Healthcare & Laboratory News

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Rare Disease Advisor (4/24, Özkaya) reports a study found that “the expression levels of thymocyte differentiation antigen 1 (Thy-1) are associated with the severity of fibrosis in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).” In the study, researchers observed a “correlation between the expression levels of Thy-1 in the portal areas and the extent of liver fibrosis. They also reported that the sinusoidal expression of Thy-1 aligned with the severity of fibrosis in patients with PBC.” In addition, “the researchers found that the variations in the levels of soluble Thy-1 were in line with the progression of fibrosis from mild to advanced stages in patients with PBC.” They concluded, “The findings suggest that while [soluble] Thy-1 shows potential, its role as a non-invasive biomarker requires further exploration to fully understand its utility in clinical diagnostics.” The study was published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Open.

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The Washington Post (4/24, H. Sun) reports a study published in JAMA says that the US “faces millions of measles cases over the next 25 years if vaccination rates for the disease drop 10 percent.” Nathan Lo, a Stanford physician and author of the study, said, “Our country is on a tipping point for measles to once again become a common household disease.” He warns that at current state-level vaccination rates, mathematical models used by the researchers predict that measles could become entrenched, resulting in “hundreds of thousands of cases, where deaths are commonplace and hospitalizations are happening all the time.” While the study found that “a small uptick in vaccination – a 5 percent increase in state-level rates – would prevent huge increases in measles cases,” Lo said he “fears that the most likely scenario is that childhood vaccination rates will continue to decline and the cumulative number of infections will rise sharply.” Reuters (4/24, Lapid) reports the study concluded that if rates of MMR vaccination “were to decline by 10%, an estimated 11.1 million cases of measles would result over 25 years.” The modeling also looked at scenarios for other vaccine-preventable diseases that have been eradicated. For example, “if vaccination rates drop by 35%, rubella will likely become endemic, while polio, which has long been eradicated in the U.S., has a 50-50 chance of making a comeback if vaccination drops by 40%.” Meanwhile, the CDC said Thursday in its weekly report that total US measles “cases through April 17 represent about a 180% increase over the 285 cases reported in all of 2024 – the second highest annual U.S. case count in 25 years.”

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Rare Disease Advisor (4/24, Lai) reports a study found that “immunoassay testing for antiproteinase 3 (anti-PR3) and antimyeloperoxidase (anti-MPO) retain an advantage against indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) screening.” The results “support the current global consensus that anti-PR3 and anti-MPO immunoassays should remain the preferred screening option for AAV as opposed to screening via IIF.” The study was published in Egyptian Rheumatology and Rehabilitation.

The Pharmacy Times (4/24, Halpern) reports a study found that patients with severe COVID-19 “in the early phase of their disease did not present improved clinical outcomes regarding intensive care unit admission, hospitalization time, and mortality when treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) compared with those who received tocilizumab.” Researchers observed that IVIG treatment “was linked to more adverse events, including bradycardia and transfusion-associated circulatory overload.” The study “emphasized the lack of data supporting IVIG use in COVID-19 due to higher costs and side effects compared to tocilizumab.” Overall, they found that tocilizumab “demonstrated a safer profile with no serious drug-related adverse events observed.” The study was published in the Journal of Sao Paulo Institute of Tropical Medicine.

CNN (4/23, McPhillips) reports poll data published Wednesday by KFF show that “nearly two-thirds of adults have heard the false claim that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism,” while about a “third of adults have heard the false claim that the measles vaccine is more dangerous than the disease, nearly double the share from a year ago. And about a fifth of adults have heard the false claim that vitamin A prevents measles.” According to the poll, about a quarter of adults incorrectly believe that the MMR vaccine is “definitely” or “probably” linked to autism, and “about a quarter believe that vitamin A can prevent measles infections, despite caution from health officials about potential dangers.” Furthermore, “about a fifth believe that getting the measles vaccine is more dangerous than becoming infected. These misconceptions were especially prevalent among Republicans and Hispanic adults.” The Hill (4/23, Suter) reports the poll found 51% of respondents said they were “very worried” or “somewhat worried” when it comes to “the outbreak of measles in the U.S.,” while 49% said they were “not too worried” or “not at all worried.”

Reuters (4/23, Rigby) reports global aid funding cuts are harming “efforts to vaccinate children against deadly diseases almost as much as the COVID-19 pandemic did, the United Nations said on Thursday.” Despite a global increase in “outbreaks of infectious diseases, including measles, meningitis and yellow fever,” emergency and routine vaccinations “were significantly affected in nearly half of countries at the start of April due to the funding cuts, according to reports from World Health Organization offices in 108 largely low and lower-middle income countries.”