fbpx
01 / 05
Novel Test Can Detect Different Types of Asthma via Nasal Swab

NBC News | Noncommunicable Disease

Novel Test Can Detect Different Types of Asthma via Nasal Swab

“In some moderate or severe cases, figuring out which type of asthma a child has can help doctors match patients with proper treatment. But testing options have long been limited: Typically, doctors either draw blood to measure levels of immune cells or antibodies, or have children breathe into a mouthpiece to measure the nitric oxide in their breath.

However, the tests aren’t always accurate, and they only detect T2-high asthma, and thus can’t differentiate between other subtypes.

So researchers at the University of Pittsburgh developed a more precise way to diagnose different asthma subtypes: collecting nasal swabs, then sequencing the RNA they contain. In people with two of the asthma subtypes, certain genes associated with inflammation are more highly expressed, so the researchers looked for those hallmarks. The third subtype was identified through the absence of those genetic hallmarks…

The analysis showed that the nasal swabs could accurately diagnose several asthma subtypes.”

From NBC News.

Nature | Noncommunicable Disease

Cheap Blood Test Detects Pancreatic Cancer Before It Spreads

“Researchers have developed a simple blood test to detect pancreatic cancer before it spreads to other sites in the body. The test could be used for routine screening to improve the disease’s low survival rate.

Fischer and his colleagues focused on detecting enzymes called proteases, which break down proteins and are active in tumours, even from the very early stages. They specifically looked at the activity of matrix metalloproteinases involved in chewing up collagen and the extracellular matrix, which helps tumours to invade the body.

To detect the presence of these proteases in the blood, the researchers developed nanosensors containing a magnetic nanoparticle attached to a small peptide that attracts matrix metalloproteinases and a fluorescent molecule…

The researchers tested the nanosensor on frozen blood samples from 356 individuals, some with pancreatic cancer, some with non-cancerous forms of pancreatic disease and healthy controls. The nanosensor correctly identified healthy individuals 98% of the time, and identified people with pancreatic cancer with 73% accuracy. It always distinguished between individuals with cancer and those with other pancreatic diseases.”

From Nature.

MIT Technology Review | Noncommunicable Disease

AI Is Fixing the Voices of People with Motor Neuron Diseases

“Rodriguez is one of over a thousand people with speech difficulties who have used the voice cloning tool since ElevenLabs, the company that developed it, made it available to them for free. Like many new technologies, the AI voice clones aren’t perfect, and some people find them impractical in day-to-day life. But the voices represent a vast improvement on previous communication technologies and are already improving the lives of people with motor neuron diseases.”

From MIT Technology Review.

JAMA Psychiatry | Drug Use

Semaglutide Helped with Alcohol Use Disorder In Clinical Trial

“In this randomized clinical trial, relative to placebo, low-dose semaglutide reduced the amount of alcohol consumed during a posttreatment laboratory self-administration procedure. Over 9 weeks of treatment, semaglutide led to reductions in some but not all measures of weekly consumption, significantly reduced weekly alcohol craving relative to placebo, and led to greater relative reductions in cigarettes per day in a subgroup of participants with current cigarette use.”

From JAMA Psychiatry.

World Health Organization | Communicable Disease

Progress Is Being Made Against Malaria in South-East Asia Region

“As per the World Malaria Report 2024, estimated malaria cases in [South East Asia] fell from 22.8 million in 2000 to 4 million in 2023 – a reduction of 82.4%. The Region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, accounted for 1.5% global malaria cases in 2023. Estimated malaria deaths in the Region fell by 82.9%, from 35 000 in 2000 to 6000 in 2023. More than 270 million malaria cases and 420 000 malaria deaths have been averted in the Region between 2000 and 2023.”

From World Health Organization.