Biktarvy for treating HIV-1 infection

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Biktarvy (bictegravir 50mg/emtricitabine 200mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25mg, BIC/FTC/TAF), a once-daily single tablet regimen (STR) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

Biktarvy combines the novel, unboosted integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) bictegravir, with the demonstrated safety and efficacy profile of the Descovy (FTC/TAF) dual nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) backbone, and is the smallest INSTI-based triple-therapy STR available.

Biktarvy is indicated as a complete regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults who have no antiretroviral treatment history or to replace the current antiretroviral regimen in those who are virologically suppressed (HIV-1 RNA <50 c/mL) on a stable antiretroviral regimen for at least three months with no history of treatment failure and no known substitutions associated with resistance to the individual components of Biktarvy. No dosage adjustment of Biktarvy is required in patients with estimated creatinine clearance greater than or equal to 30 mL per minute.

Biktarvy does not require testing for HLA-B*5701, has no food intake requirements, and has no baseline viral load or CD4 count restrictions. According to Biktarvy’s Prescribing Information, prior to or when initiating treatment with Biktarvy, healthcare providers should test for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and renal function, and monitor renal function as clinically appropriate during therapy.

In clinical trials through 48 weeks, no patients taking the regimen of bictegravir plus FTC/TAF developed treatment-emergent resistance, results that were observed both in people new to therapy and those who were virologically suppressed and chose to switch regimens. The most common adverse reactions in patients taking Biktarvy were diarrhea, nausea and headache.

Biktarvy does not cure HIV infection or AIDS. Severe acute exacerbations of hepatitis B have been reported in patients who are coinfected with HIV-1 and HBV and have discontinued products containing emtricitabine (FTC) and/or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), and may occur with discontinuation of Biktarvy.

Closely monitor hepatic function with both clinical and laboratory follow-up for at least several months in patients who are coinfected with HIV-1 and HBV and discontinue Biktarvy. If appropriate, anti-hepatitis B therapy may be warranted. Coadministration: Do not use Biktarvy with dofetilide or rifampin. Most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥5%; all grades) in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), and headache (5%).
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Technology for accelerated wound healing

Researchers at Uppsala University and SLU have found a new way of accelerating wound healing. The technology involves using lactic acid bacteria as vectors to produce and deliver a human chemokine on site in the wounds. The research group is the first in the world to have developed the concept for topical use and the technology could turn out to be disruptive to the field of biologic drugs.

Treatment of large and chronic wounds are a high cost burden to the health care system since effective tools to accelerate healing are lacking. Wound care is today limited to mechanical debridement, use of different dressings and significant amounts of antibiotics preventing or treating wound infections. With the aging population, occurrence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and the alarming global spread of antibiotic resistance, a treatment that kick-starts and accelerates wound healing will have a significant impact.

There have been many attempts to solve the problem of chronic wounds that have failed. Drug candidates currently in late stage clinical trials comprise of growth factors, which are traditional protein-based biological drugs associated with high costs, and some trials have been prematurely terminated.

Researcher have developed a drug candidate, a next-generation biologic medical product, and are now publishing the fantastic results from the preclinical part where wound healing was strongly accelerated in mice," says Mia Phillipson, Professor at the Department of Medical Cell Biology, Division of Integrative Physiology, Uppsala University.

The acceleration of the healing process occurs due to changes in the microenvironment in the wound, which change the behaviour of specific immune cells. With the newly developed technology, the researchers can increase the level of a chemokine, CXCL12, for a sufficient time period through continuous delivery directly to the wound surface.

Bioavailability of CXCL12 is synergistically increased within the wound as the bacterial produced lactic acid causes a slight pH drop that inhibits degradation. The chemokine, CXCL12, is endogenously upregulated in injured tissue and by increasing the levels further, more immune cells are recruited and are more specialised to heal the wound, which accelerates the whole process.

The potent effect on acceleration of wound healing is demonstrated in healthy mice but also in two models of diabetes, one model of peripheral ischemia as well as in a model using human skin biopsies. There were clear differences in the composition of immune cells in the wounds and the immune cells present produced higher levels of TGFß at earlier time points. The treatment was local without systemic exposure.
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Xepi for treating Impetigo

Xepi (ozenoxacin) is a topical non-fluorinated quinolone for the treatment of impetigo due to Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes. Xepi is usually applied as a thin layer to the affected area twice daily for five days.

Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial skin infection. Always use Xepi as directed by your healthcare practitioner. Wash your hands after applying the cream if the hands are not the area for treatment.

Xepi is for external use only. Do not swallow the cream, or use it in the eyes, on the mouth or lips, inside the nose, or inside the female genital area. The treated area may be covered by a sterile bandage or gauze dressing.

Use Xepi for the entire time as recommended by your healthcare practitioner, even though your symptoms may have improved. Notify your healthcare practitioner if there is no improvement in symptoms within three days of starting treatment.
          haleplushearty.blogspot.com

Sublocade for treating opioid use disorder

Food and Drug Administration has approved Sublocade, the first once-monthly injectable buprenorphine product for the treatment of moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder (OUD) in adult patients who have initiated treatment with a transmucosal (absorbed through mucus membrane) buprenorphine-containing product.

It is indicated for patients that have been on a stable dose of buprenorphine treatment for a minimum of seven days.
Buprenorphine for the treatment of OUD is currently approved to administer as a tablet or film that dissolves in the mouth, or as an implant. Sublocade provides a new treatment option for patients in recovery who may value the benefits of a once-monthly injection compared to other forms of buprenorphine, such as reducing the burden of taking medication daily as prescribed.

Sublocade is a drug-device combination product that utilizes buprenorphine and the Atrigel Delivery System in a pre-filled syringe. It is injected by a health care professional (HCP) under the skin (subcutaneously) as a solution, and the delivery system forms a solid deposit, or depot, containing buprenorphine. After initial formation of the depot, buprenorphine is released by the breakdown (biodegradation) of the depot. In clinical trials, Sublocade provided sustained therapeutic plasma levels of buprenorphine over the one-month dosing interval.

The safety and efficacy of Sublocade were evaluated in two clinical studies (one randomized controlled clinical trial and one open-label clinical trial) of 848 adults with a diagnosis of moderate-to-severe OUD who began treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual film (absorbed under the tongue). Once the dose was determined stable, patients were given Sublocade by injection. A response to MAT was measured by urine drug screening and self-reporting of illicit opioid use during the six-month treatment period.

The most common side effects from treatment with Sublocade include constipation, nausea, vomiting, headache, drowsiness, injection site pain, itching (pruritus) at the injection site and abnormal liver function tests. The safety and efficacy of Sublocade have not been established in children or adolescents less than 17 years of age. Clinical studies of Sublocade did not include participants over the age of 65.
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Digital scan of the eyes reveals health condition

In terms of diagnostic imaging, the eye is a unique part of the human body. Using optical coherence tomography OCT technology, 40,000 scans are produced within 1.2 seconds, with a total volume of 65 million voxels.  Voxel is a contraction of "volume" and "element" and refers to a grid point in a three-dimensional grid and overall to a huge volume of information about a patient's retina.

The OCT data are analysed using automated algorithms generated on the basis of Artificial Intelligence. A digital image of the retina provides enormous amount of data, offering information about a person's entire personal and medical Life Data, not only about existing or potential diseases, but also about lifestyle.

The retina shows how old a person is, their gender, smoking habits, blood pressure and whether they have diabetes, or at least an increased risk of developing it. Diabetes and high blood-pressure are very common conditions and in many patients, result in long-term retinal damage, incorporating these new technologies into clinical care will give accurate picture of patients general health for customised treatments.
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Progesterone does not prevent preterm birth

Progesterone pessaries are sometimes prescribed to pregnant women who have previously given birth before 37 weeks, who have risk of another preterm birth.

Based on earlier evidence, it was thought that the treatment could delay birth, reducing the risk and severity of complications affecting babies born too early, and improve mothers' health.

Researchers gave progesterone pressies to pregnant women for 14 weeks starting at mid-pregnancy and give another group matching placebos.
Researchers then assessed the health of the babies and their mothers.

The rate of health problems in the babies, including respiratory distress syndrome, where the baby struggles to breathe, was not significantly different between the two treatment groups. The mother's health and side effects of treatment were also similar.

Babies born preterm carry a heightened risk of breathing problems due to immature lungs and other serious health problems. Progesterone plays an important role during pregnancy, and concentrations of this hormone fall away just before labour begins, which is one rationale for the treatment. Vaginal progesterone does not improve the baby's health when given to women who have had a history of a previous preterm birth.
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Killer peptide for killing cancer cells

Death of therapy sensitive cancer cells leads to the release of a killer peptide that can eliminate therapy resistant cells. Tumor relapse is a problem after cancer treatment, because primary tumor cells always contain therapy resistance cancer cells that continue to proliferate after the therapy-sensitive cells have been removed.

A Par-4 amino-terminal fragment PAF that is released by diverse therapy-sensitive cancer cells after therapy-induced cleavage of the tumor suppressor Par-4 protein. PAF caused death in cancer cells resistant to therapy and prevented metastatic tumor growth.

Naturally generated PAF could potentially be harnessed to target cancer cells to overcome metastasis and therapy resistance in tumors. The PAF entered only cancer cells, not normal cells, keeping healthy tissue alive.

The use of sensitive cells in the tumor to release this peptide to destroy the resistant cells will be a good method in killing cancer cells. PAF development is a good method against therapy resistant tumor metastasis because there is no other treatment option for it.
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When allergies are out of control

Allergens are foreign substances that cause an allergic reaction in the body, allergy symptoms occur when immune system overreacts to something that is harmless but triggers a reaction in the blood.

Food, skin, dust, insect, pet, pollen and drug are the common types of allergies.
In allergic individuals, the body recognizes the foreign substance, and the allergic part of the immune system generates a response.

Avoiding exposure to things you are allergic to is the best way to control the symptoms. Immunotherapy may be an option for people with severe and persistent allergies who are unable to control their symptoms.

The treatment involves being given occasional small doses of the allergen; either as an injection, or as drops or tablets. The treatment will strengthen the body to get used to the allergen so it doesn't react to it so severely again.
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Ovarian freezing is better than eggs freezing

Freezing of ovaries preserve fertility better than eggs. Women who freezed their ovaries tissues can have babies easily in future.

Eggs freezing requires an IVF with hormone replacement therapy before conception can take place while ovarian freezing reverses menopause and increases the chance of natural pregnancy without any fertility treatment.

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation can be considered as a good option for fertility preservation for women who are not ready to have children now; busy with their career or undergoing cancer treatment and choose to have children at old age or after treatment.
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Facts about glaucoma

There are an estimated 64 million people worldwide with glaucoma, a group of eye conditions in which the main nerve to the eye - the optic nerve becomes damaged.

Optic nerve carries information about what is being seen from the eye to the brain - but when it becomes damaged, vision is lost.

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, it is now a leading cause of blindness. It's common in men and
women over the age of 40, and if left untreated it can lead to up to 40 per cent of sight being permanently damage.

There are often no early symptoms of glaucoma, but when it becomes more advanced, signs may include missing or patchy sight or even serious loss of vision.

However, if detected early, it can be managed and useful sight can be maintained for years to come.
Although ten per cent of people with glaucoma who receive proper treatment still experience loss of vision.

Regular check-ups with an optician every two years, or one to two years if you’re over 40 is recommended. A
recent study found it may be possible to predict glaucoma in this way up to ten years in advance. Glaucoma is treated
with eye drops which must be used for a long period of time.

HIV levels and immune activation not better during antiretroviral treatment

Rajesh Gandhi of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston and colleagues in the AIDS Clinical Trial Group ACTG  tested HIV patients to know if elevated immune activation is driven by the low levels of HIV is present in patients undergoing treatment.

They used blood samples of people who took part in ACTG clinical trials, measured molecular markers of HIV, immune system activation and inflammation in 101 people before and during antiretroviral drugs treatment for 7 years.

Researchers discovered connection between HIV levels, immune activation and inflammation in HIV patients

The link does not continue during treatment, this shows that elevated immune activation during treatment is not driven by HIV in the blood.

People with higher HIV levels before treatment may have higher HIV levels during treatment.

Link between migraines and body mass index

Migraines are severe, painful headache disorder, common symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound or smell.

Physician suggested stress management, relaxation, regular exercise and eating regularly to manage symptoms of migraines.

Researchers examined 290,000 people and discovered that obese people had a 27 percent higher risk of migraine than the people with normal weight while underweight had 13 percent higher risk of migraine compared with  normal weight people.

According to Dr. Lee Peterlin of Johns Hopkins University School of medicine, a member of the American Academy of Neurology said age and sex were key variables in the correlation between migraine risk and body mass index.

Obesity and being underweight are possible risk factors for migraine, taking this into consideration will enhance effective treatment of migraine.

Patients immune system and cancer Immunotherapy

Researchers discovered that higher levels of tumor-associate immune cells TAICs expressing programmed death-ligand 1 PD-L1 were linked with longer complete survival and response to drugs.

Patients with higher levels of circulating CD8 and lower level of regulatory T cells were associated with better response to the treatments based on the blood samples before Immunotherapy.

This shows that immune cells in the microenvironments close to the tumor could determine how cancer patients will respond to treatment.

According to Dr Robert Ferris, determining the nature of cells and how treatment affects them will improve the effectiveness of therapies.

Doctors have discovered better way of treating depression

Doctors have discovered better way of treating depression and correct medication for the condition that can help depression patient .

Depression is a mental condition that affects thoughts, behavior and feelings of depressed person leading to dislike of normal activities.

The latest discovery is about blood test that measure certain type of protein level of depression patients.

Measuring C-reactive protein CPR levels by finger-prick blood test of patients helps doctors to prescribe correct drugs for effective treatment.

According to Dr Trivedi, CPR has an effective measure of inflammation for disorders and this quality makes it a good marker for depression treatments.

Causes of frequent urination in women

Urination is the release of urine from the bladder, frequent urination is the need to urinate more than normal.

Cleveland Clinic said the average person should urinate between six to eight times a day.

Some of the causes of frequent urination are: drinking too much water, diabetes, overactive bladder, urinary tract infection, pregnancy, menopause, obesity, weak pelvic floor organs and inflammatory bladder disorder.

Treatment for frequent urination depends on the cause, visit your doctor anytime you experience frequent urination.

How to use insulin pens

An insulin pen is used to inject insulin for the treatment of diabetes, there are two types of pen: disposable and reusable.

How to use insulin pens
• Take new pen out of the refrigerator for 30 minutes before use.
• Check the type, strength and expiry date.
• Mix the insulin gently by rolling the pen between your palms.
• Remove the pen cap and attach new needle to the pen.
•Turn the dial to correct dose and inject.
•Wait for 9 seconds before removing the needle from the skin.
• Dispose the needle and replace the cap on the pen.
• Keep the opened insulin away from sunlight.

Stem-cell therapy may be effective for erectile dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction is inability to get erection firm enough for sexual intercourse. According to Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, about 12 percent of men under the age of 60, and 22 percent of men between 60 and 69 have erectile dysfunction.

Common cause of erectile dysfunction are: diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, anxiety, depression and stress.

Stem-cell therapy is the process of injecting the patients' own stem cell into the erectile tissue of his penis, patients' stem cells is always derived from his abdominal fat cells.

Dr Martha Haahr discovered that within 6 months of stem-cell, 8 out of 21 men treated were able to have sexual intercourse.

Current treatments for erectile dysfunction like injections, penile implant and PDE5 have side effects, researchers are looking for safer treatment. Steam-like cell therapy is safer in animal trials and will be safe for men.

Pregnancy complications linked to cancer treatment

The number of cancer survivors increases daily as a result of steadily improvement in cancer treatment, chemotherapy and radiation therapy can affect fertility levels of women who survived cancer.

Team of researchers discovered that women who survived cancer have higher risk for low birth weight babies, preterm birth, and cesarean delivery.

Women can have complications during pregnancy but cancer survivors are prone to these pregnancy complications, it is good to give your doctor details about your cancer history during antenatal.

Vitamin C can kill cancer stem cells

Abnormal cells division in an uncontrollable way is cancer, it can occur in any parts of the body.

Cancer can be treated by surgery, Chemotherapy, radiation therapies, hormonal therapy and synthetic lethality.

Some of these treatments are not effective and are associated with variety of side effects. In some cases, the cancer does not respond to treatment, it is believed that cancer steam-like cells are the reason  for reoccurrence and metastasizes.

Vitamin C disrupt the growth of cancer stem cells; in a recent study by Dr Gloria Bonuccelli, Vitamin C proves effective in killing cancer steam-like cells. It is more effective than experimental drugs.

Vitamin C has been proved to be a potent anticancerous agent, it neutralizes cancer steam cells.

Sources of vitamin C are:
Acerola Cherry, Strawberries, Citrus fruits, Papaya, Kiwi, Bell Peppers, Guava, Brussels sprouts, Melon, Dark leafy greens, Tomatoes and Vitamin C tablet.