Novel therapy shows efficacy against cancer in children

The new therapy was successful in saving a group of children who were destined to die without treatment.

A novel supercharged immune cell treatment appears to work against tumors in children with a certain type of cancer, researchers reported Wednesday.

Nine of 27 children in an Italian study were free of cancer six weeks after treatment, although two later relapsed and died.

So-called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (or CAR T-cell therapy) is already used to help the immune system fight leukemia and other blood cancers.

It is the first time that researchers have achieved such encouraging results in solid tumors, the experts said, raising hope that the therapy could be used against cancers of other types.

It is too early to consider the treatment a cure for neuroblastoma, a cancer of nerve tissue that often begins in childhood in the adrenal glands and abdomen.

Ordinary treatment can be very severe: chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, depending on the stage of the cancer and other factors. The children in the study had cancers that had come back or were particularly difficult to treat.

Eleven of the children were alive when the study ended after three years, including some who partially responded to the therapy and received repeated doses of modified cells.

“All of these children were destined to die without the treatment,” said Dr. Carl June of the University of Pennsylvania, a pioneer in CAR T-cell therapy but not involved in the new research.

“No one has ever had patients respond this way before, so we don’t know where they’ll be a decade from now,” June said. “There will certainly be more testing based on these exciting results.”

CAR T cell therapy harnesses the immune system to create “living drugs” capable of seeking out and destroying tumors. T cells are collected from the patient’s blood, boosted in the laboratory, and then returned intravenously to the patient, where they continue to multiply in his body.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FAA) has approved six CAR T-cell therapies for blood cancers. Some patients have been cured. But it has not been successful in solid tumors.

The most recent study was conducted by researchers at the Vatican’s Infant Jesus Pediatric Hospital in Rome.

“They seem to have found a unique combination” to get the modified cells to multiply initially and then last long enough to continue their work of killing cancer, said Dr. Robbie Majzner of the Stanford University School of Medicine, who he was not involved in the new study.

Dr. Franco Locatelli, co-author of the study, said that the experts also included a safety mechanism to eliminate the cells in case of a severe reaction in the patient.

When a patient had problems, they activated and demonstrated the safety mechanism, but later determined that the patient’s problem was due to non-CAR T-cell cerebral hemorrhage.

Many children had a common side effect of CAR T-cell therapy, an immune reaction called a “cytokine storm.” It can have severe levels but was mild in most cases, the researchers reported.

They concluded that CAR T cell therapy was “feasible and safe to treat neuroblastoma.”

 


Source: vozdeamerica.com

The challenges of climate change, more challenges for Latin America

Today marks the International Day against Climate Change, 2022 has shown worldwide the effects of global warming and the impacts on broad swaths of the population. The OAS reviews the situation in the region and puts the challenges for Latin American countries into perspective.

The American continent has witnessed this year how persistent droughts reveal the bottom of lakes and rivers dried up, cracked soils; Raging fires have also devastated forests one after another during extreme heat waves in the western United States and Canada.

Also in Latin America, the effects of global warming are beginning to take their toll on countries like Chile, Brazil, Argentina and parts of Peru that have had to face extreme and persistent drought, while in tropical areas the rains have come in excess.

This October 24, the world commemorates the World Day against Climate Change, a date that calls for reflection on the impact of the phenomenon associated with the climate and the patterns of human behavior to aggravate it.

In this context, the Organization of American States (OAS) presented a report to put the situation in the region into perspective and how joint public policies should be oriented to deal with the problem.

The study Climate Change: life, democracy, justice, freedom and equality analyzes the situation and the commitments that must be materialized in the short term in the region so that it can overcome the phenomenon that in some areas of the American continent has begun to trigger waves migratory

In others, it exposes vulnerabilities due to the accumulation of one disaster after another caused by extreme natural phenomena.

“There are countries, such as those in the Caribbean and Central America, that are in the group that suffer the most from the consequences and at the same time are the most vulnerable. In the absence of special conditions, the countries of Central America and the Caribbean will come out of each shock with more vulnerabilities and less capacity to face the next one”, the study explains.

And these dynamics -according to the OAS study- are repeated on a scale in each nation among the most vulnerable population and differs from those who have more capacities to deal with the problem.

It is considered that among “the continuous effects of climate change in the OAS member states, the irreparable damage and the high cost it has had stands out, both in human lives and in human displacement and economic destruction.”

The investigation has crossed data from other reports that have emerged in the different regions of the continent, contributions from experts who have systematized the information, and the visits that intergovernmental missions have made to assess the phenomenon in the face of “the serious challenges that the OAS member states are already facing. , and the way in which they can worsen if the factors that cause climate change are not counteracted”, reads the document.

Debates on the origin of COVID-19 soar after new report

Hypotheses and theories about the origin of COVID-19 in China gained new impetus this week with the announcement of a report from the US Department of Energy that claimed that the virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory.

The origins of COVID-19 remain unclear. Three years after the start of the pandemic, it is still not clear if the coronavirus that causes the disease left a laboratory or reached humans from an animal.

What is known is that when it comes to misinformation about COVID-19, any new report on the origin of the virus will soon lead to a relapse and a return of misleading claims about the virus, vaccines and masks that have resonated since the beginning of the pandemic.

It happened again this week after the US Department of Energy announced that a classified report had concluded, with a low level of confidence, that the virus had escaped from a laboratory.

Within hours, online mentions of COVID-19 conspiracy theories began to surface, with many people saying the classified report proved they had been right all along.

The Energy Department report adds to other attempts by scientists and authorities to identify the source of the virus, which has killed nearly 7 million people since it was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

The report has not been made public, and authorities in Washington stressed that several US agencies disagree on the origin.

Source: vozdeamerica.com

Experts believe that it is possible to reduce deaths from drug overdoses in the US

Although the rise in drug overdose deaths in the US appears to have stalled, experts say better treatment and counseling could begin to slow the trend, though they aren’t confident.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States increased slightly last year after two large increases during the pandemic.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials say the numbers have stagnated for most of the past year, but they’re not sure if that means the worst overdose epidemic in the US is finally coming to an end. top, or it will be like previous plateaus that were followed by new increases in deaths.

“The fact that it seems to be flattening out, at least nationally, is encouraging,” said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University professor of epidemiology whose research focuses on drug use. “But these numbers are still extraordinarily high. We should not suggest that the crisis is by any means over.”

An estimated 109,680 overdose deaths occurred last year, according to figures released Wednesday by the CDC. That’s about 2% more than the 107,622 deaths recorded in 2021, but nothing like the 30% increase seen in 2020 and 15% in 2021.

While the overall national number was relatively stable between 2021 and 2022, there were drastic changes in several states: 23 reported fewer overdose deaths, one, Iowa, saw no change, and the rest continued to rise.

Eight states—Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—reported significant declines in overdose deaths of around 100 or more compared to the previous calendar year.

Some of those states had some of the highest overdose death rates during the epidemic, which Keyes said could be a sign that years of focused work to address the problem is paying off.

State officials cited several factors for the decline, including social media and health education campaigns to warn the public about the dangers of drug use, more addiction treatment such as telehealth, and wider distribution of the anti-inflammatory drug naxalone. the overdoses.

Also, the stigma that prevented drug users from seeking help, and some doctors and police officers from helping them, is diminishing, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, a state health official for Louisiana, where overdose deaths fell 4 percent last year. last year.

“We are catching up and the tide is turning, slowly,” said Kanter, whose state has one of the highest overdose death rates in the country.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, the abuse of prescription opioid painkillers was to blame for deaths before a gradual shift to heroin, which in 2015 caused more deaths than prescription painkillers or other drugs.

A year later, the deadlier fentanyl and its close cousins became the biggest killer drugs.

Last year, the majority of overdose deaths continued to be linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Around 75,000, 4% more than the previous year. There was also an 11% increase in deaths related to cocaine and a 3% increase in deaths related to methamphetamine and other stimulants.

Overdose deaths are often attributed to more than one drug. Some people take multiple drugs, and officials say cheap fentanyl is increasingly being used in other drugs, often without the knowledge of buyers.

Research by Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a drug policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco, suggests that “there appears to be some substitution,” with a number of illicit drug users turning to methamphetamine or other options to try to stay away from fentanyl and drugs contaminated with fentanyl.

Ciccarone believes that overdose deaths will eventually decrease. He cited improvements in addiction counseling and treatment, better availability of naloxone and legal action that led to revenues of more than $50 billion, money that will need to be made available to bolster overdose prevention.

“We’ve invested a lot in this 20-year problem of opioid overdoses,” he said. “We must be bending the curve.”

However, he expressed some caution, saying “we’ve been here before.”

For example, in 2018, when overdose deaths fell 4% from the previous year, to around 67,000, then-President Donald Trump declared, “We are stopping the opioid epidemic.”

But overdose deaths then increase

on to a record 71,000 in 2019, and then skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic to 92,000 in 2020 and 107,000 in 2021.

Lockdowns and other pandemic-era restrictions isolated people with drug addictions and made it harder to access treatment, experts say.

Keyes believes the 2022 numbers didn’t get worse in part because isolation eased as the pandemic abated. But there may be problems ahead, others say, such as increased detection of the veterinary tranquilizer xylazine in illicit drugs and proposals to reduce things like the prescription of addiction drugs through telehealth.

“What the last 20 years of this overdose crisis have taught us is that this really is a moving target,” Keyes said. “And when you think you’ve got it under control, sometimes the problem can morph into new and different ways.”

 

Source: www.vozdeamerica.com

A record rise in temperatures is expected in the next 5 years

In five years, temperatures are expected to reach 1.5 degrees more than normal. Scientists predict that it will be a “sad” day, as there is no going back. However, they encourage to continue reducing the emission of greenhouse gases as much as possible.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that global temperatures are likely to reach record levels in the next five years, with temperatures reaching more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for at least one year.

“We estimate that in the next five years we will reach 1.15 degrees Celsius temporarily, but in the next 15 to 20 years, we estimate that this could be the most permanent feature of the climate,” said Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General.

“Actually, there is no going back to the old days because we already have a very high concentration of carbon dioxide and also, of course, we have increased the concentration of methane in the atmosphere.”

CO2, methane and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming are the main drivers of climate change. Although many greenhouse gases occur naturally, human activities increase their concentration in the atmosphere.

Talaas explained that the negative trend is likely to continue until the 2060s and then “the return to the normal level could take even thousands of years because we already have such a high concentration of carbon dioxide” in the atmosphere.

Meteorologists expect the most dramatic changes to occur in the Arctic, where warming is disproportionately high and temperatures in this region are projected to be more than three times the global average in the next five years.

Talaas warns that it will have a major effect on the ecosystem. “For example, we expect there will be changes in fisheries and melting of permafrost and it will also have a big impact on infrastructure.”

He pointed out that many settlements are built on permafrost: “railways, roads, gas pipelines, etc., and they will be in danger because of this high level of warming.”

The world organization’s report predicts that precipitation patterns over the next five years will result in increased rainfall in the Sahel, northern Europe, Alaska and northern Siberia and reduced rainfall in the Amazon and parts of Australia.

Source: www.vozdeamerica.com

Instagram prepares a Twitter competitor to launch in June

The new messaging application is expected to compete with Twitter, one of the pioneers in sending instant messages.

Meta Platforms’ Instagram plans to launch a text-based app to compete with Twitter that could debut as early as June, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Facebook’s parent company is testing the product with influencers and some content creators on social networks, according to the report.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Meta has been reaching out to talent agencies and celebrities to gauge interest in testing an early version of the app, which will integrate with Instagram, Verge reporter Alex Heath said in a newsletter.

“The decentralized app is based on Instagram, but it will be compatible with other apps, such as Mastodon,” Lia Haberman, a professor of social media and influencer marketing at the University of California (UCLA), said in a newsletter.

 

Source: www.vozdeamerica.com

Debates on the origin of COVID-19 soar after new report

Hypotheses and theories about the origin of COVID-19 in China gained new impetus this week with the announcement of a report from the US Department of Energy that claimed that the virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory.

The origins of COVID-19 remain unclear. Three years after the start of the pandemic, it is still not clear if the coronavirus that causes the disease left a laboratory or reached humans from an animal.

What is known is that when it comes to misinformation about COVID-19, any new report on the origin of the virus will soon lead to a relapse and a return of misleading claims about the virus, vaccines and masks that have resonated since the beginning of the pandemic.

It happened again this week after the US Department of Energy announced that a classified report had concluded, with a low level of confidence, that the virus had escaped from a laboratory.

Within hours, online mentions of COVID-19 conspiracy theories began to surface, with many people saying the classified report proved they had been right all along.

The Energy Department report adds to other attempts by scientists and authorities to identify the source of the virus, which has killed nearly 7 million people since it was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

The report has not been made public, and authorities in Washington stressed that several US agencies disagree on the origin.

Source: vozdeamerica.com