Cannabidiol shows promise against superbug infections
June 24, 2019
By Neozene

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

Reviving Tired T Cells to Improve Immuno-Oncology Treatments
June 18, 2019
By Neozene

A 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

ADA: Insulet Sees Gains in Type 1 Diabetes Study With Tubeless Insulin Pump in Young Children
June 11, 2019
By Neozene

Insulet 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