Home test kits could help flag cancer risk
Researchers at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto are hoping to increase screening for genetic mutations linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancers by making an at-home testing kit accessible to Canadian adults.
Participants who sign up for the Screen Project will be sent a DIY saliva-collection set that they can use and then ship to a U.S. facility. The samples will be tested for gene mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are linked to a heightened risk of breast and ovarian cancer for women and prostate cancer for men.
Genetic screening has been in the spotlight since actor and activist Angelina Jolie publicly learned she was a carrier of BRCA1 and had her breasts and ovaries removed as a preventative measure.
Beyond making screening more accessible, this new Canada-wide project hopes to examine the benefits of widely testing for these mutations.
The kits cost about $200 each and financial assistance is available. Brain and arm implants help paralyzed U.S. man feed himself Doctors say a paralyzed Ohio man was able to feed himself for the first time in eight years, after they implanted sensors in his brain that sent signals to his arm.
Bill Kochevar, 56, was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a cycling accident in Cleveland years ago.
To help him move again, doctors surgically placed two tiny implants into his brain to pick up signals from neurons. The signals are relayed through external cables to a computer, which sends commands to electrodes in his arm and hand muscles.
After first practising with virtual reality, Kochevar was soon able to eat forkfuls of mashed potatoes on his own. He described the feat as “amazing.”
His case is detailed by his doctors in a paper published last week in the journal Lancet. FDA approves injected eczema drug U.S. regulators have approved the first powerful, injected medicine to treat serious cases of the skin condition eczema.
The Food and Drug Administration last week approved Dupixent for moderate or severe eczema, which causes red, fiercely itchy rashes on the face, arms and legs.
In three studies of the drug including a total of 2,119 participants, one-third to two-thirds achieved clear or nearly clear skin after 16 weeks of treatment. About four in 10 had itching decrease sharply, bringing better sleep and reducing anxiety and depression, which affect many patients.
Dupixent will have an initial list price of $37,000 per year, according to Parisbased Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals of Tarrytown, New York, which developed the drug.
Side effects can include cold sores and inflammation of the eye and eyelid. New drug targets aggressive MS U.S. regulators have approved the first drug for an aggressive kind of multiple sclerosis (MS) that steadily reduces coordination and the ability to walk.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Ocrevus last week, after a large study found it slowed progression of the neurological disease and reduced symptoms.
While there are treatments for the most common form of MS, there’s been nothing specifically for people with the type called primary progressive MS. That type of MS is relatively rare, affecting about 50,000 Americans.
The drug was also approved for less severe forms of MS.
It’s given intravenously every six months. The drug was developed by Genentech, part of Swiss drugmaker the Roche Group. The company says the initial list price, without insurance, will be $65,000 a year.