Research News

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a simple blood test administered before CAR-T cell treatment is initiated may identify which patients are predisposed to developing neurotoxic side effects after CAR-T cell therapy. Severe side effects can include seizures, brain swelling and strokes. Evidence of a stroke (red arrows) is seen on this MRI scan of the brain of a patient who developed neurotoxic side effects after CAR-T cell therapy.

Cervavac was launched on September 1, 2022, after the Drugs Controller General of India had granted market authorization to Serum Institute of India. Cervavac is developed by a partnership of DBT and BIRAC with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supported by Serum Institute of India for the indigenous development of quadrivalent vaccines.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, this affordable and cost effective vaccine marks an important day for DBT and BIRAC as it takes India a step closer to PM Modi’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

An experimental combination of two drugs halts the progression of small cell lung cancer, the deadliest form of lung cancer, according to a study in mice from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Grenoble Alpes University in Grenoble, France, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

University researchers have found a naturally occurring compound, known as hydroquinine, has bacterial killing activity against several microorganisms.

Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the greatest threats to public health globally. It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making it difficult to treat infections. Because of this, there is a pressing need for the development of new antimicrobial drugs to combat infections.

Preeclampsia is a condition that affects the placenta during pregnancy and is dangerous for both the fetus and the mother. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Inserm and the CNRS have proposed a new therapy, tested in two rodent models, that corrects the defects identified in placental cells, and restores placental and fetal weight. The treatment successfully lowers blood pressure in the mother and resolves the characteristic preeclampsia symptoms of excess protein in urine and cardiovascular abnormalities.

Are would-be parents carrying a genetic risk of serious illnesses that they could potentially pass on to their children? In the USA, doctors recommend that couples have genetic screening before trying to conceive. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown that a maximal variant of this test detects the risk in 44 percent of couples who are related by blood, and in just 5 percent of other couples. Non-hereditary newly acquired mutations are a major reason for the reduced detection rate in the latter.

Young people living with a genetic alteration that increases the risk of psychiatric disorders have markedly different brain activity during sleep, a study led by researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Cardiff published today in eLife shows.

The brain activity patterns during sleep shed light on the neurobiology behind a genetic condition called 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) and could be used as a biomarker to detect the onset of neuropsychiatric disorders in people with 22q11.2DS.

Soon India will get its first made in India vaccine against cervical cancer which is developed by Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The daid vaccine is Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV).

Zydus Lifesciences initiates Phase IV clinical trial for Desidustat in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) induced anemia.

Desidustat sold under a brand name Oxemia which is a prescription drug approved in India for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) induced anemia, and can be taken only under the advice and guidance of a Nephrologist or an internal medicine specialist.