June 2024 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 9
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Study reveals heart failure device could prevent hospitalisation
A study led by researchers from the University of Glasgow has revealed that a brand-new heart failure monitoring device could be used to monitor patients and help prevent hospital admissions.
Presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s Heart Failure Congress, the CONGEST-HF study trialled Analog Devices Inc’s (ADI) Sensinel Cardiopulmonary Management (CPM) System in 66 patients with the cardiovascular condition. Affecting more than 64 million people worldwide, heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body.
Most patients with heart failure are admitted to the hospital multiple times for treatment with intravenous diuretics and current methods rely on expensive, invasive monitoring such as specially designed pacemakers or sensors implanted directly into the lung.
Applied to the skin of the patient’s chest, the Sensinel CPM device measures physiological parameters and cardiopulmonary indicators, including heart sounds, heart rate, temperature and respiratory rate via Bluetooth to measure heart, lung and other functions.
After trialling the non-invasive device, researchers found that it was able to detect changes in the fluid of patients with heart failure who had been admitted to the hospital to receive fluid removal by decongestion therapy or haemodialysis.
Results showed that the device successfully performed and was also able to detect changes in fluid as well as weight in patients as they had their fluid removed.
Cambridge researchers develop robotic nerve devices for neurological conditions
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed small, flexible devices, combining electronics and soft robotics, to help treat a range of neurological conditions, including epilepsy and chronic pain.
The nerve cuff implant has the ability to change shape through electrical activation, opening up a variety of avenues for new, highly targeted treatment options.
Affecting more than three billion people worldwide, neurological disorders are conditions that affect the brain as well as the nerves found throughout the human body and spinal cord.
Currently, the tools for interfacing peripheral nerves are outdated, bulky and carry a high risk of nerve injury, according to the University of Cambridge.
“Nerves are small and highly delicate, so anytime you put something large, like an electrode, in contact with them, it represents a danger to the nerves,” explained Professor George Malliaras, department of engineering, University of Cambridge.
Used to either stimulate or block signals in target nerves, the new robotic nerve ‘cuffs’ are sensitive enough to grasp or wrap around delicate nerve fibres without causing any damage as a minimally invasive monitoring and treatment alternative.
Made from conducting polymers that are commonly used in soft robotics, the ultra-thin cuffs are made up of two separate layers and apply small amounts of electricity, causing the device to either swell or shrink around the nerve, allowing nerve activity to be monitored or altered.
HOT & NOT
The Francis Crick Institute and Broken String Biosciences have announced a new collaboration to advance research in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The partnership aims to advance the understanding of genomic instability in the development of the neurodegenerative disease.
Affecting an estimated 5,000 people in the UK, ALS is a rare and fatal neurological disorder that causes the brain and spinal cord nerve cells to progressively degenerate.
Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists have revealed a molecular pathway that lures cells down a path of genome duplication that could potentially lead to new therapies and could stop the growth of cancers.
The study reveals the consequences of molecules and enzymes triggering and regulating the process of making new cells out of the cells’ genetic material.
Cells follow an orderly routine that begins with making a copy of their entire genome, followed by separating the genome copies and dividing the replicated DNA evenly into two ‘daughter’ cells.
The MHRA has launched AI Airlock, a new regulatory sandbox, to address the challenges of regulating medical devices that use AI.
In alignment with the regulator’s goal for the UK to be a science and technology superpower by 2030, the new sandbox builds on the MHRA’s strategic approach to AI in April, which was set out to respond to a White Paper published by the government in 2023.
OneChain Immunotherapeutics, a biotechnology company that specialises in developing CAR-T cell therapies for oncological diseases, has announced that the CARxALL clinical trial has dosed its first cortical T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (coT-ALL) patient with OC-1, a CAR-T therapy.
Being conducted at Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, the trial is open to both paediatric and adult patients worldwide.
A traumatic childbirths inquiry has called for an overhaul of the UK's maternity care after finding poor care is "tolerated as normal".
The Birth Trauma Inquiry heard harrowing evidence from more than 1,300 women, with some saying they were left in blood-soaked sheets while others said their children had suffered life-changing injuries due to medical negligence.
Women also complained that they were not listened to when they felt something was wrong and were mocked or shouted at and denied basic needs, such as pain relief.
Researchers at University College London found that vape users and cigarette smokers had similar changes to the DNA of cells in their mouth – with these changes linked to the future development of lung cancer in smokers.
It is the first major study to link vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, and an increased risk of cancer – but scientists said further research is required.
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