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Researchers from Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California (UC) San Diego have discovered thousands of previously unknown bile acids, a type of molecule used by our gut microbiome to communicate with the rest of the body. The findings can build a better understanding of our gut microbiome and may lead to the development of therapeutics for diseases that are related to the gut microbiome such as type 2 diabetes, intestinal bowel diseases, and more.

The findings are published in Cell in an article titled, “The underappreciated diversity of bile acid modifications.”

“The repertoire of modifications to bile acids and related steroidal lipids by host and microbial metabolism remains incompletely characterized,” the researchers wrote. “To address this knowledge gap, we created a reusable resource of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectra by filtering 1.2 billion publicly available MS/MS spectra for bile-acid-selective ion patterns.”

A was assessed in a recent phase 2 trial.

The optimal first-line chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer, validated in phase 3 trials, is the triplet combination of infusional 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and either irinotecan or nanoliposome-encapsulated irinotecan (FOLFIRINOX or NALIRIFOX). Now, in an industry-supported, randomized, phase 2 trial involving patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, investigators compared the combination of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel to a novel sequenced regimen of gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel followed by mFOLFOX-6 on a 6-week cycle.

Of 157 patients, the median age was 66, 94% had metastatic disease, only 18% had undergone prior surgery, and 4% had received prior chemotherapy. The primary endpoint of 12-month overall survival (OS) was higher with the sequenced regimen compared with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel alone (55.3% vs. 35.4%, P =0.02); median OS was also higher (13.2 vs. 9.7 months; hazard ratio, 0.68). Median progression-free survival was higher with the sequenced regimen (7.0 vs 5.2 months; HR, 0.52) as was the response rate (39.7% vs. 20.3%). Adverse events and rates of grade 3/4 neurologic toxicity were similar between the two treatment arms.

Continue reading “Novel Sequenced Chemotherapy Regimen for Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer” »

A surgery team in the UK successfully utilized the recently-released Apple Vision Pro to assist spinal surgery — a fascinating use case for the augmented reality (AR) headsets that goes far beyond movie-watching, productivity-hacking, or distracted driving.

As Business Insider reports, the expensive “spatial computing” device was used to execute two microspinal procedures at London’s Cromwell Hospital. To be clear, it wasn’t the surgeons themselves who were wearing bunky AR headsets. The device was instead donned by an assisting surgical scrub nurse, who according to a press release used headset-integrated software called eXeX to access things like “surgical setup and the procedural guides from within the sterile field of the operating theatre,” in addition to any needed data or surgical visualizations.

So, in short: coupled with the eXeX software, the headset offered the folks in the operating room hands-free access to documents and other information related to the procedure and its workflow. Pretty cool!

With coral reefs under attack from ongoing climate change effects, what steps can be taken to reverse the damage? This is what a recent study published in iScience hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated how to monitor coral reef health that is impacted through climate change, specifically with altering biomineralization, which is the driving force behind coral reef formation. This study holds the potential to help scientists better understand how climate change impacts coral reef health and potential steps to improve conservation of corals throughout the world.

“The whole ecosystem is dying. You can listen to the death all you want, but what are you going to do to fix it?” said Dr. Mark Martindale, who is the director of the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and a co-author on the study. “In order to do that, you need to understand what the problems are. And you need an experimental system to do that. Now we have that system.”

China embraces AI with a domestic AI surgery consultant, aiding physicians with real-time advice. Find out what it means for medicine.

The work, facilitated by the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE) and led by a team that includes UD, Argonne, JPMorgan Chase and University of Chicago scientists, lays groundwork for future applications—and highlights the need for cross-sector collaboration.

The third category, stochastic modeling, is used across the sciences to predict the spread of disease, the evolution of a chemical reaction, or weather patterns. The mathematical technique models complex processes by making random changes to a variable and observing how the process responds to the changes.

The method is used in finance, for instance, to describe the evolution of stock prices and interest rates. With the power of quantum computing behind it, stochastic modeling can provide faster and more accurate predictions about the market.

Continue reading “Researchers explore quantum computing’s ability to speed solutions for financial sector” »

Vitamin D and calcium supplements appear to lower cancer risk. While the combo may also lead to more heart issues, the researcher says she decided it’s worth it for her.

Jointly developed by investigators of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology’s (VHIO) Radiomics Group and the Bellvitge University Hospital’s Neuroradiology Unit, the Diagnosis in Susceptibility Contrast Enhancing Regions for Neuroncology (DISCERN) is an open-access deep learning tool based on the training of patterns using artificial intelligence models from information of standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

How LLM #AI can make a patient-friendly— more understandable, more concise— hospital discharge summary for patients.

Generative artificial intelligence to transform inpatient discharge summaries to patient-friendly language and format.

This cross-sectional study, as part of a larger project to improve care delivery in our health system, was deemed exempt from institutional review board review based on the NYU Langone Health self-certification protocol. The study followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guideline.

Continue reading “Generative AI for Patient-Friendly Language in Discharge Summaries” »