Tag: News Approved

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STAT+: AstraZeneca’s GLP-1 pill shows promise in obesity, diabetes trials

AstraZeneca’s investigational GLP-1 pill showed promise in mid-stage obesity and diabetes studies, but it may still be too early to determine how it stacks up against oral treatments already on the market.

In one Phase 2 trial of people with obesity, called VISTA, those on the highest dose of the drug, called elecoglipron, lost 11.2% of their weight after 36 weeks, when looking at all patients regardless of discontinuations, according to data presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association and published in the Lancet. (Eli Lilly’s pill Foundayo led to the same rate of weight loss in a Phase 3 study that lasted twice as long, but it’s hard to compare across trials in different phases.) 

In a separate Phase 2 trial in people with diabetes, called SOLSTICE, patients on the highest dose saw up to a 1.74 percentage-point decrease in a measure of blood sugar called A1C after 26 weeks. The study, also published in the Lancet, enrolled people taking oral Ozempic open-label as a comparator group, and they experienced a smaller A1C decrease of 1.32 percentage points.

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GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Lower Rates of Substance Use Disorders

A study led by researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has found that people with type 2 diabetes or obesity who were prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) had substantially lower odds of developing alcohol, opioid, nicotine, and cocaine use disorders compared with similar individuals who were not taking the medications. The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, used health data from more than 142,000 patients from the All of Us Research Program and adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that GLP-1 medications may have an influence on dopamine signaling and other neural pathways that drive cravings not just for food but other substances.

“Our findings add to growing evidence that GLP-1 medications may influence more than appetite and blood sugar regulation,” said lead author Tadesse Abegaz, PhD, an assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy, University of Texas at El Paso. “These medications appear to affect brain pathways involved in reward and craving, which could help explain the lower rates of substance use disorders observed in our study.”

Substance use disorders are a significant public health challenge contributing to illness, premature death, and higher healthcare costs. While current treatment methods that combine medications and behavioral therapy can be effective, relapse rates remain high, often exceeding 50% within the first year after treatment, suggesting a need for additional ways to treat this disease.

An emerging candidate for this are GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide and liraglutide. Developed to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, these drugs have drawn attention because GLP-1 receptors are found not only in areas involved in metabolic regulation but also in brain regions associated with reward and reinforcement.

“Animal studies have demonstrated that GLP-1 RAs reduce the self-administration of alcohol, opioid, nicotine, and cocaine effects [that] are believed to be mediated through interactions with the mesolimbic dopamine system,” the researchers wrote. Small human studies and observational analyses have also suggested reductions in substance cravings, relapse rates, and alcohol-related hospitalizations among some patients receiving GLP-1 therapies.

The El Paso investigators said they initiated their research to move beyond smaller studies because “the real-world impact of GLP-1 RA on multiple co-occurrence of SUD (substance use disorder) has not been systematically investigated.”

To address this gap, the team conducted a retrospective nested case-control study using data from the NIH’s All of Us Research Program. The study examined individuals with type 2 diabetes or obesity and identified cases involving new diagnoses of alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, nicotine use disorder, or cocaine use disorder. These individuals were compared with matched control participants who had diabetes or obesity but no documented history of substance use disorders.

Analyses of these data showed consistent associations across all categories studied. GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with a 74% reduction in the odds of alcohol use disorder, a 69% reduction in the odds of opioid use disorder, a 68% reduction in the odds of nicotine use disorder, and a 75% reduction in the odds of cocaine use disorder. The researchers also reported 75% lower odds of any substance use disorder among GLP-1 users compared with non-users.

“Exposure to GLP-1 RAs was consistently associated with significantly reduced odds of SUD cases,” the researchers wrote. “These findings suggest that GLP-1 RAs may exert behavioral-modifying effects that extend beyond glycemic control and weight loss.”

The researchers noted that their research was observational and does not establish cause and effect. “We do not support prescribing these medications for addiction treatment at this time,” said senior author Gabriel Frietze, PhD, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UTEP. “Because this was an observational study in a specific clinical population, randomized clinical trials are needed before GLP-1 medications can be recommended for treating addiction.”

The team believes the findings could help guide future approaches to addressing substance use-related health issues by identifying biological pathways that may be targeted therapeutically. The authors noted that mechanisms potentially involved include modulation of dopamine release, suppression of neuroinflammation, and attenuation of stress-related neural circuits.

“Our next goal is to conduct prospective research that follows individuals initiating GLP-1 therapy over time,” Abegaz said. “We aim to evaluate whether changes in the substance use behaviors occur after treatment begins and whether these changes related to improvements in mental health and quality of life. Ultimately, this work will help inform whether GLP-1 medications could become part of future treatment strategies for substance use disorders.”

The post GLP-1 Drugs Linked to Lower Rates of Substance Use Disorders appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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TARGA Imager Enables High-Resolution Imaging of Neurodevelopmental Models

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Neurodevelopment in schizophrenia poses major challenges for experimental study due at least in part to the brain’s genetic complexity, cellular diversity, and limitations in accessing living human tissue. To overcome such barriers, researchers often use complementary human stem cell–derived models: adherent cortical organoids and Neurogenin-2 (NGN2) induced neurons. Adherent cortical organoids form three-dimensional cultures containing diverse cortical neuron types, enabling analysis of network development and long-term maturation over months.1 In contrast, NGN2 neurons generate rapid, two-dimensional, homogeneous populations of excitatory neurons that display robust activity within weeks, making them well suited for scalable, functional assays, and high-throughput screening.2

With the added insight that stem cell models offer into the neural development of the schizophrenic brain, the quantification of patient-derived neurons’ collective function is a priority.3 At Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, researchers use NGN2 neurons, yielding reproducible populations of excitatory cortical neurons that scale reliably across experiments.

Calcium imaging provides a powerful functional readout in these NGN2 neuron networks. When a neuron fires an action potential, voltage-gated calcium channels open and intracellular calcium rises sharply.4 Fluorescence calcium indicators convert transient, ionic changes into fluorescence emission that can be quantitatively detected via light microscopy across thousands of cells simultaneously. Coupling calcium-sensitive reporters with high-speed optical microscopy enables noninvasive, population-level measurement of neural activity, synchrony, and network dynamics. Interpreting these rich image sequences requires sophisticated theoretical and numerical approaches.5

Building on the ability to measure neural activity with calcium imaging at scale, Lumencor’s TARGA Imager represents a transformative step in the development of optical imaging hardware for the study of neurodevelopmental conditions such as schizophrenia. It is well suited to workflows where NGN2-neuron cultures are studied across multiple conditions in parallel (Figure 1). In these contexts, TARGA delivers calcium fluorescence images over millimeter-scale fields of view within standard 96-well plates, entire well areas, while maintaining high-speed, faster-than video rate imaging with precision resolution.

Lumencor NGN2-neurons calcium imaging workflow
Figure 1. TARGA implementation for NGN2-neurons calcium imaging workflow

These capabilities allow researchers to observe chemical communications across large neuronal networks rather than isolated cells in real time. Images can be acquired at frequencies up to 100 Hz, enabling capture of fast calcium transients of collective neuronal dynamics. Rapid switching of multicolor excitation light supports multiplexed fluorescence dyes, linking functional activity with cellular structure and organization.

Overall, TARGA achieves high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution simultaneously with precise, automated opto-mechanical architecture. These data are well matched to modern image analysis and AI algorithms, generating robust fluorescence traces from complex neuronal populations (Figure 2). In combination, these features make the TARGA Imager a revelatory neuroscience tool, uniquely enabling visualization of emergent collective behavior at millimeter scale with exceptional resolution. Such integrated performance accelerates discovery by bridging cellular mechanisms and systems-level phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia pathophysiology and therapeutic screening. By uniting scale, speed, and precision in a single optical platform, TARGA empowers researchers to probe experimental neuroscience and strengthens translational studies of complex psychiatric disease at population scale.

NGN2-neurons calcium imaging workflow
Figure 1. TARGA implementation for NGN2-neurons calcium imaging workflow

 

References

  1. Van der Kroeg et al. Human adherent cortical organoids in a multiwell format. eLife. 2024. 13:e98340.
  2. Shan et al. Fully defined NGN2 neuron protocol reveals diverse signatures of neuronal maturation. Cell Reports Methods. 2024. 4:100858.
  3. Rao et al. Aberrant pace of cortical neuron development in brain organoids from patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome‑associated schizophrenia. Nature Communications. 2025. 16:6986.
  4. Zhang et al. Fast and sensitive GCaMP calcium indicators for imaging neural populations. Nature. 2023. 615:884–891.
  5. Pasarkar et al. maskNMF: A denoise‑sparsen‑detect approach for extracting neural signals from dense imaging data. bioRxiv. 2023. 2023.09.14.557777.

 

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To learn more, visit: lumencor.com or contact our team at: info@lumencor.com.

The post TARGA Imager Enables High-Resolution Imaging of Neurodevelopmental Models appeared first on Inside Precision Medicine.

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360° Video-Based Virtual Reality for Preparing Medical Students for Body Donor Dissection: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Body donor dissection is fundamental to medical education but often induces anxiety and emotional distress in students, potentially impacting learning outcomes and well-being. Traditional preparation methods emphasize technical and procedural elements while inadequately addressing students’ emotional challenges. Recent advances in educational technology, particularly 360° video-based virtual reality (VR), may enhance students’ emotional readiness by providing immersive previews of dissection environments. However, the application of this technology specifically for emotional preparation for body donor dissection remains largely unexplored. Objective: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a 360° video-based VR application designed to enhance medical students’ emotional preparedness for their first body donor dissection experience. Methods: A randomized controlled longitudinal study was conducted with 43 first-year medical students (26/43, 60.5% female, mean age 20.9, SD 0.57 years) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar in Fall 2025. Participants completed a baseline survey including the 40-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and were randomly assigned to intervention (n=22) or control (n=21) groups using computer-generated permuted block randomization. Before their first dissection session, the intervention group viewed a custom-designed 360° video-based VR experience that featured a virtual tour of the anatomy laboratory and a simulated first encounter with a body donor. The control group received no intervention. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory surveys were administered at baseline (survey 1, all participants), post-VR intervention (survey 2, intervention group only), and postfirst dissection (survey 3, all participants). A follow-up perception survey (survey 4) was administered to the intervention group 1 week into the dissection course. Data were analyzed using 2-tailed paired-samples and independent-samples tests, with qualitative responses analyzed using artificial intelligence–assisted thematic analysis. Results: The intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in trait anxiety (TA) immediately following the VR experience (mean difference 2.32, SD 4.95; =2.20; =.04), while the reduction in state anxiety (SA) was not significant (mean difference 2.41, SD 8.55; =1.32; =.20). No significant differences in SA or TA were found between intervention and control groups immediately before the first dissection session (SA: =0.03; =.98 and TA: =0.70; =.49) or in anxiety trajectories from baseline to postdissection (SA: =0.85; =.41 and TA: =0.46; =.65). Female students reported higher baseline TA compared to normative college populations (45.42 vs 40.40; mean difference 5.02, SD 7.72; =3.32; =.003). Qualitative analysis revealed positive perceptions, with 91% (10/11) reporting clear content and 82% (9/11) recommending it to future cohorts. Key perceived benefits included environmental familiarization, procedural understanding, and psychological preparation. Conclusions: The 360° video-based VR intervention significantly reduced TA and was perceived as valuable for emotional and procedural preparation. The intervention shows promise as a preparatory tool for enhancing emotional and procedural readiness; however, its impact on objective educational outcomes was not assessed and warrants further investigation. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07521033; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07521033
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<![CDATA[Lawsuits, research, and clinicians clash over youth screen addiction—learn more about how problematic social platform use evades diagnosis and how we can curb harm.]]>
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STAT+: UnitedHealthcare’s lactation billing feud, and fake strokes

This is the online version of STAT’s weekly email newsletter Health Care Inc. Sign up here.

I live in northwest Indiana, and it appears the Chicago Bears are going to put the team’s new stadium here, well outside the actual city of Chicago with almost no public transit and financed completely by Indiana taxpayers. The Bears are successfully pissing off just about everyone — no small feat. Send all Bears thoughts and health care tips my way! bob.herman@statnews.com.

The breastfeeding billing battle

UnitedHealthcare is cutting back on paying for lactation counseling, and the clinicians who provide those services are up in arms, another example of the deepening rifts between providers and insurers.

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STAT+: Novo underwhelmed by drug it once fought Pfizer for

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Gene therapies can now cure disease, but America still hasn’t figured out how to pay for them. Is there a better way? Also, Novo executives are downplaying a once-coveted obesity drug, Incyte is making a $2 billion blood disease bet, and new data suggest Boehringer’s obesity contender may struggle to stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

The need-to-know this morning

  • Roche is partnering with Nurix Therapeutics to co-develop an experimental antibody treatment that works by degrading, or eliminating, a protein called BTK that is associated with blood cancer and other diseases. 
  • Treeline Biosciences, the developer of early-stage cancer medicines co-founded by biotech entrepreneur Josh Bilenker, is going public via a reverse merger with Standard BioTools. 

Combination of pancreatic cancer drugs from Tango, Revolution leads to high response rate

Revolution Medicines’ experimental pancreatic cancer drug has been the star of the oncology field in recent weeks, with new data showing the medicine produced unprecedented outcomes for patients.

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STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Lilly and Pfizer obesity drug data, Roche and J&J deals, and more

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to another working week. We hope the weekend respite was relaxing and invigorating because that oh-too-familiar routine of meetings, deadlines, and the like has returned with a vengeance. You knew this would happen, yes? To cope, we are relying, as always, on cups of stimulation. Our choice today is laced with chocolate raspberry. Feel free to join us. Remember, no prescription is required. Meanwhile, here are some tidbits to help you along. Best of luck accomplishing your goals today, and of course, do keep in touch. …

Revolution Medicines’ experimental pancreatic cancer drug has been the star of the oncology field in recent weeks, with new data showing the medicine produced unprecedented outcomes for patients, but its next act — this time as a co-lead — was just revealed, STAT points out. Tango Therapeutics said that in an early-stage clinical trial, a combination of its drug vopimetostat and Revolution’s daraxonrasib led to durable responses in the large majority of pancreatic cancer patients who received both medicines. Tango’s strategy of testing the two targeted drugs is notable because combination approaches in pancreatic cancer often include chemotherapy. The recent successful Revolution trial that has upended the specialty tested daraxonrasib versus chemotherapy as a second-line treatment. 

Eli Lilly has already established that its next-generation obesity drug can lead to rapid weight loss, but researchers disclosed new data that provide more details on the safety and tolerability of the closely watched therapy, STAT writes. Lilly previously said that in one late-stage study, retatrutide helped people with diabetes lower blood sugar and lose a significant amount of weight, which is notable since those who have diabetes tend to lose less weight on treatment than those who do not. New data showed seven out of the 403 participants who received retatrutide experienced arrhythmias, and three treated participants experienced major cardiovascular complications, compared with none in the placebo group.

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Divergent dFC stability of DMN and SMN in narcolepsy

Narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) is characterized by profound sleep-wake state instability, pointing to a fundamental dysregulation of large-scale brain network dynamics. To elucidate this, we assessed whole-brain dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) stability using resting-state fMRI in 27 patients with NT1 and 25 matched healthy controls. Our analysis revealed a pattern of opposing alterations: patients exhibited significantly increased dFC stability within the bilateral somatomotor network (SMN), concurrent with decreased stability in the medial prefrontal default mode network (Default_PFCm). These opposing alterations were clinically relevant, as increased SMN stability correlated with poorer objective sleep efficiency, and decreased Default_PFCm stability was similarly associated with lower objective sleep efficiency. Here, we identify for the first time this coexisting neural signature of SMN hyper-stability and Default_PFCm instability in NT1. By simultaneously destabilizing higher-order cognitive networks and disinhibiting primary sensorimotor processing, orexin deficiency may contribute to a synergistic dysregulation that blurs sleep-wake boundaries. The divergence in dynamic network stability provides a novel systems-level framework for understanding state instability in NT1.
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Gut microbiome dynamics in autism: a prospective nested case–control study demonstrates microbial-clinical associations following rehabilitation interventions

BackgroundChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly exhibit gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic abnormalities, yet the mechanisms linking these changes to clinical symptoms remain unclear.ObjectiveThis study employed a nested case–control design and multi-omics approaches to evaluate the effects of rehabilitation intervention on clinical symptoms and gut microbiota in children with ASD, identify distinct microbial-metabolic signatures, and explore their mechanistic links with sleep disorders and developmental abilities.MethodsWithin a prospectively established pediatric cohort (n = 45), we implemented a nested case–control design including 26 ASD children (18 males, 8 females; mean age 61.79 ± 11.15 months) and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All ASD participants received standardized rehabilitation therapy (2 h/day, 5 days/week for 6 months) comprising occupational therapy and cognitive-linguistic training. Primary outcomes included comprehensive clinical assessments [Griffiths Development Scales-Chinese (GDS-C), Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)] and longitudinal multi-omics analysis (metagenomic sequencing and LC–MS-based metabolomics). Association analyses were performed with FDR correction (q < 0.05).ResultsFollowing the 6-month rehabilitation intervention, significant clinical improvements were observed in sleep quality (CSHQ total and subscores) and developmental performance (GDS-C). Multi-omics profiling revealed distinct biological signatures in ASD children compared to healthy controls, characterized by elevated Intestinibacter_bartlettii and reduced levels of ornithine and siderophore nonribosomal peptide biosynthesis. Crucially, correlation analysis demonstrated that, after FDR correction, ornithine levels were significantly positively correlated with multiple GDS-C developmental domains, while tyrosine was associated with parasomnias. These findings establish a potential mechanistic link where amino acid metabolism connects gut microbial shifts to clinical phenotypes.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that rehabilitation intervention synchronously ameliorates clinical symptoms and modulates the gut-metabolic profile in ASD. The identified associations between specific metabolites (ornithine and tyrosine) and clinical outcomes suggest a metabolic mechanism underlying the gut-brain axis, highlighting the potential of these metabolites as biomarkers for therapeutic monitoring. Further large-scale studies are needed to validate these findings.