Xtandi expands

Patients with non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer often take leuprolide monotherapy, but now a new study from Astellas and Pfizer shows that the 800-lb. gorilla in the prostate cancer space is a better choice:

Both Xtandi alone and a combination of Xtandi and hormone therapy leuprolide beat leuprolide monotherapy in patients who had high-risk recurrence.

(That in mind, Pfizer is looking to see if Xtandi can also be paired with PARP inhibitor Talzenna.)

MRSA killer, qu’est-ce que c’est?

When simple staphylococcus aureus goes MRSA, it’s practically the poster child for antibiotic resistance.

Now a group of those shifty Danes has found a potential treatment for both resistant and non-resistant staph infections: a new, artificially produced lysin (or endolysin if you prefer) that’s staph-specific.

“The great thing about this enzyme is that it has been designed to penetrate the wall of staphylococcus aureus. This enables it to target and kill the harmful staphylococcus and leave harmless skin bacteria unharmed.”

Assuming it pans out, it would not only be a useful staph/MRSA treatment in general, it could be a very big deal for skin lymphoma patients for whom staph infections can be deadly.

Sucralose danger … and therapeutic potential

Mice who eat a lot of sucralose — aka Splenda, the artificial sweetener found in a ton of soft drinks and other foods^*, have a lower immune response. Sounds bad, but But wait! The Francis Crick Institute scientists who discovered this are a glass-half-full group. Their takeaway:

If found to have similar effects in humans, one day it could be used therapeutically to help dampen T-cell responses. For example, in patients with autoimmune diseases who suffer from uncontrolled T cell activation.

^* Are soft drinks “foods”? Discuss.

Building a better cancer-fighter cell

Immunotherapy for cancer is effective, but getting enough immune cells can be a problem — they aren’t something a donor can provide. But wait! Swiss researchers have found a way to replace some proteins in donor cells with Folger’s Crystals synthetic molecules, allowing patients to receive donated white blood cells.

In short: The tweak keeps donated antibodies from attacking a patient’s body (and vice -versa), but — by using a bit of chemistry — those antibodies can be attached to a tumor where it will attack.

If the work pans out (“The technology has been tested in the lab in human cells, but it will take more time and development before the patients can benefit from the technology”), it could be a huge boost for cancer treatment.

Captain Obvious knows you can’t eat the Oreos if you don’t have the Oreos

“Odds of Opioid Overdose Up With Household Opioid Availability”

The Long Read: When Politics Trumps Science edition

How the Covid-from-a-lab-leak idea went from crazy idea to slightly less crazy idea to political theater with science on the sidelines.

(Of course the big question is, if we could determine with 100% accuracy where the virus came from, how would that info change what we’re doing?)

Short Takes

10,000 Instagrammers sigh in relief

Supplies of Mounjaro and Ozempic have been replenished.

Elsewhere: Californ-I-A’s insulin project

California’s homegrown, affordable insulin project continues apace. The state has announced that Civica will be its partner in producing and selling the $30/10ml insulin (glargine, lispro and aspart). It’s expected to save the state (patients and taxpayers) millions.

Two blind mice

Using CRISPR-based gene editing, Chinese scientists were able “to bring back vision in mice with retinitis pigmentosa,” a retinal condition that’s one of the major causes of human blindness (i.e., 1 in 4,000 people have some vision loss because of it).