the specific questions being asked, such as reason for vaccination or type of exposure or risk, Hannan said. It wasn't that the necessary forms weren't being filled out, it was that they couldn't be filled out because of disparate data platforms.

It is a baffling level of bureaucracy in the middle of an unfolding outbreak.

Testing, vaccines, therapeutics

As things stand now, the issues with data collection, testing, vaccines, treatments and communication are sounding a lot like the ones we experienced with Covid-19.

The monkeypox outbreak is also different for another fundamental reason. Unlike with Covid, which was caused by a novel virus, the basic tools already exist either for monkeypox or its close relative, smallpox. We didn't have to build them from scratch. That means we could have had them or put them to better use by now.

Another tool that could be tremendously helpful is testing of wastewater. As we have seen with Covid, it can better define the scope of the outbreak and where it will emerge next. Two months into the outbreak, we still aren't doing this widely for monkeypox.

It also means that the vaccine, which can be given within 14 days of exposure (but preferably within four) to prevent or reduce the severity of disease, is currently being used more as a treatment -- a post-exposure prophylaxis -- rather than as a real preventive measure.

As National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN, that focus will have to shift.

"It's very clear with the spread of this that there now has to be a balance between vaccines available for those who clearly have been exposed, as well as those at risk," Fauci said. "What you want to do is a balance between vaccinating those who clearly have had an exposure but go well beyond that."

Finally, there is the issue of treatment. The CDC has made the antiviral smallpox treatment tecovirimat, called TPOXX, available to monkeypox patients who have or are at high risk of severe disease under an "alternate regulatory mechanism."

There are 1.7 million courses of TPOXX stockpiled. But once again, getting the medication to patients who could immediately benefit has proven to be bureaucratically burdensome for both patients and providers.

"You're talking about a five, six-day time lag to get that medication to you at a local doctor's office, no matter where you are. And the paperwork, and all of the bureaucracy to make that happen is very cumbersome, takes a few hours of your time. And that's the barrier," Dr. Stacy Lane, founder of the LGBTQ-centered Central Outreach Wellness Center in Pittsburgh, told me recently.

In the meantime, though, patients are suffering. Even though most cases are "mild," they are still uncomfortable, or downright painful, depending on where sores appear. Plus, there is a risk of long-term complications if the pox lesions develop in areas around the eye or GI tract.

All of these gaps have the hardest hit community on edge.

"Largely public health officials know how this has spread. They know how to vaccinate people ... we know how to treat it, and we know how to prevent it," says Samuel Garrett-Pate, managing director of external affairs of Equality California, the largest statewide LBGTQ+ civil rights organization.

"It unfortunately seems that despite two years of building up our public health infrastructure to prevent what happened with Covid-19 from ever happening again, despite the fact that we are better prepared in terms of already having a vaccine available, the CDC and FDA seem to be caught flat-footed once again. And I think as a result, you're seeing very real and understandable fear anxiety among the LGBTQ community."

Is it too late?

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner and current board member of Pfizer, has been pessimistic about the trajectory of monkeypox in the United States.

"We're now at the cusp of this becoming an endemic virus, where this now becomes something that's persistent that we need to continue to deal with. I think the window for getting control of this and containing it probably has closed and if it hasn't closed, it's certainly starting to close," he said on Face the Nation on July 17.

CDC's Walensky pushed back on Gottlieb's assessment calling it "misinformed and off base," saying that while it's true there is much work to do, the US has made dramatic progress on priorities like testing, vaccines and education.

There has been measurable progress in these areas, no doubt. But, I do worry that we once again waited too long. We sat idling in our Ferrari, perhaps not wanting to believe that somehow we had suddenly found ourselves in the middle of yet another outbreak.

The world, however, is changing, as we have been reminded of twice in the last few years. There are new pathogens emerging, and existing pathogens are more easily traveling the world.

We have learned painful lessons in the last few years, and we are now in the midst of our first significant test since the Covid pandemic began, to see if we do any better this time around.

There is no doubt we are capable, and we are prepared. The question is will we use all those remarkable resources and respond, or we will wait and suffer until the cavalry has to rescue us once again?

CNN Health's Andrea Kane contributed to this report.

Read the original here:
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: While monkeypox cases rise, why are we waiting for the cavalry to rescue us? - CNN

Indigenous Milk Medicine Week Aug. 8-14; Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week Aug. 15-21; Black Breastfeeding Week Aug. 25-31

LANSING, Mich. Michigan is committed to encouraging a strong foundation for life in all infants by supporting breastfeeding parents for the first year of their childs life and beyond. As part of this effort, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has issued a proclamation declaring August 2022 as Breastfeeding Month.

During National Breastfeeding Month we recommit ourselves to supporting infants and new parents and ensure that every Michigander has equitable access to the resources and support they need to give their child a great start, said Governor Whitmer. We will work with Michigans health care providers and local organizations to broaden public understanding about the impact breastfeeding has on improving infant health and reducing infant mortality rates within communities of color across the state. I will work with anyone to ensure every baby in Michigan has what they need to grow up and pursue their potential.

Breastfeeding is a public health imperative central to successful health equity strategies that confront racism, classism and sexism which are the root causes of inequities and combatting these are a key strategy in reducing maternal and infant mortality. Disparities in breastfeeding rates and other maternal and infant health outcomes are most evident among Black and Indigenous families in Michigan. Increased efforts highlighting increased support to breastfeeding are part of Governor Whitmers Healthy Moms Healthy Babies initiative.

Proper nutrition for infants is critical for their growth and development, and it is important for hospitals, business, communities and coalitions to work together to provide consistent support for breastfeeding parents in Michigan, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief medical executive.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its recommendation to breastfeed up to 2 years of age because of the benefits to the infant and the parent. Breastfeeding provides countless benefits to the nursing infant including easy digestion, production of antibodies and reduced risk of infections and childhood obesity. It also offers faster recovery from birth and reduced risk for postpartum hemorrhage and uterine cancer for the breastfeeding parent.

Ways to support breastfeeding include advocating for paid maternity leave and adequate pumping time while at work and school, and by bolstering Baby Friendly hospitals. National Breastfeeding Month is also a time to highlight under-resourced communities where families do not have equal access to support, care and education. The national formula shortage amplified how food disparities impact our most vulnerable populations, black and brown families. It has shown us the areas where improvement is needed to protect babies and ensure that parents are provided adequate prenatal breastfeeding education to make an informed decision.

Although 86.9% of Michigan families initiate breastfeeding, only 58% are still breastfeeding at three months (PRAMS 2020), and there are barriers such as lack of access to supportive health care and childcare providers and lack of paid work leave that leads to early weaning. Additionally, there are fewer lactation professionals from communities of color.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black infants are 20% less likely to have ever received breast milk than any other race. In Michigan, seven of every 1,000 babies born die by age one, and among Black babies, the number is more than double. Between 80 and 90 maternal deaths occur each year with Black women dying 2.4% more often.

The states Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is celebrating National Breastfeeding Month with the theme In Every Drop. Michigan is committed to encouraging to improving outcomes for breastfeeding parents and helping community health workers such as community-based doulas and the WIC Peer Counseling support program to help diversify lactation support and increase breastfeeding rates in local communities across the state.

WIC supports breastfeeding in the following ways:

For more information, visit Michigan WIC.

# # #

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Governor Whitmer declares August 2022 as Breastfeeding Month, highlights additional breastfeeding observances - Michigan (.gov)

Dr. Denise Johnson| Your Turn

Narcan carried by Erie Police to save lives

Erie Bureau of Police Lt. Anthony Talarico shows a portable naloxone kit, Nov. 7, 2016, at the police station in Erie. Naloxone is a medicine that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses, like those caused by heroin

Christopher Millette, Erie Times-News

Bringinghomea new baby is an exciting time for families, but it is also a significant life-changing experience that can cause stress for parents, caregivers and children. While all families benefit from support during the newborn stage, it is particularly important when the newborn has a health condition like Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, or NAS.

NAS is a group of symptoms experienced by newborns who have been exposed to medications or substances during pregnancy. With symptoms ranging from excessive crying and crankiness to vomiting and trouble sleeping, managing the symptoms of this syndrome can be challenging for families. NAS can also impact an infant's development, so it is important for families to be connected to treatment and supportive services as soon as possible. This can be a difficult time when families deserve our compassion as well as the best support we can give.

More:Treat opioid use disorder and reduce maternal deaths by extending Medicaid postpartum

The treatment for babies born with this condition depends on the type and severity of symptoms that they are experiencing. Not all babies require lengthy hospital stays or medicines to help with NAS. A new parent can use The Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) method, which focuses on the infant's ability to maintain the basic functions of eating, sleeping and consoling to help with symptoms of withdrawal. This approach emphasizes the relationship between mother and baby.And studies suggest it can decrease hospital stays and the need for medicine.

In the most recent report published by the Department of Health, there were 1,608 NAS cases reported by Pennsylvania hospitals and birthing facilities in 2019. The overall incidence rate across the state was 11.9 cases per 1,000 live births, a significant increase over the past two decades, and one public health officials are working to address.

More:Opioid crisis spurs Erie hospitals to help addicted pregnant women

The Wolf Administration remains committed to the fight against substance use and its impact on our fellow Pennsylvanians, especially our youngest residents. The department, in partnership with the Northwestern Pennsylvania NAS Coalition and Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, developed a comprehensivetoolkitto walk families through their questions about NAS and let them know about the programs and services available to provide support to their infant and family.

Connecting families to health care and support is an important part of providing the necessary treatment to infants born with NAS. In addition to health care services that can be provided at birth, babies born with this health concern may be eligible for other special services. One example of a service that is available for diagnosed babies in Pennsylvania isEarly Intervention At-Risk Tracking, to help keep an eye out for any developmental delays.

In addition to connecting families to services, the Wolf Administration is working to better understand NAS in Pennsylvania. Hospitals and birthing facilities are required to report up to 28 days after birth all confirmed and probable cases in newborns who are showing symptoms of withdrawal due to prenatal exposure to opioids and other drugs whether via prescription, medical therapy or illegal use. By gathering this information, we can better understand the burden on families in Pennsylvania, identify high incidence areas to target interventions and reduce statewide incidence rates of NAS.

As we continue to fight substance use disorder across the commonwealth, we must remain steadfast in our efforts to provide needed services to infants born with NAS and their families. We must also take steps to prevent NAS by connecting individuals to treatment and reducing barriers to substance use treatment for all Pennsylvanians.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, help is available. If you need assistance finding a treatment provider or funding for treatment, please call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or contact yourlocal county drug and alcohol office. Additionally, the department is available to provide information to all families in Pennsylvania. For information and referrals related to the care of infants, please call our Healthy Baby Line at 1-800-986-BABY (2229).

Dr. Denise Johnson is the acting Pennsylvania Health Secretary and Pennsylvania Physician General.

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Babies born exposed to opioids and drugs need our support - GoErie.com

Wilmington, Delaware, United States, Transparency Market Research Inc.: The global centrifuge market was valued at ~US$ 1 Bn in 2019 and is projected to expand at a considerable CAGR from 2020 to 2030. Centrifuges can be defined as machines, which employ centrifugal force for the separation of substances of different densities, aids in removing moisture, and for stimulation of gravitational effects.

The global centrifuge market is driven by the growth of the life sciences industry, increasing prevalence of infectious diseases, growing research in genomics and proteomics, and increasing prevalence of blood related diseases leading to the demand for blood components

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Centrifuge Market: Segmentation

The global centrifuge market has been segmented based on product, model type, rotor design, intended use, application, end user, and region

In terms of product, the global centrifuge market has been categorized into equipment and accessories. The equipment segment is further segmented into multipurpose centrifuges, microcentrifuges (excluding minicentrifuges), ultracentrifuges, floor model centrifuges, and high speed centrifuges. The ultracentrifuges sub-segment is further divided into preparative ultracentrifuges and analytical ultracentrifuges. The accessories segment is further sub-segmented into rotors, tubes, centrifuge bottles, buckets, plates, and other accessories.

Based on model type, the global centrifuge market has been classified into benchtop centrifuges and floor-standing centrifuges. In terms of rotor type, centrifuge market can be segmented into fixed-angle rotors, swinging-bucket rotors, vertical rotors, and others. Based on intended use, the centrifuge market has been segmented into general purpose centrifuges, clinical centrifuges, and preclinical centrifuges.

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In terms of application, the global centrifuge market has been divided into clinical, research, and biotherapeutic manufacturing. The clinical segment is further segmented into diagnostics, blood component separation, and blood banking. The research segment is sub-segmented into microbiology, cellomics, genomics, proteomics, and others. The biotherapeutic manufacturing segment is sub-segmented into viral vectors, antibodies, hormones, nanoparticles, plasmid preparation, and vaccine manufacturing.

In terms of end user, the global centrifuge market is segmented into hospitals and blood banks, biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies, CROs, C(D)MOs, and academic & research institutions

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Centrifuge Market: Regional Segmentation

In terms of region, the global centrifuge market has been divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa

North America dominated the global centrifuge market in 2018 and the trend is expected to continue during the forecast period

The centrifuge market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand at a high CAGR from 2019 to 2027. Growth of the market in the region can be attributed to increase in the number of patients suffering from infectious diseases and focus of leading players on strengthening presence in emerging markets.

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Centrifuge Market: Major Players

These players focus on adopting inorganic growth strategies and product launches to strengthen their product portfolio. Thermo Fisher Scientific is one of the leading players in the centrifuge market. Its strong presence can be attributed to its extensive product portfolio and its strong brand recognition. Furthermore, the company strengthened its presence in the centrifuge market through a range of product launches over the years, including a range of blood banking centrifuges, Sorvall BP 8, and mini centrifuges. This enabled the company to enhance and expand its end user base.

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Medical Holography Market: The global medical holography market was valued at around US$ 240.0 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to reach around US$ 3500.0 Mn by 2026.

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Centrifuge Market: Increasing Prevalence of Infectious Diseases to Drive the Market - BioSpace

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation, swelling, and pain in a persons joints. The condition is chronic and progressive and can be disabling. Symptoms develop over time, with early signs including fatigue, joint tenderness, and pain.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, 1.5 million people in the United States have RA. Biological females are three times more likely than biological males to develop RA.

This article looks at the early signs that a person might have RA. It also discusses later stage symptoms and when to speak with a doctor.

If a person has an autoimmune disease, such as RA, their immune system mistakes the bodys cells for foreign invading cells. Their immune system then releases inflammatory chemicals to attack them.

If someone has RA, their immune system attacks the tissue called synovium. This tissue lines the joints and produces fluid that helps them move smoothly.

RA most commonly affects the joints in the hands, wrists, and knees. It causes the lining of the joints to become inflamed, which can damage their tissues. The damage that RA causes can lead to a person developing long lasting or chronic pain. It may also cause deformities and a lack of balance.

RA may also affect other tissues in a persons body, including organs such as the heart, eyes, and lungs.

A person can develop RA at any stage in their life. However, the condition most commonly develops between the ages of 30 and 50 years old.

People with early stage RA may not see redness and swelling in their joints. However, they may experience some joint tenderness and pain. A general feeling of stiffness throughout the body in the morning may suggest a person has RA.

Someone with early stage RA may also experience fatigue. Fatigue can be both mental and physical and can cause a person to feel extremely tired, preventing them from performing their usual daily tasks.

The inflammation that comes with RA may cause a person to develop a fever. A person has a fever if their body temperature rises above the typical range of 98100F (36.737.7C). Fever is a common sign of inflammation in people with autoimmune diseases.

A person may also experience weight loss due to the inflammation from RA. In addition, someone with fatigue and fever may experience appetite loss, which can contribute to weight loss.

As the inflammatory process of RA progresses, symptoms can worsen. A person may experience more extreme fatigue and continue to have fevers and lose weight.

Common symptoms of RA include the below.

Joint pain and stiffness is the most common symptom of RA. The persons joints may become red, warm, swollen, and tender to touch.

Joint stiffness is often at its worst in the morning. It can last for several hours or the entire day, depending on the severity of the disease.

RA tends to cause pain and stiffness in the hands and feet first. However, a person may experience these symptoms in the knees or shoulders.

RA will often affect both sides of a persons body. In fact, finding symmetrical symptoms across the joints is key to how doctors diagnose RA.

RA can cause damage to a persons ligaments and tendons. This can make it more difficult for them to achieve a typical range of motion in the joints. This can result in a person being unable to bend or straighten certain joints.

This can have a negative effect on their quality of life, as it may restrict them from doing things they were once able to do.

Inflammation from RA can cause nerve compression, which can affect the nerves around the joints. This can cause a person to develop damaged nerves, called peripheral neuropathy.

This nerve damage can cause a loss of sensation, and people may experience numbness or a tingling sensation in their hands and feet.

Rheumatoid nodules are lumps that develop under a persons skin. They are a common symptom of RA.

These lumps often appear next to the joints that the RA is affecting. However, rheumatoid nodules do not require treatment and are not contagious or dangerous. They can sometimes indicate that a person could make improvements to how they manage their RA.

RA mostly affects a persons joints. However, the disease can also affect other parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, and eyes.

This can cause a variety of other symptoms, including the following.

RA can affect a persons eyes. This can cause them to have dry eyes, the most common type of eye involvement in RA. People with RA can also experience increased sensitivity to light and trouble seeing clearly.

They may also experience eye pain and redness of the eye when RA inflammation affects the eye tissues, such as the iris or the uvea. This involvement is called iritis or uveitis, respectively.

RA can cause a person to have a dry mouth and inflamed gums.

People may also develop irritated gums or a gum infection.

According to a 2020 meta-analysis of 18 studies, up to 19.5% of people with RA may also have Sjgrens disease. This is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting the moisture-producing glands, including those in the mouth.

RA can cause damage to a persons lungs, particularly in the form of interstitial lung disease, an umbrella term for a group of conditions that cause inflammation and scarring in the lungs.

This can cause the person to experience shortness of breath and may lead to chronic lung disease.

Inflammation can affect a persons blood vessels.

This can cause damage to their skin and nerves, resulting from inflammation of the veins, arterioles, and venules. The latter involvement can develop as a peripheral neuropathy.

A person with RA may also have anemia or a lower than expected red blood cell count due to the chronic inflammation.

A person with RA may experience inflammation of the heart. This can damage the heart muscle and the surrounding areas.

The chronic inflammation that RA causes can also increase the risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD).

The inflammation affects the lipid profile of people with RA, contributing to the onset of CAD. People with RA are almost twice as likely to experience heart conditions, such as angina and congestive heart failure, as those without.

Some people with RA experience weight loss.

However, others may find that painful joints make it hard to exercise.

This can cause the person to gain weight. People who maintain a moderate weight can reduce their risk of high cholesterol, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

To treat RA effectively, it is important that a person gets an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible. If they experience symptoms of RA, they should seek medical help.

If a doctor suspects RA, they may arrange for the person to consult a rheumatologist, a doctor with specialized training in treating arthritis.

A doctor will first ask about the persons medical history before discussing joint symptoms. They will want to know about any pain, tenderness, stiffness, and any mobility difficulties they might be experiencing.

The doctor may also want to know about any family history of autoimmune diseases.

They will then carry out a thorough physical examination, documenting vital signs, examining joints, and looking for tenderness, swelling, or warmth of the joints. The doctor may also order blood and imaging tests to support the suspected diagnosis.

RA is a chronic autoimmune condition.

If a person has RA, their immune system confuses the bodys own cells for foreign invading pathogens. This causes the immune system to attack its own cells.

The immune system will also attack synovium, the tissue that lines the joints and produces fluid that helps them move smoothly.

RA tends to affect the joints in the hands, wrists, and knees.

Common symptoms of RA include swelling and pain in the joints, fatigue, fever, decreased function of joints, and compromised mobility.

Anyone who thinks they may have RA should consult with a doctor as soon as possible.

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How to tell if you have rheumatoid arthritis - Medical News Today

Acquired hemophilia is a rare condition that is a disease of the immune system. With this condition, the bodys immune system targets clotting factors in the blood, such as factor VIII. Acquired hemophilia can occur in people that have rheumatoid arthritis and can have serious consequences.

Hemophilia is a disorder that stops the blood from clotting properly. For most people with the condition, it is an inherited disease. Reduced levels of certain blood clotting factors can cause bleeding and trigger serious health problems in some severe cases. There are two types of hemophilia: A and B. Both can be congenital, which means a person inherits it, or they can acquire it, meaning it develops later in life.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that mainly affects the joints. The bodys immune defenses mistakenly attack the joints in the hand, wrist, or knee, causing inflammation and damage. Besides chronic joint pain, balance problems, and deformed bones, the condition can also affect organs such as the lungs, heart, and eyes.

A link between both conditions exists. Acquired hemophilia has associations with rheumatoid arthritis in about 48% of cases, and people tend to have a poorer prognosis.

Keep reading to learn more about the link between hemophilia and rheumatoid arthritis, including diagnosing and treating both conditions.

Acquired hemophilia is similar to congenital hemophilia in that it can cause bleeding. However, the acquired form of the disease is a rare immune system disorder that involves the immune system attacking healthy cells.

Unlike congenital hemophilia, acquired hemophilia does not pass down through generations of a family. Additionally, congenital hemophilia only affects males, whereas acquired hemophilia can affect people of any sex.

In acquired hemophilia, the body makes antibodies that attack proteins, known as clotting factors. With these proteins depleted, the blood does not clot as it should. An example of an affected clotting factor is factor VIII. When blood clots, it clumps together at the site of a wound like a plug.

People who have acquired hemophilia can experience a range of serious complications of the disease due to atypical and uncontrolled bleeding into the soft tissue, skin, and muscles. Sometimes this happens spontaneously or due to surgery or trauma.

According to a recent case report, acquired hemophilia can have links to cancer, pregnancy, certain medications, or autoimmune conditions, including:

However, half of all cases of acquired hemophilia have no identifiable cause.

Both acquired hemophilia and rheumatoid arthritis are immune disorders, where the body attacks its own healthy cells.

Many people with a diagnosis of one autoimmune condition go on to develop other autoimmune disorders. Researchers working on a 2022 study found that people with rheumatoid arthritis often have polyautoimmunity.

Polyautoimmunity refers to the state in which a person has more than one autoimmune disease.

Symptoms can occur when the blood is not clotting properly. People with acquired hemophilia might experience the following:

According to a 2022 case report, a 69-year-old female, who had lived with rheumatoid arthritis for 25 years, experienced a severe nosebleed and bleeding into her muscles and skin. When doctors performed tests, they found that she had factor VIII clotting factors below healthy levels in her blood.

An older case report from 2016 involved another 69-year-old woman who required hospitalization. Doctors diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis 6 years before. Four months before the hospital admission, she experienced:

Doctors can diagnose both conditions by assessing their symptoms and results from the laboratory.

Doctors may diagnose acquired hemophilia if a person is experiencing atypical bleeding that has only started recently. They use a variety of specialized blood tests that measure how long it takes the persons blood to clot. Some tests might include:

People who are most susceptible to acquired hemophilia include the elderly and those who are about to or have recently given birth.

People with rheumatoid arthritis have swollen and tender small joints. Symptoms can include:

Diagnosing this condition involves reviewing the above symptoms, carrying out a physical examination, taking X-rays, and doing lab tests.

Learn more about how doctors diagnose rheumatoid arthritis.

The main goals of managing acquired hemophilia disease are:

As acquired hemophilia is rare, developing most therapies involves using anecdotal or small case reports. Treatments are highly specialized and depend on many factors, including age, overall health, tolerance for certain medications, and the underlying cause.

Some medications include:

When a persons acquired hemophilia has links to another autoimmune condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis, doctors most commonly write a combined prescription for methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide. Both medications help prevent the overactive immune system from attacking healthy cells.

Research from 2018 shows that acquired hemophilia is a life threatening condition, and 515% of people with the disease die.

When doctors diagnose a person with acquired hemophilia early and take action to treat the condition sooner, a persons outlook can be more positive. However, some healthcare professionals can miss or misdiagnose the condition.

Additionally, treatment options come with risks. Therefore, people with acquired hemophilia need regular monitoring from their doctors.

Hemophilia may be congenital or acquired. People with acquired hemophilia can have other autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, at the same time.

Many laboratory tests can help diagnose and treat this condition. Doctors prescribe medications to people with the following goals: controlling bleeding, eradicating the inhibitor, and treating the underlying disease where possible.

The sooner doctors diagnose and treat a person with acquired hemophilia secondary to rheumatoid arthritis, the better their chances of survival.

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What is the link between hemophilia and rheumatoid arthritis? - Medical News Today

The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set newsroom policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or onbangordailynews.com.

Most of the consequences of the Supreme Courts June ruling overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision will likely be less dramatic than the case of a 10-year-old girl from Ohio, a victim of rape, who was taken to Indiana for abortion care because of restrictions in her home state. But for the women, girls and others impacted, the results may be no less harmful and heartbreaking.

Already, we are seeing that states attempts to severely restrict abortion are impacting people who arent seeking abortions and, in fact, may never have them. Women in several states with bans or stringent restrictions on abortion are already finding it difficult to obtainmedication they need for every day living.

Drugs that help women live with cancer, lupus and arthritis are being restrictedbecause they can also be used to induce abortion or are part of the care after miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.

One such drug is Methotrexate, a drug used to treat arthritis, lupus, cancer and Crohns disease.

Dana Chabot of Portland was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis before her third birthday. She has taken a combination of medications, sometimes including Methotrexate, to manage day-to-day living, such as getting out of bed, walking up and down stairs and attending college and now working.

If she is unable to obtain the medication her body needs, her life would deteriorate quickly.

Although Gov. Janet Mills and Democratic lawmakers have pledged to keep abortion legalin Maine, Chabot worries that such attitudes and laws can change with different people in office.

As of right now, Maine is a safe state. But, in the future, if Maine becomes one of those states that bans abortion and I cant get the proper medication, its going to be a really big issue, she said during a recent interview at her familys home in Portland. Her mother, Barbara, is a friend of mine from college.

I do worry that Maine will suddenly become a state I wont be able to live in, she added.

On the surface, life may look normal for Chabot, 22. She was a cheerleader at Deering High School and actively involved in theater. She graduated from college in May and works two jobs.

But, because of her arthritis, a day at work or a night out with friends can mean hours of pain and difficulty moving through her daily routine.

Like others with hidden disabilities, Chabot has had to endure doubts and insensitive advice from doctors, teachers and others. Suggestions that her illness is in her head are as frequent as they are mean. One school counselor told her to get a boyfriend so she could focus on him rather than her problems. Doctors have been dismissive as well.

Arthritis, and the health consequences that can come with it headaches, joint pain, imobility, even blindness in some cases are very real. One in four American adults have arthritisand 300,000 American children have juvenile arthritis. It takes medication, and a lot of careful planning, to keep the pain and loss of mobility at bay.

At times, it feels like doctors and insurance companies which have to approve any changes in medication or other therapies control her body, Chabot said.

Right now, I have very little control over my own body. and lawmakers are telling me there is even less I can do with my own body. Its awful, but I have to fight for the right to just function normally, she said.

We should all be able to agree that no one should have to fight for the right to function normally, that no one should have to fear that they cant get the medications that make their life liveable.

Supporters of bans on abortion will likely argue that this is not what they intended. But, the push to outlaw abortion without full consideration of the unintended consequences is irresponsible and cruel.

Girls like the 10-year-old in Ohio and women like Dana Chabot any humans, in fact should not have to live in fear that lawmakers, and not themselves, will control what happens to their bodies.

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Abortion bans are harming women with cancer and arthritis. A Portland woman fears it can happen here. - Bangor Daily News

improve thyroid gland function

Experts say that due to the deficiency of copper, thyroid glands malfunction. In this case, copper water balances the inefficiencies of the thyroid gland. If you have thyroid problems, drinking water in a copper vessel every day is a healthy option for you.

Copper water benefits your health by strengthening bones. This makes it an excellent treatment for arthritis. The anti-inflammatory effect of copper is of great benefit to individuals with arthritis. It also reduces the problem of joint pain.

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Copper water removes pollutants and harmful germs. Along with this, it reduces stomach irritation, and promotes metabolism and improves digestion.

Copper water promotes proper blood circulation. and dilates blood vessels. In this way the risk of heart related diseases is reduced.

Ayurveda experts state that the benefits of copper water include fighting the harmful effects of free radicals. Due to which the problem of aging is reduced.

Water stored in a copper vessel prevents oxidants from working faster or better, thereby reducing the risk of stroke.

The right amount of copper in the body works to increase your metabolism. It also helps in losing weight in a healthy way by burning fat.

Copper is an important mineral. The body requires it at the proper level to prevent hemoglobin related disorders.

According to experts, copper has natural antibacterial properties that can reduce infections. In such a situation, storing water in a copper vessel in the rain and drinking it can save you from the infection spreading in this season.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only. It cannot in any way be a substitute for any medicine or treatment. Always contact your doctor for more details.

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These 10 diseases including thyroid-arthritis will remain under control, just drink water every day like this - News Day Express

Although there are several new technologies and techniques improving outcomes for sports medicine and orthopedic patients, many surgeons are not incentivized to use them, according to Kevin Stone, MD.

Dr. Stone is an orthopedic surgeon leading the Stone Clinic in San Francisco. He specializes in robotic-assisted surgeries and the use of biologics for joint preservation, holding more than 40 U.S. patents and lecturing worldwide on cartilage and meniscal treatments.

He recently spoke with Becker's about innovations shaping patient care and the roadblocks keeping providers from onboarding new technology and techniques.

Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: What are the biggest challenges facing the industry right now?

Dr. Kevin Stone: The industry that I work in is in sports medicine and arthritis. So I see athletes of all ages, and I see people who are developing arthritis or developed arthritis and want to stay active and keep doing the sports they love to do. In my space of the world, it's really educating people that taking tissues out, such as the meniscus cartilage, or shaving the cartilage, the particular cartilage away, or leaving people with unstable knees leads them to arthritis. And we have developed the techniques now for replacing the meniscus, for regrowing the cartilage, for rebuilding the ligaments accurately so that if people and doctors knew that it's not a good idea to take someone's meniscus cartilage out for example, it's much better if it's damaged to repair it, to regrow it or to replace it then we would save tens of millions of people the arthritis they would later develop.

The biggest challenge is educating doctors and patients to repair and replace tissues, not to take them out. The second biggest part in the industry is the old thinking that artificial joint placement means patients can't return to sports or should stay home and rest their knee, or only do limited activities. That's simply not true anymore. In the age of robotics, what's happened is that robotics have permitted us to become much more precise as partial and total knee replacement surgeons. And when we do a total knee replacement now, we don't need to use cement anymore. So we don't need to limit the patient's activities because they're not going to knock the implant loose, and educating patients and doctors about that has been much harder than we ever thought, because so many patients are being told they can't be active and so many doctors are still doing procedures with old technology.

Q: What technologies and techniques are improving efficiency and quality of care?

KS: This is the era of growth factors and lubrication. So the injection therapy has gotten so good now that many people who once were being brought to surgery for certain types of injuries are being treated successfully with injections, and this is the abandoning of cortisone and then moving toward anabolic injections, growth factors and lubrication.

Q: How do you expect the industry to evolve in the next three to five years?

KS: We will start to get birth tissues approved, which will be much more potent anabolic therapies both with growth factors and anti-inflammatories and cellular recruitment factors, so that the injection therapies will become even more effective. Number two, robotics will expand and patients will demand they be treated with more modern techniques, and that will permit people to be returned to sports, and be much more active than they have been in the past. So I think those two things are probably the biggest changes.

Q: If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

KS: I would improve the incentives for innovation, because right now doctors are not incented to innovate, and that inhibits a lot of the development of the technology and techniques that we would like to use and develop.

[This is partially due to] cost, because robotics are more expensive at first although they're cheaper in the long run and in part, health programs, insurance programs that do not encourage innovation. And because most people only stay with their healthcare plan for two or three years, the insurance companies and healthcare plans don't really care about the long-term outcomes for patients, because those people will not be their patients in the long term. So the incentive is all wrong.

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Repairing and replacing, not removing, is the future of orthopedics: Dr. Kevin Stone - Becker's Orthopedic & Spine

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that can cause pain, stiffness, and limited range of motion. OA can affect any joint, including the wrist.

The symptoms of wrist OA include pain, swelling, and a reduced range of motion in the wrist and hand. Wrist OA can lead to structural changes in the hand and limit a persons ability to perform daily tasks.

This article looks at wrist OA in more detail, including its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.

OA happens when cartilage wears away. Cartilage is a smooth, flexible tissue that cushions and protects the ends of bones, allowing them to glide smoothly over each other.

When the cartilage at the ends of wrist bones wears away, the bones may rub together, creating friction and swelling. A person may also experience pain because the exposed bone has nerve endings. Eventually, the wrist joint may change shape, causing more pain and reducing the range of motion in the wrist and hand.

The wrist connects the hand to the forearm and comprises several bones. The radius and ulna are the forearm bones. There are eight small carpal bones at the base of the hand, arranged in two rows of four. In a healthy wrist, slippery cartilage covers the joint surface of each bone.

In wrist OA, the cartilage wears away, causing the bones to rub against each other. Injuries such as a broken wrist can accelerate cartilage loss and OA symptoms.

The symptoms of wrist OA can include:

Wrist OA can cause various complications, including:

To diagnose wrist OA, a doctor will first perform a physical exam and take a persons medical history.

They may also order X-rays to help identify structural changes in the wrist and hand and to rule out other causes.

Although OA does not lead to blood abnormalities, a doctor may order a blood test to help rule out other causes, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

If a doctor suspects an infection in the wrist, they may order an arthrocentesis, also known as synovial fluid analysis. This procedure involves taking a small sample of fluid from the synovium the lining of the joint for analysis.

Although there is no cure for OA, a person can try the following management techniques to alleviate the symptoms and prevent OA from progressing:

Physical therapy can help a person maintain range of motion and keep their wrist as flexible as possible. A physical therapist can teach specific exercises that may help relieve the symptoms of OA.

These exercises may include:

Heat and cold therapy provide different benefits to people with wrist OA. Some people find that applying heat to painful joints helps relieve pain. Heat therapy, such as a paraffin wax bath, increases blood flow by dilating the blood vessels, helping ease stiffness in the wrist.

Cold therapy constricts blood vessels and can help reduce swelling and inflammation. A person can wrap an ice pack in a cloth or towel and apply it to the affected area.

Different types of wrist supports can help in different ways. Resting splints keep the hand and wrist still when a person is resting. Working splints help keep the hand and wrist in the right position when a person is using them.

It is best to ask the advice of a healthcare professional before buying wrist braces or straps to make sure that they are suitable.

Learn about more home remedies for arthritis.

Doctors may recommend the following treatments alongside the above home remedies:

Doctors may recommend various medications to relieve the symptoms of wrist OA. The options include:

If nonsurgical options are ineffective, doctors may recommend surgery. According to a 2022 article, the most common types are:

Wrist OA is a chronic condition that causes pain and stiffness in the wrist. It can also affect mobility and make daily tasks more difficult.

People can alleviate their symptoms and slow the progression of the disease by following the advice of healthcare professionals and taking their medication consistently. If a person with wrist OA does not receive treatment for it, the pain could become debilitating.

Wrist OA is a degenerative condition resulting from aging and overuse. It can lead to pain, stiffness, and a limited range of movement.

Possible complications include CTS and structural changes in the hand. Doctors can diagnose wrist OA through a physical exam and X-rays.

There is no cure for OA, but treatments are available to help ease the symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent further joint damage.

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Osteoarthritis in the wrist: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment - Medical News Today

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J&J's Stelara (ustekinumab) Approved By FDA To Treat Pediatric Patients With Active Psoriatic Arthritis - Benzinga

GUELPH, ON eQcell Inc., a Canadian clinical-stage company, and Tillsonburg, Ontario-based private equity fund Ag Capital Canada (ACC) are pleased to announce the completion of a C$1.1 million capital investment.

eQcell is the first company in Canada to receive Health Canada authorization for the clinical

testing of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of equine and canine arthritis. Trials of this treatment are ongoing in Canada and the US. Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of chronic lameness in horses and dogs and the fastest-growing cause of disability in humans worldwide. It has no cure.

Ag Capital Canadas investment provides eQcell with additional funding to advance its clinical stromal cell development programs and expand its therapeutic pipeline. Horses and dogs with naturally occurring osteoarthritis tend to yield data that is more clinically relevant to human osteoarthritis than do traditional laboratory animal pre-clinical models.

eQcell is following this now-established science in pursuing a One-Health approach. Success in these trials could lead to the application of the platform for human development.

Commercially, the path to market for veterinary trials is significantly shorter than for human

trials, which can result in early revenues from successful development. Importantly, safety and efficacy data from veterinary trials may significantly reduce the high rate of failure reported in late-stage human clinical trials.

This investment by ACC, an industry-specific investment fund, is a significant milestone for

eQcell, said Dr. Thomas Koch, Founder and CEO of eQcell. Furthermore, eQcell shares ACCs ambition for creating high-value companies and jobs in Canada. We look forward to working with the outstanding team at ACC and benefitting from its broad and varied local, national and international relationships in financing and business development.

John Lansink, Managing Partner at Ag Capital Canada, responded: We at Ag Capital Canada have been following Dr. Koch and his research for several years now. The pioneering work he and his team are doing has the potential to change the availability and application of osteoarthritis treatments for the animal health industry.

About eQcell

eQcell is Canadas premier clinical-stage regenerative medicine company. The mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) produced by eQcell are the result of 15 years of research, development and treatment of horses and dogs at the University of Guelphs Ontario Veterinary College. This institution is recognized as one of the top-five veterinary universities in the world. eQcell, together with Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Colorado State Universitys Translational

Medicine Centre & Veterinary Hospital, is also conducting a clinical trial in septic arthritis in horses using MSCs to treat chronic, drug-resistant infections. For more information on eQcell, visit http://www.eqcell.com

About Ag Capital Canada

Ag Capital Canada (ACC) is a private equity fund which invests in Canadian ag and food

innovation and small business growth. ACC aims to discover, develop and nurture Canadian agricultural businesses through capital investment, business-management mentorship and entrepreneurial expertise. For more information on ACC, visit http://www.agcapitalcanada.com.

Media Contacts:

eQcell Ag Capital Canada

Dr. Thomas Koch John Lansink

tkoch@eqcell.com johnl@agcapitalcanada.com

519.760.0068 519.520.5515

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eQcell and Ag Capital Canada Announce Completion of Capital Raise - BioSpace

Overview of the STAR Awards

The NIAMS STAR program provides supplemental funding for early-career stage investigators who have renewed their first NIAMS-funded R01 grant. The supplement enables these scientists to pursue innovative and high-risk research within the broader scope of a current NIAMS-funded, peer-reviewed research project. It also helps investigators to expand a single, structured research project into a broader multi-faceted research program. In FY 2021, two investigators received NIAMS STAR supplements.

ErikaGeisbrecht, Ph.D., is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Kansas State University. She leads an NIAMS-supported researchproject using theDrosophilamodel to determine mechanisms that prevent protein aggregation, and ultimately cellular degeneration, in muscle. The findings will provide insight into how protein aggregates can be cleared effectively to reduce disease states and offer an opportunity to eventually develop successful therapeutic strategies to maintain healthy cells. TheSTARaward funding will support her teams effort to expand the knowledge about how protein complexes that mediate protein clearance are also possible regulators of sarcomere (the functional unit of a muscle fiber) remodeling.

Corey Neu, Ph.D., is the Donnelly Family Endowed Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He leads an NIAMS-funded researchproject to establish a noninvasive imaging method of measuring cartilage strain to predict osteoarthritis development. Previous findings suggested that the novel imaging method specifically quantified cartilage tissue-level strain and structure. The STAR award will enable Dr. Neus team to explore high-risk studies developing new imaging biomarkers of cellular and nuclear structure. This knowledge may provide tissue- to cellular-scale prognostic factors for osteoarthritis, ultimately leading to diagnosis at the earliest stages when disease-rectifying therapies may be most effective.

For more information about the NIAMS STAR program, including the funding opportunity announcement and profiles of past award recipients, visit the Supplements to Advance Research (STAR) page on the NIAMS website. Additional background information is provided in theDecember 2014 letter from the NIAMS Director announcing the program.

To view profiles for the 2015 STAR awardees, visit the 2015 announcement for the STAR program.

To view profiles for the 2016 STAR awardees, visit the 2016 announcement for the STAR program.

To view profiles for the 2017 STAR awardees, visit the 2017 announcement for the STAR program.

To view profiles for the 2018 STAR awardees, visit the 2018 announcement for the STAR program.

To view profiles for the 2019 STAR awardees, visit the 2019 announcement for the STAR program.

To view profiles for the 2020 STAR awardees, visit the 2020 announcement for the STAR program.

For more information, please see the STAR funding opportunity announcement and the December 2014 letter from the NIAMS Director announcing the program.

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NIAMS Awards Two Fiscal Year 2021 Supplements to Advance Research (STAR) From Projects to Programs Enhancing NIH Support for Early-Career Stage...

HAMILTON, BERMUDA , July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Altamira Therapeutics ("Altamira" or the "Company")(NASDAQ:CYTO), a company dedicated to developing therapeutics that address important unmet medical needs, today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed article in the scientific journalInternational Journal of Oral Sciencetitled, "Histone demethylase JMJD3 downregulation protects against aberrant force-induced osteoarthritis through epigenetic control of NR4A1" that covers an independently funded study evaluating novel treatment approaches for osteoarthritis (OA) conducted by a Shanghai-based research group.

Study highlights

The study used different approaches to downregulate the Jumonji domain-containing protein D3 (JMJD3) gene to assess whether this strategy would be beneficial for the treatment of OA. Nanoparticles comprising a siRNA targeting the JMJD3 gene, and Altamiras peptide-based OligoPhore delivery platform (also known as p5RHH), were used to locally downregulate the expression of JMJD3 in a mouse model of OA. The study authors observed that, the severity of joint degeneration was remarkably mitigated thanks to administration of the nanoparticles and highlighted their advantage of specifically targeting inflammation in the joint without off-target toxicities. They propose JMJD3 inhibition based on the OligoPhore platform as an innovative epigenetic therapy approach for joint diseases.

In their study, the authors pursued an epigenetic-based therapeutic approach (i.e. targeting gene regulation) to mitigate cartilage inflammation and damage in a murine model of osteoarthritis. OligoPhore was used to formulate siRNA polyplexes that inhibited chondrocyte production of a histone demethylase, JMJD3, in response to joint damage. JMJD3 is upregulated in joint injury and drives other inflammatory pathways to elicit further damage and chondrocyte programmed cell death. Injection of 2 weekly doses of OligoPhore-siRNA into the affected joint over 8 weeks significantly attenuated inflammation and preserved cartilage viability and integrity.

CSO comments

"The study's results confirm prior findings reporting the benefit of RNA therapeutics based on our nanoparticle delivery platform in models in rheumatoid arthritis and, now, osteoarthritis," commented Samuel Wickline, MD, Altamira Therapeutics Chief Scientific Officer." One of the key features of OligoPhore is the targeted delivery to inflamed tissues, making it particularly well suited for the treatment of arthritis with oligonucleotides, both in terms of efficacy and safety.

"Osteoarthritis can have a significantly detrimental impact on the well-being and quality of life of patients, often over many years or even decades, yet there is still no disease-modifying treatment available, Dr. Wickline added. While our AM-411 program is targeting rheumatoid arthritis, we envision extending its potential use to osteoarthritis as well."

Earlier this week, the Company announced the initiation of AM-411, a development program based on its proprietary OligoPhore delivery platform and siRNA targeting NF-B, for a novel generation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) therapeutics.

Osteoarthritis to become one of the most prevalent diseases in the coming decades

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that can affect the many tissues of the joint.1 It can degrade cartilage, change bone shape and cause inflammation, resulting in pain, stiffness and loss of mobility. OA can affect any joint, but typically affects hands, knees, hips, lower back and neck. Its signs and symptoms typically show up more often in individuals over age 50, but OA can affect much younger people, too, especially those who have had a prior joint injury. There is no cure for OA, but there are ways to manage OA to minimize pain, continue physical activities, maintain a good quality of life and remain mobile.

OA is by far the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 32.5 million adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The global prevalence of OA is increasing and the burden of the disease will rise.2 The medical cost of osteoarthritis in various high-income countries has been estimated to account for between 1% and 2.5% of the gross domestic product of these countries, with hip and knee joint replacements representing the major proportion of these health-care costs.

About International Journal of Oral Science

The International Journal of Oral Science seeks to publish all aspects of oral science and interdisciplinary fields, including basic, applied and clinical research. The Journal publishes peer-reviewed articles that describe new research results and review articles that provide succinct summaries of an area in oral science. The International Journal of Oral Science is published by Springer Nature. For more information, visit:https://www.nature.com/ijos/aims

About OligoPhore

OligoPhore is a versatile platform for safe and effective delivery of oligonucleotides such as siRNA (small interfering ribonucleic acid) into target cells. It is based on a proprietary 21-amino acid peptide that can engage any type of RNA in rapid self-assembly into a polyplex. The polyplex has a size, charge, and other physical features that allow it to escape hepatic clearance and thus to reach other target tissues than the liver. OligoPhore protects the RNA payload from degradation in the circulation and allows for rapid cellular uptake, while enabling pH-dependent nucleotide endosomal escape and cytoplasmic delivery. Effective delivery and positive treatment outcomes have been demonstrated in more than 10 murine models of disease for targets in the NF-B family, various members of the ETS transcription factor family, and targets in the JNK and TAM pathways.

About Altamira Therapeutics

Altamira Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYTO) is dedicated to developing therapeutics that address important unmet medical needs. The Company is currently active in three areas: the development of RNA therapeutics for extrahepatic therapeutic targets (OligoPhore / SemaPhore platforms; preclinical), nasal sprays for protection against airborne allergens and, where approved, viruses (Bentrio; commercial) or for the treatment of vertigo (AM-125; Phase 2), and the development of therapeutics for intratympanic treatment of tinnitus or hearing loss (Keyzilen and Sonsuvi; Phase 3). Founded in 2003, it is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, with its main operations in Basel, Switzerland. For more information, visit:https://altamiratherapeutics.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical facts and may include statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or Altamira Therapeutics' strategies or expectations. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may", "might", "will", "should", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "projects", "potential", "outlook" or "continue", or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the approval and timing of commercialization of AM-301, Altamira Therapeutics' need for and ability to raise substantial additional funding to continue the development of its product candidates, the timing and conduct of clinical trials of Altamira Therapeutics' product candidates, the clinical utility of Altamira Therapeutics' product candidates, the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, Altamira Therapeutics' intellectual property position and Altamira Therapeutics' financial position, including the impact of any future acquisitions, dispositions, partnerships, license transactions or changes to Altamira Therapeutics' capital structure, including future securities offerings. These risks and uncertainties also include, but are not limited to, those described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Altamira Therapeutics' Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021, and in Altamira Therapeutics' other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the Securities Exchange Commission's website at:www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated. All forward-looking statements and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Altamira Therapeutics or to persons acting on behalf of Altamira Therapeutics are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Altamira Therapeutics does not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable law.

CONTACTInvestors@altamiratherapeutics.com 800-460-0183

1https://www.arthritis.org/diseases/osteoarthritis

2 Hunter DJ & Bierma-Zeinstra S (2019), Osteoarthritis, Lancet 393:1745-59.

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Altamira Therapeutics Delivery Platform with siRNA Shown to be Effective Treatment for Osteoarthritis as Published in Peer-Reviewed Journal - BioSpace