First Gene Therapy for Tay-Sachs Disease Successfully Given to Two Children

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Two babies have received the first-ever gene therapy for Tay-Sachs disease after over 14 years of development. Tay-Sachs is a severe neurological disease caused by a deficiency in an enzyme called HexA. This enzyme breaks down a fatlike substance that normally … Read more

CAR-T gene therapy kept leukaemia in remission for 11 years in two people

Two people who were among the first to get CAR-T cells as blood cancer treatment still have descendants of the cells in their bodies that are working well more than a decade later Health 2 February 2022 By Clare Wilson Illustration of a CAR-T cell KEITH CHAMBERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A high-tech gene therapy for treating … Read more

Special Phage Therapy Clears a Patient’s Resistant Infection After 798 Days

After 700 days of antibiotic treatment, the infection of a 30-year-old bombing attack victim still raged. Tragically, the patient had suffered life-threatening injuries during the attacks at Brussels airport on 22 March 2016. Over the next three years, she faced numerous medical complications, as her fracture-related wound became infected with pan-drug-resistant bacteria, or what we … Read more

Phage therapy: Treatment for superbug infections is being tested in Belgium

Bacteria-killing viruses can be used to treat antibiotic-resistant superbugs, and the approach has been tried in more than 100 people in Belgium since a 2019 change in regulations Health 18 January 2022 By Michael Le Page Illustration of bacteriophage viruses attacking a bacterium iLexx/Getty Images The use of bacteria-killing viruses known as phages to treat … Read more

Ketamine Infusions Seem to Help People Quit Alcohol, Scientists Find

An infusion of the widely-used anesthetic ketamine could represent “new hope” in the treatment of millions of people with alcohol problems, scientists studying the drug said. People with severe alcohol problems who were given ketamine infusions alongside psychological therapy quit drinking for longer than those who received a standard treatment for alcoholism, according to the … Read more

Endometriosis Drug Shows Promise in Preliminary Phase 3 Trial Results

A new drug with the potential to treat endometriosis-associated pain with very few side effects is getting closer to official approval. Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition and the leading cause of pelvic pain worldwide. With no known cause or cure, many patients have run out of options and are living with chronic and unrelenting symptoms.   … Read more

It’s Clearer Than Ever – The Active Compound in Ecstasy Can Safely Assist PTSD Therapy

For people with post-traumatic stress disorder, recalling memories of physical or sexual assault, combat or disaster-related events can induce intense anxiety or panic attacks as well as debilitating flashbacks.   In the US, about seven percent of people suffer from PTSD and lose an average of about four working days each month as a result. … Read more

Hormone replacement therapy: Large study finds HRT does not increase risk of dying early

A study of 300,000 people shows that HRT for menopause symptoms doesn’t increase the risk of early death, helping to overturn outdated fears about its safety Health 10 December 2021 By Alice Klein A woman applying a hormone replacement therapy patch Phanie/Alamy A large UK study has provided reassurance that taking hormone replacement therapy to … Read more