NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

EZH2 enzyme drives aggressive tumor growth in treatment-resistant prostate cancers by bypassing PKCλ/ι inhibition, promoting rapid protein production and activating growth factors like TGF-β, suggesting new therapeutic approaches combining EZH2 and TGF-β inhibitors with androgen receptor therapies.

Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., leads a $16M NIH grant for somatic cell genome editing to treat autosomal dominant hearing loss via AAV-mediated editing, aiming for a streamlined FDA approval process for clinical trials.

UAMS hosted the NIH’s All of Us Journey, drawing 120 visitors, with 40 enrolling in the All of Us Research Program. Robin Camp, a UAMS nurse, joined the program, interested in biomarkers for personalized medicine. The All of Us Research Program aims to include diverse health data from 1 million volunteers to accelerate medical research.

FORESEE trial of CNSide CSF Assay met primary and secondary endpoints, influencing clinical decisions in over 90% of leptomeningeal metastases cases and demonstrating 2.8 times the diagnostic sensitivity vs. standard cytology.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues decoded how zebrafish brainstem neurons guide gaze, finding that a simplified artificial circuit based on this architecture can predict network activity, potentially leading to novel treatments for eye movement disorders.

The R2D2 trial aims to assess the efficacy of an anticholinergic deprescribing intervention on cognition, quality of life, and safety in older adults using strong anticholinergics, compared to usual care. The study employs a cluster randomized, superiority design with a 24-month follow-up, conducted at primary care practices in central Indiana. Eligibility criteria include community-dwelling older adults without Alzheimer's disease-related dementia, using strong anticholinergics, and able to communicate in English. The intervention involves a trained clinical pharmacist guiding deprescribing, while usual care recipients receive educational materials. Primary outcomes measure cognitive performance, health-related quality of life, and adverse events. The trial is approved by the Indiana University IRB and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, discusses the shift from toxic cancer drugs to precision medicine, emphasizing patient-centered care and equitable access. Eileen P. Smith, MD, highlights ageism in blood cancer treatment and the need for comprehensive geriatric assessments. Andrew Leitner, MD, focuses on supportive care's impact on quality of life and survival, while Richard T. Lee, MD, introduces integrative oncology at City of Hope. Linda Bosserman, MD, addresses maintaining high-quality care across multiple sites and international partnerships.

A pilot phase of an RCT involving 100 women comparing MIS with laparotomy for interval cytoreductive surgery among patients with high-grade epithelial cancer of the ovary, fallopian tube, or peritoneum found similar complete gross resection rates, a low conversion rate from MIS to laparotomy, and a sufficient patient accrual rate, suggesting feasibility for a full-scale RCT comparing oncological efficacy.

Huntington's disease treatments face challenges due to rarity and trial failures, but recent milestones like Wave's WVE-003, Roche-Ionis' tominersen, uniQure's AMT-130, and PTC Therapeutics' PTC518 offer hope. Prilenia's pridopidine is under EMA review, while Annexon's ANX005 and Sage's dalzanemdor faced setbacks. Despite these, cautious optimism remains for effective treatments.

A study using fitness tracker data from 13,204 participants found that most U.S. adults, including specific racial and ethnic groups, get less sleep than recommended, increasing health risks. The research, presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions, highlights sleep disparities, with Black participants averaging 5.7 hours compared to 6.5 hours for white participants. The study, considered preliminary, used data from the National Institutes of Health's All of Us research program and suggests the need for individuals to monitor their sleep habits.