Smoking marijuana is believed to reduce the body’s ability to fight infections. But cannabidiol (CBD), a compound extracted from cannabis, might work as a powerful antibiotic against certain drug-resistant bacteria, scientists in Australia have found. BTX1801, a new CBD-based therapy being developed by Australian biotech Botanix Pharmaceuticals, is effective against several Gram-positive bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, in lab dishes and animal models, according to a team led by Mark Blaskovich at the University of Queensland. Results from the preclinical study were presented at the annual conference of
Read MoreA population of immune cells known as effector T cells are important in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases, because they produce substances that kill the pathogenic cells. Problem is, these T cells can become exhausted. A team at the University of Pennsylvania has discovered a protein that helps determine the fate of exhausted T cells—and that might be able to be targeted to improve immuno-oncology treatments. The protein, called TOX, controls the evolution of exhausted T cells. Specifically, high levels of TOX sustained over a long period of
Read MoreInsulet presented new data evaluating the use of its tubeless, closed-loop Omnipod insulin management system in young children with Type 1 diabetes. Using an investigational version of the device, 14 children between the ages of two and six were supervised for over a week in a hotel to simulate the unique challenges of an at-home setting for this age group. Following seven days of standard therapy with continuous glucose monitoring, the participants entered a two- to three-day treatment phase using the Omnipod’s personalized, predictive algorithms. During this second phase, meals
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