Tag Archives: treatment

Ground-Breaking Stem Cell Therapy Helps Paralyzed Patient to Walk – WorkersCompensation.com

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Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) While stem cell therapy has shown much promise in treating some medical issues, the use of stem cell therapy has been somewhat controversial over the years. One reason for the controversy is due to the large number of businesses offering unlicensed and unproven stem cell treatments that are not approved by the FDA. However, one recent miraculous case study announced by Mayo clinic may have patients lining up for treatment.

According to statistics from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, there are around 18,000 new Spinal Cord Injuries (SCIs) per year. In the U.S., around 302,000 people currently live with an SCI, most of which have occurred from automobile accidents, falls, acts of violence, or sports activities.

Around 1.7 percent of the U.S. population has some kind of paralysis, of which 33.7 percent is caused by stroke and 27.3 percent is caused by an SCI. Besides impacting physical ability, households of paralyzed people earn around $15,000 per year less, and have lower percentages of employment. The ability to treat SCIs and other paralysis injuries to help them return to a normal life could have monumental implications.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic treated ten SCI patients with stem cells that were harvested from fat in their abdomen or thigh. The stem cells were expanded for a period of four weeks to 100 million cells, and then injected into the lower spine lumbar region.

Included in the study were six patients with neck injuries, and four patients with back injuries, none of which had significant changes in MRIs at one year. All patients were followed for a period of two years, with ten examinations occurring during that time period.

In SCI cases, the most recovery is experienced within the first twelve months after an injury occurs. Then the improvement gradually tapers off or stops at 12 to 24 months after the injury. In the Mayo study, the average time from injury to treatment was 11 months. However, one patient received the stem cell treatment 22 months after the injury and still improved one point on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale.

Overall, the researchers noted 7 out of the 10 patients made improvements on the ASIA scale. The improvements noted included increased sensation to pinpricks and light touch, increased strength in muscle motor groups, and improvements and recovery in bowel function including voluntary contraction.

Two out of three patients with no feeling or sensation below mid-spine or thoracic region improved by 2 points on the ASIA scale, with sensation and voluntary contraction abilities in their lower regions. The researchers estimate that only 5 percent of people with a complete thoracic injury would be expected to regain any feeling or movement.

According to a recent report from Beckers Spine Review, Chris Barr who was paralyzed from the neck down for seven years after a surfing accident, participated in the study. In the five years since his treatment, he has improved his independence, and has gained the ability to walk and stand on his own, with continued improvements in walking speed.

Stem cells are known for moving towards inflammation, however their ability to interact with the spinal cord - which has very limited ability to repair or make new cells - is not fully understood. While the results of the study are promising, it may take years before the treatment becomes a common option for patients.

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Ground-Breaking Stem Cell Therapy Helps Paralyzed Patient to Walk - WorkersCompensation.com

Frontline Forum Part 2: Challenges and Opportunities to Enhance Psoriasis Management – Dermatology Times

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Before reading, review part 1 here.

The panel delved into the specific needs of patients with melanin-rich skin and provided valuable insights into optimizing psoriasis care for this patient population. They noted that some patients have expressed distrust in the health care system or experience with clinical trials and may prefer topical treatments oversystemic agents.

When it comes to putting [patients with skin of color] on a systemic agent, a lot of them have distrust in the health care system or experience with clinical trials. They dont always want to go on a systemic [treatment], Shahriari said. Theyd rather go on a topical [treatment], and [with] our older-generation special topical corticosteroids, a big concern was hypopigmentation or other pigmentary alterations. In the scalp, the formulations we had werent ideal for tightlycoiled hairs.

The panel also discussed the potential risk of hypopigmentation and other pigmentary alterations with older topical corticosteroids and the need for newer formulations. We want to simplify the treatment regimen. We want to pay attention to skin of color and the hypopigmentation that can come from topical steroids, Stein Gold explained. We want to do a more holistic treatment for the patients [with] psoriasis where we can treat short term as well as a long term. It doesnt mean we wont use combination therapy with these new topicals, combination with topical steroids or systemic agents, but I think theyre [an] important addition to the treatment arm inthis area.

The panelists highlighted the significance of tailored treatment approaches for patients with melanin-rich skin, with Kircik noting, When you look at the statistics, theres so much discordance between the perception of the disease by the provider vs the patient and it doesnt match. This insight underscores the need for health care providers to understand and address the unique experiences and perceptions of psoriasis in patients with melanin-rich skin.

Stein Gold, Shahriari, and Cameron explored emerging oral treatments for the management of plaque psoriasis, emphasizing the novelty of TYK2 inhibition. They discussed the unique POETYK PSO-LTE (NCT04036435) trial design, stressing the importance of the inclusion of an active control arm. Shahriari explained the significance of trials for deucravacitinib (Sotyktu; Bristol Myers Squibb), stating, We had our POETYK PSO trials, which were the pivotal trials for deucravacitinib. And apremilast, our other oral agent on the market, was theactive comparator.

The POETYK PSO-LTE clinical trial assessed the 3-year results of deucravacitinib treatment in adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The trial included 1519 patients who received at least1 dose of deucravacitinib acrossmultiple phases.1

Shahriari provided an overview of the evolution of treatments for plaque psoriasis, stating, After the 2000s, we decided to become more targeted and specific in our treatments for plaque psoriasis, and thats when the era of the biologics started. The panel shared insights into the pivotal role of biologic agents in the shift toward more targeted and specific treatments forplaque psoriasis.

Han discussed diversity within the IL-17 family of biologic agents, stating, Whats interesting to me is that in the IL-17 family, we have so much diversity now: IL-17A inhibitors and IL-17 receptor blockers, a dual IL-17A and IL-17F. This emphasizes the diversity and ongoing development within the IL-17 family of biologic agents, reflecting the evolving landscape ofbiologic treatments.

The panel also discussed the considerations for choosing between biologic and small-molecule treatments and treatment duration. Han also mentioned, I think it makes sense. One of the things that Leon [Kircik] said, to your point of why not just put them on a biologic, with a small-molecule [treatment], you dont have to worry about the half-life, about how long they keep it on board, about developingantidrug antibodies.

Kircik emphasized the importance of topical treatments in combination with systemic therapies and said, I always say that topical treatment is the foundation of dermatologic treatment. No matter what, we have biologics, we have oral treatments, we still use topical treatment for those patients. And we use combination treatment, right? Regardless of what we are doing...oral, systemic, light treatments, I always add topicals. I use biologics in combination with topicals; systemics-topicals; and lighttreatment- topicals.

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Frontline Forum Part 2: Challenges and Opportunities to Enhance Psoriasis Management - Dermatology Times

How COVID and steroids are affecting the hips in young adults – IndiaTimes

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In a surprising turn of events post-COVID-19, doctors are noticing a rise in cases of Avascular Necrosis (AVN), a condition causing the death of bone tissue, particularly in the hips. What's more surprising is that this is happening to a much younger crowd, people between 20 to 40 years old, whereas it used to be more common in people in their forties or fifties. If you have been treated for COVID-19 in the past and are now experiencing hip joint pain- early detection could help you! This is not only a red flag for old people but also younger demographic. Why is this occurring? Steroids were used even earlier for the treatment of conditions like asthma, arthritis, certain malignancies, and various other inflammatory conditions. It was an important risk factor for the development of AVN even then, albeit the incidence was lesser and the condition was much slower in disease progression. On the contrary, we are observing that patients who were affected with COVID and received steroid treatment, even for a short duration and with a lower dose are presenting with a much rapid destruction of the joint. This implies that its not just the steroid therapy but also the hypercoagulability and other vascular-related pathologies associated with COVID-19 that are contributing to the musculoskeletal damage. It is unpredictable as to which patient can develop this dreaded complication.

So what are the tell-tale signs to watch out for? It is predominantly pain in the hips, worsening on weight bearing and sometimes occurring even at rest. In the initial stages, it could be asymptomatic. Early detection, helps us identify this condition sooner and take measures to slow down the progression. AVN progresses through multiple stages and may not be detected on X-rays in the initial grade. It can be identified on the x-ray, usually in stage 2 or 3 when there is already a collapse of the femoral head (the ball in the hip joint). MRI is the only diagnostic tool that helps us pick up the disease in the initial stages of the pathology. When identified early, patients could benefit from joint preservation procedures like decompression surgery combined with stem cell therapy that can salvage the hip joint. Total hip replacement is recommended for those with collapse of the joint and irreversible damage as in stage 3.

Importance of Breathing Exercises

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How COVID and steroids are affecting the hips in young adults - IndiaTimes

Anti-Cancer Pill Shows Promising Results in Human Experiment

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A cancer-combating pill called divarasib could be a breakthrough in treating a specific form of bowel cancer.

In its latest round of early human trials, a drug called divarasib has shown promising results in treating a specific form of bowel cancer, outshining existing alternatives.

In a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Australia found that when divarasib is combined with another cancer treatment called cetuximab, 62 percent of patients with tumors caused by a mutation in the KRAS gene experienced a positive outcome, which means that their tumors were either completely eradicated or reduced in size.

When used on its own, previous research found the pill yields a still impressive 35.9 percent positive response rate, notes NewAtlas, and is overall 20 times more effective than other treatments that also target the same cancer.

Despite the promising results, it's a very targeted drug that will only be effective for a small proportion of colon cancer patients. The mutation, KRAS G12C, affects a protein that controls cell division and occurs only in four percent of colon or rectal (colorectal) cancer cases, according to the researchers.

However, because KRAS G12C cancer is commonly tested for and has such a poor prognosis, doctors could quickly identify the patients that would benefit from divarasib, providing immediate — and potentially life-saving — relief.

"The median progression-free survival for patients in the study" — the amount of time during or after the treatment they were able to live without the cancer getting worse — "was just over eight months and the treatment was well tolerated with manageable side effects," said study lead author Jayesh Desai, a medical oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, in a statement.

"While this is not a head-to-head trial, the response rates are better than what we have seen with other treatments that work on the KRAS G12C mutation pathway," he added, referring to trials that directly compare different therapies.

Existing treatments for KRAS G12C bowel cancer such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy provided only modest results. Their main drawback is that they're non-selective, targeting the whole body rather than homing in on the deadly tumors — a problem that divarasib seemingly promises to circumvent.

"We are very hopeful that this combination of divarasib with cetuximab will translate into better outcomes for our colorectal cancer patients," Desai said.

More on cancer: Scientists Intrigued by Clever Trick That Makes Cancer Cells Self-Destruct

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Anti-Cancer Pill Shows Promising Results in Human Experiment