Tag: Medication

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Virtual Reality Could Pinpoint Early Signs of Alzheimer’s

Researchers in Japan have developed a test that can predict future neurodegeneration in cognitively healthy individuals using virtual reality. The test evaluates an individual’s spatial navigation ability—one of the first skills affected by Alzheimer’s and related diseases before memory loss or cognitive decline can start being noticed. 

“Our approach may allow earlier identification of risk of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease,” said Kazuya Kawabata, MD, PhD, senior assistant professor at the department of neurology in Fujita Health University. “Over the longer term, it may contribute to a shift toward earlier detection, potentially enabling timely therapeutic interventions at preclinical stages and delaying disease progression, thereby preserving cognitive function and quality of life.”

Subtle changes in the brain leading to Alzheimer’s can emerge years before symptoms become evident. Among the brain regions that are first impacted are the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, both of which are involved in spatial navigation. In addition, a region within the entorhinal cortex is one of the first sites where tau neurofibrilary tangles start accumulating in Alzheimer’s. 

In their study, published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, Kawabata and colleagues investigated whether deteriorating spatial navigation skills could be an early indication of future cognitive decline in healthy individuals. 

They designed an immersive virtual reality (VR) test to assess path integration, a key component of navigation that refers to our ability to track our position and direction as we move around based on internal cues. Participants navigated a circular virtual environment where they were asked to visit two checkpoints and then return to their starting point without relying on any landmarks or visual cues. Their performance was measured by calculating the distance to the original starting point and how much their direction deviated from that leading back to the starting point. 

The study followed 71 cognitively healthy adults for approximately one year after completing the VR navigation test. High-resolution MRI scans and plasma biomarkers, including p-tau181 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), were also analyzed in each participant one year apart in order to compare their navigation skills with established indicators of early Alzheimer’s. 

Results revealed that individuals with poorer performance in the VR path integration test showed greater levels of cortical thinning and volume loss in brain regions affected by early Alzheimer’s and increased levels of p-tau181 and GFAP markers. The test was also able to identify those who experienced the fastest brain decline with high accuracy, especially in parahippocampal regions of the brain. 

These findings indicate that the VR test is able to capture both molecular and structural signatures of early neurodegenerative processes that emerge before clinical symptoms can lead to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Although more research will be needed to validate this approach before it can be used in a clinical setting, this dual link supports its potential as a tool for early detection and monitoring of an individual’s risk of Alzheimer’s and related conditions, even when they are still cognitively healthy. 

The post Virtual Reality Could Pinpoint Early Signs of Alzheimer’s appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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Myeloid Malignancy Testing: Insights from a Portuguese Reference Center


Panelists:

Image of Margarida Coucelo, MSc, ErCLG

Margarida Coucelo, MSc, ErCLG

Hemato-Oncology Laboratory at Unidade Funcional de Hematologia Molecular
Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra

Panelist

Image of Margarida Coucelo, MSc, ErCLG

Margarida Coucelo, MSc, ErCLG

Margarida Coucelo, MSc, ErCLG, is head of the Hemato-Oncology Laboratory at Unidade Funcional de Hematologia Molecular, Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, one of Portugal’s national reference centers for hemato-oncology. She has extensive experience investigating myeloid malignancies across the full disease spectrum, from chronic conditions, such as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), through to acute leukemias. She earned her master’s degree in cellular and molecular biology at the University of Coimbra.



Broadcast Date: 

  • Time: 

The 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) and International Consensus Classification updates for myeloid malignancies went beyond adjusting diagnostic thresholds and fundamentally redefined what constitutes a complete genomic profile. For many laboratories, keeping pace with these changes has required the adoption of broad-coverage NGS applications.

Margarida Coucelo, MSc, ErCLG, has led that transition at Unidade Funcional de Hematologia Molecular, Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, one of Portugal’s national reference centers for hemato-oncology, where she has investigated myeloid malignancies across the full disease spectrum, from chronic conditions such as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) through to acute leukemias.

This IPM webinar will describe how expanded NGS workflows are being applied in a high-volume reference setting, and the implications for laboratories navigating the evolving landscape of myeloid malignancy testing.

Key takeaways include:

  • How a comprehensive DNA-based NGS approach can contribute to the identification of relevant variants and inform treatment options and risk stratification

  • Cases studies that cover the detection of rare fusion genes and somatic variants, and how to consolidate germline predisposition testing within a single workflow

A live Q&A session will follow the presentation offering you a chance to pose questions to our expert panelists.

Produced with support from:

Sophia Genetics logo

The post Myeloid Malignancy Testing: Insights from a Portuguese Reference Center appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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CD169-Positive Macrophages Attacking Melanoma Imaged in Living Tissue

Australian researchers at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have identified a population of immune cells in the skin that actively interacts with melanoma cells and limits tumor growth. Using intravital imaging in a mouse model of melanoma, the team observed macrophages at the tumor margin engulfing live cancer cells. The research, published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, identified a subset of tissue-resident macrophages marked by CD169 expression that appear to contribute to local tumor control through direct phagocytosis of melanoma cells and containment of tumor expansion.

“This is the first time anyone has captured a macrophage attacking and engulfing a live cancer cell in real time,” said first author Yuki Keith, PhD, a research officer at Garvan. “We always suspected macrophages were doing more than we gave them credit for—now we have the video footage to prove it. Studying this in a living system is crucial because it is more representative of what happens in real life, showing the complexity of the immune system and paving the way for the treatments of the future.”

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer arising from melanocytes. It is influenced by the tumor immune microenvironment, where cancer cells interact with immune and non-immune cells, and the extra-tumor environment, including tumor-draining lymph nodes where adaptive immune responses are initiated. Immune checkpoint blockade therapies, which rely on T cells to recognize and kill cancer cells, have improved outcomes in advanced melanoma, but currently only around half of patients respond to these treatments. Tumors that limit T cell infiltration, sometimes described as immune “cold” tumors, remain particularly difficult to treat.

For their work, the Garvan researchers used intravital two-photon microscopy to visualize immune activity in living mouse models with melanoma tumors. They identified CD169-positive macrophages concentrated at the tumor periphery and in the hypodermis, where they were seen physically engulfing melanoma cells. Functional experiments showed that depletion of these macrophages using CSF1R blockade led to increased tumor growth, indicating these macrophages suppress tumor progression. Importantly, the anti-tumor effect appeared independent of T cells and B cells, suggesting an innate immune mechanism operating at the tumor edge engulfs and kills tumor cells.

The study shows that in this context, CD169-positive macrophages represent a distinct tissue-resident population positioned near blood vessels in deeper skin layers, where they appear capable of directly interacting with emerging tumor cells.

Within this environment, tumor-associated macrophages have previously been associated with both tumor-promoting and tumor-inhibiting roles, depending on context and cellular subtype. The identification of CD169-positive macrophages that directly engulf live melanoma cells helps explain this heterogeneity and indicates there is a spatially defined immune function in the hypodermis.

“We have revealed a novel phagocytic tissue-resident macrophage subset in the skin that suppresses tumor growth in the mouse melanoma model,” Keith said. “Importantly, we showed that analogous subpopulations of CD169+ macrophages are also present in normal human skin and in patients with melanoma, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting this specific subset.”

The findings could provide a new path for the development of immunotherapies targeting melanoma. By enhancing the activity or abundance of CD169-positive macrophages, or improving their ability to tag and ingest tumor cells, it cold be possible to strengthen innate immune containment of melanoma. The team also indicated these cells could influence adaptive immunity by presenting tumor antigens to other immune populations, although the mouse model indicated tumor control could occur independently of adaptive responses.

Keith said the Garvan researchers will now look to define how CD169-positive macrophages communicate with T cells and how they might be modulated by new therapies. There is also the potential to develop targeted drugs that increase the activity of CD169-positive macrophages, or to combine macrophage activation with existing checkpoint inhibitors as a method of improving treatment response, particularly in tumors resistant to T cell–focused therapies.

The post CD169-Positive Macrophages Attacking Melanoma Imaged in Living Tissue appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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Guardant Nabs Key ACS Nod and Liquid Biopsy Approval 

Colorectal (CRC) detection has become a red hot field, as concerns about rising numbers of young adult cases and competition among multi-cancer panels heat up. Guardant Health took two giant steps forward recently with first the approval of its liquid biopsy test, Guardant360 Liquid CDx, and then the listing of its blood-based Shield test by the American Cancer Society (ACS) as a choice for CRC screening of adults age 45 and older who are at average risk of the disease.

In an updated guideline released today, the ACS added blood-based screening tests, and specifically Shield, to its list of recommended choices for the patients in this subset who have not completed or have declined visual exams and stool tests. The group specifically names Shield, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2024.

Shield is an in vitro diagnostic test that detects CRC-derived alterations in cell-free DNA from blood collected in the Guardant Blood Collection Kit. The test is performed at Guardant.

These two advances put Guardant in an excellent position in the cancer liquid biopsy market, which is currently valued at between $7B and $12B and expected to double over the next ten years. 

A spokesperson for Guardant told Inside Precision Medicine, “Our current focus is on ensuring the approval and successful launch of the Shield test, with an initial focus on eligible adults age 65 and older across the U.S. who are enrolled in Medicare. In parallel, we are continuing to optimize and improve the performance of the Shield test, with the goal of upgrading the test post-approval.”

This week also, Guardant announced that the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Panel of the U.S. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee strongly recommended FDA approval of the Shield blood test for these types of patients.

“The advisory committee’s strong support for the approval of Shield reinforces the crucial role that a blood test option can have in improving CRC screening rates for those at average risk,” said AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO. “Despite the importance of detecting colorectal cancer early, there are notable barriers that can deter average-risk Americans from completing existing screening methods. Shield effectively detects cancer at an early stage when it is most treatable. Providing people with this blood test alongside other non-invasive stool tests can increase the rate of colorectal screening and potentially reduce preventable CRC deaths.”

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. The disease has a 91% five-year survival rate when caught at stage I (localized), but one out of three eligible Americans—50 million people—are not being screened for CRC. 

Current primary non-invasive screening options include stool-based tests which have proven efficacy in detecting CRC; however, studies have consistently found that barriers such as handling stool and challenges performing the test impact adherence. 

“Sadly, 76% of deaths caused by colorectal cancer occur in individuals who are not up to date with their screening,” said Daniel Chung, MD, gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Clinical evidence and CRC screening guidelines acknowledge the value of offering choice to individuals at average risk for CRC and highlight the role of patient preference in test selection and CRC screening completion.”

The FDA panel’s recommendation is based on Guardant’s premarket approval (PMA) application for Shield, including the results of the pivotal ECLIPSE study evaluating the performance of the test for detecting CRC in average-risk adults. Results from the study appeared in the March 2024 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. (Chung was an author on this study.) Shield demonstrated 83% sensitivity for the detection of CRC, with 90% specificity for advanced neoplasia. Guardant notes that this performance is within range of existing stool-based tests used as primary CRC screening options, in which overall sensitivity ranges from 67% to 92%.

The post Guardant Nabs Key ACS Nod and Liquid Biopsy Approval  appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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Precancerous Adenomas Alter Gut Microbiome for Long Period

Research shows people who have precancerous polyps removed have an altered gut microbiome for around 12 years after undergoing surgery, which may explain why there is a significant risk of progressing to colorectal cancer in these individuals despite the surgery.

“Early detection and resection of adenomas through colonoscopy are critical strategies for preventing colorectal cancer. However, individuals with a history of adenoma resection remain at a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer than those without adenomas,” write lead author Mingyang Song, MBBS, ScD, associate professor of clinical epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University, and colleagues in Cell Host & Microbe.

“Meta-analyses of stool metagenomes from diverse populations have identified consistent microbial biomarkers largely characteristic of later-stage colorectal cancer… Studies investigating the gut microbiome of adenoma patients and along the adenoma-carcinoma continuum have also reported distinct, dynamic microbial shifts from early neoplasia to advanced colorectal cancer.”

This earlier research suggests a link between the gut microbiome and colorectal cancer. It is possible some of these changes arise early in the disease process and act as drivers of the cancer, but what these changes look like remains unclear.

In this study, the researchers analyzed stool samples from 354 women who had colorectal adenomas removed an average of 12 years earlier and compared them to 354 matched controls without polyps. The team used shotgun metagenomic sequencing to analyze fecal metabolites and the composition of the gut microbiome.

The investigators then compared the microbiome data from the women who had adenomas removed and the controls to those from 1,045 people with colorectal cancer enrolled in earlier colorectal cancer studies.

Women who had precancerous polyps removed still showed some gut microbiome changes similar to those seen in colorectal cancer patients. The similarity was modest: only about 7% of the microbiome differences could be attributed to their disease history while 93% came from individual factors like diet, genetics, and lifestyle.

Overall, 31 bacterial species showed consistent changes in both adenoma and cancer cases compared to controls. For example, levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a bacteria thought to be protective of the gut due to anti-inflammatory properties, were low and levels of potentially harmful bacteria Flavonifractor plautii were enriched.

“The fact that colorectal cancer-associated gut microbial and metabolic features are still detectable a decade later suggests the gut microbiome may be part of sustained colorectal cancer risk,” said first author Ana Nogal, PhD, postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard, in a press statement. “Diet and lifestyle were closely tied to these microbes, raising the possibility that these habits could influence the gut environment in people at higher risk.”

The post Precancerous Adenomas Alter Gut Microbiome for Long Period appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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Heart Health Impacted COVID-19 Deaths

Having a lifestyle that promotes heart health may have been key in determining who died or was hospitalized during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research in the Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA) suggests these healthy behaviors—involving diet, exercise, smoking, and sleep as well as body measures—could not only protect against cardiovascular disease but also have other benefits.

Specifically, they may help the body cope with the stress of infections such as those caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), even in people without clinical cardiovascular disease.

Adults with the highest heart health scores were nearly half as likely to die or be hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 compared with those who had the lowest scores.

“In many ways, a viral infection is like a cardiac stress test, except it’s not controlled,” explained researcher Elizabeth Oelsner, MD, from Columbia University.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, we immediately saw that COVID-19 was a particularly severe stress on the body. Our results highlight that better heart health, which is something that individuals can work on, likely prepares you better for real-life stress tests such as infectious diseases like COVID-19.”

The findings come from the Collaborative Cohort of Cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R), a collection of 14 U.S. studies that accrued extensive health information from participants.

The current analysis included 29,740 adults without clinical cardiovascular disease as of March 2020. Their average age of 66 years, and 61% were women.

Among the participants, just over a third each were White and Hispanic/Latino, while just over a fifth were Black.

Cardiovascular health was measured according to the AHA’s Life’s Essential Eight (LE8), a summary measure that scores diet, physical activity, cigarette use, sleep, body mass index, blood pressure, lipids, and glucose levels each out of 100.

Around 18% of study participants had high heart health(LE8 ≥80), 70% had moderate heart health (LE8 ≥50 to <80), and 12% had low heart health (LE8 <50).

The American Heart Association's Life’s Essential 8 is a wheel shape with 8 wedges representing the eight elements that are essential for cardiovascular health [American Heart Association]
The American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 is a wheel shape with eight wedges representing the eight elements that are essential for cardiovascular health. [American Heart Association]

There were 681 severe COVID-19 cases from March 2020 to March 2023. Just over half the participants were known to have received a COVID-19 vaccination before contracting the virus.

Adults with high LE8 scores had a 46% reduction in risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death compared with those who had low scores. In addition, every 14-point increase in LE8 was linked with a 20% lower risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death.

Higher scores for physical activity, weight, blood pressure and sleep patterns were individually associated with lower risk of severe COVID-19.

The benefits of heart heath were similar across different participant groups and continued through the study period and when vaccines became available.

“COVID-19 caused 1.22 million deaths in the U.S. between March 2020 and March 2025, so it’s essential that we understand how important health components, such as heart health, relate to severity of COVID-19 infections,” said lead researcher Tim Plante, MD, from the University of Vermont.

“Our findings suggest that the tremendous impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. could have been reduced if the general population had had better heart health prior to the onset of the pandemic.”

The post Heart Health Impacted COVID-19 Deaths appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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STAT+: Where patients and hospitals disagree about AI

You’re reading the web edition of STAT’s AI Prognosis newsletter, our subscriber-exclusive guide to artificial intelligence in health care and medicine. Sign up to get it delivered in your inbox every Wednesday. 

I really enjoyed Defector’s “Wow! America’s Graduating Seniors Really F—ing Hate AI!” piece (h/t to my colleague Jason Mast).

Sometimes I feel like a Negative Nathan here, but the degree to which college kids hate AI (even if they feel forced to use it) restores my belief that I am not wrong. There’s something special about being human, and we don’t have to surrender that just because powerful people (who didn’t have to deal with this as they tried to enter the workforce, or maintain a career) command us to.

Continue to STAT+ to read the full story…

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Marmoset models for the study of autism spectrum disorders

Neurological and psychiatric disorders are a highly prevalent source of global disability. For the majority of these conditions, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), disease-modifying treatments remain unavailable, and existing pharmacological interventions are largely palliative.

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The Download: keeping up with AI, and the future of IVF

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

Stay on top of what’s going on in AI this summer

Here at MIT Technology Review, we understand exactly how relentless the pace of news from the world of artificial intelligence feels. New models and capabilities crop up as fast as we can cover them, and the ripple effects they send through tech and wider society are never far behind.

Our unique strength lies in cutting through the day-to-day noise to help you understand what’s really happening, and what lies around the corner.

That’s why we created our list of 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, unveiled at our flagship AI event EmTech AI a few weeks back (check the list out if you haven’t already!) And it’s why we publish so many stories dedicated to explaining how AI works, and what’s coming next. We also regularly run live subscriber-only Roundtables events—you can still catch up on last week’s session, where we explored how AI might enter the physical realm via world models.

Right now, there’s a 25% discount on subscriptions. Sign up now to deepen your understanding of AI this summer. You can also join the conversation by subscribing to The Algorithm, our free weekly newsletter all about the latest in AI.

MIT Technology Review Narrated: what’s next for IVF

IVF has brought millions of babies into the world over the last four decades. But the process can still be slow, painful, and expensive—and far from guaranteed to work. Now, a wave of new technologies aims to change that. 

Researchers are using AI to identify promising sperm and embryos, developing robotic systems that could automate parts of the IVF process, and even exploring controversial genetic editing techniques designed to prevent inherited disease.

The technologies could make IVF more effective and accessible. But they’re also raising difficult ethical questions about how far reproductive medicine should go.

—Jessica Hamzelou

This is our latest story to be turned into an MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we publish each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 NASA unveiled plans for three uncrewed missions to the Moon this year
They’re part of preparations for a crewed landing in 2028. (The Verge)
+ And steps to build the first lunar base at the Moon’s south pole. (NBC News)
+ Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin will lead the first uncrewed mission. (WP $)
+ NASA is building the first nuclear reactor-powered spacecraft. (MIT Technology Review)

2 Samsung’s largest unions have approved a landmark bonus scheme
The deal averts a massive strike at the world’s largest memory-chip maker. (WSJ $)
+ Chip workers will get an average bonus of about $340,000. (Bloomberg $)
+ The dispute centered on who profits from the AI boom. (BI)
+ Resistance to AI is growing. (MIT Technology Review)

3 Elon Musk accused the Pentagon of misusing Starlink for drones
He says military use of the system violates SpaceX rules. (Ars Technica)
+ The DoD is disputing a Starlink price hike during the Iran war. (Reuters $)
+ Stratospheric internet could take off this year. (MIT Technology Review)

4 China has overhauled the world’s biggest surveillance network with AI
Beijing is pushing law enforcement towards predictive policing. (FT $)
+ Police use of smart glasses is also booming in China. (Gizmodo)
+ LLMs could supercharge mass surveillance. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Space Force is awarding SpaceX $2 billion for a military data network
It will connect military sensors and weapons platforms worldwide. (Reuters $)
+ The contract comes amid concerns about SpaceX’s AI business. (WSJ $)
+ Speculation is growing around a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger.  (CNBC)

6 Taiwan suspects Nvidia chips were smuggled to China via Japan
To circumvent US restrictions. (Bloomberg $)
+ Is China about to win the AI race? (MIT Technology Review)

7 Booming AI chip demand has created two new $1 trillion companies
South Korea’s SK Hynix and the US’ Micron have hit the landmark. (BBC)

8 AI has sparked a surge in demand for cybersecurity experts
Thanks to a glut of new code and alarm over powerful models. (NYT $)
+ AI is making online swindles easier. (MIT Technology Review)

9 Internet is coming back in Iran after a three-month blackout
Although it isn’t clear if the reconnection is permanent. (Wired $)

10 Physicists are rethinking the role of gravity in quantum mechanics
There’s a new theory for how our everyday world emerges. (New Scientist $)

Quote of the day

“AI and its capabilities represent something analogous to the Second Coming.” 

—Jeremy Nixon, the cofounder of AGI House and a former Google Brain researcher, tells the New York Times how Silicon Valley’s innovations could affect the pope.

One More Thing

animal crossing concepts

ANDREW MERRITT


Inside the experimental world of animal infrastructure

In the mid-2000s, toads were meeting a gruesome end near Ede, a leafy old town in the Netherlands. Residents responded by building wildlife tunnels beneath the road to help them reach their breeding ponds safely.

The crossings became popular. But a few years later, researchers found the local toad population had crashed from more than 10,000 to fewer than 1,000.

The case reflects a wider global push to build wildlife crossings and other forms of “animal infrastructure.” But do they actually help animal populations recover? Read the full story to find out.

—Matthew Ponsford

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)

+ The votes for “International Mollusc of the Year” are finally in.
+ Track aircraft in real time across a gorgeous 3D digital globe using live flight data.
+ NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has delivered breathtaking new close-up images of Mars.
+ This deep dive into instant coffee reveals the extraordinary engineering effort behind making it vaguely drinkable.