COVID-19 Coverage by Nancy R. Gough
Read COVID-19 articles by Nancy R. Gough covering immune responses, vaccines, and tips for dealing with the virus.
clinical trials
Worth a Closer Look: March 2019
The following papers piqued my interest this week. Hopefully, I will have time to take a closer look at them all and decide which ones warrant a thumbs up and which ones a thumbs down. Some I found through my Biomed News search of the proteomics and disease list, some through social media, and some … Read more
Stem Cell Injections for Osteoarthritic Knees
Some friends recently asked me about getting stem cell injections for painful knees with osteoarthritis (Figure 1). Should they push their doctors for this treatment? Were they, and consequently their stem cells, going to be too old if they waited? I started my investigation at PubMed, searching for “stem cells” and “osteoarthritis,” which produced 1249 … Read more
Immunotherapy Antagonists and Agonists
Some cancer immunotherapy drugs turn off a signaling pathway; others turn on a signaling pathway (1). FDA-approved immunotherapy drugs that target the PD-L1/PD-1 or CTLA-4/B-7 immune checkpoints function as antagonists to block immune signaling pathways. Investigational immunotherapy drugs that target GITRL/GITR function as agonists to activate an immune signaling pathway. Investigational drugs that target OX40L/OX40 … Read more
Can Denosumab Prevent Breast Cancer?
From Osteoporosis to Breast Cancer Denosumab, a biologic agent, and bisphosphonates, which are small molecule drugs, reduce fractures that are complications of osteoporosis, including those caused by breast cancer hormone therapies that block estrogen signaling, menopause, or surgically-induced menopause (oophorectomy with or without hysterectomy). Both denosumab and bisphosphonates also reduce the risk of bone metastasis … Read more