Healthcare & Laboratory News

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MedPage Today (7/17, Haelle) reports, “Adults with HIV and obesity who switched from an antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen with an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) and tenofovir alafenamide to doravirine with or without tenofovir disoproxil fumarate did not have clinically meaningful weight loss, a randomized trial showed.” Researchers found that “at 48 weeks of follow-up, the median weight change was -0.47%...in those who switched to doravirine and tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine, -2.73%...in those who switched to doravirine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine, and -1.84%...in those who continued the INSTI and tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine.” The findings were presented at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science.

Multiple Sclerosis News Today (7/17, Shapiro) reports, “Researchers have developed a blood test to identify people at risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) years before the first symptoms appear.” The test, which was “described in a recent study, looks for antibodies against a protein of the Epstein-Barr virus, which is a leading risk factor for MS.” The findings were published in Nature Communications.

MedPage Today (7/17, Bassett) reports, “COVID-19 booster shots appeared to protect against severe disease among patients with cancer, according to a large retrospective cohort study.” Investigators found that “with a monovalent booster, the vaccine effectiveness to prevent COVID hospitalization was 29.2%, and 29.9% with a bivalent booster, while the number needed to vaccinate in order to prevent one hospitalization was 166 and 451, respectively.” MedPage Today add, “These findings are of importance, given that a second study...showed that certain factors, including hematologic cancers and lung cancer, as well as use of chemotherapy, were associated with COVID severity.” Both studies were published in JAMA Oncology.

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Reuters (7/17, Mahatole, Santhosh) reports the FDA “approved a pre-filled syringe version of GSK’s blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix [zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted], providing patients a more convenient option to receive the shot, the company said on Thursday.” The prior “version of GSK’s vaccine required a healthcare professional to mix the powdered form of the virus proteins with a liquid that boosts the immune response, before administration.” The updated “form of Shingrix, which does not require the mixing, was approved based on data that showed both versions were equally effective.”

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