Health Rounds: New fatty liver drug shows promise in monkeys
11/04/2023 17:03
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By Nancy Lapid
April 11 (Reuters) -
Hello Health Rounds Readers! Today we highlight early animal
studies of a drug showing promise against one of the toughest to
tackle conditions affecting a third of the world's population, a
fatty liver disease called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
that has become a leading cause of liver transplants. We also
shine a light on the added dangers of vaping products with
menthol flavoring and risks of COVID-19 during pregnancy.
New drug shows early promise in fatty liver disease
An experimental drug studied in monkeys may hold a key
to treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a progressive
condition that causes scarring and inflammation in the liver and
is estimated to affect nearly one-third of the world's
population, researchers reported.
The drug, DT-109 from Diapin Therapeutics, reversed fat
buildup and prevented the progression of liver scarring in mice
and monkeys with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) - an
advanced stage of the disease that has proven extremely tricky
to treat - according to a report published on Monday in Cell
Metabolism.
NASH-related liver-scarring has become one of the most
common reasons for liver transplantation.
For years, scientists have been trying to develop a
medication that treats NASH, but many attempts have failed,
study leader Dr. Eugene Chen of the University of Michigan
Medical School said in a statement.
DT-109, a combination of three amino acids, works by
stimulating the liver's breakdown of fatty acids and its
production of anti-inflammatory molecules, and by inhibiting its
production of a toxic acid known to be linked with higher risk
for fatty liver disease.
"With this significant breakthrough in preclinical models,
we can now consider evaluating DT-109 as a potential drug
candidate for the treatment of NASH in future clinical trials,"
study coauthor Jifeng Zhang of Michigan Medicine said in a
statement. "With millions of people suffering from NASH, the
need for an effective treatment is more pressing than ever."
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals MDGL.O , Akero Therapeutics
AKRO.O and 89Bio ETNB.O presently have experimental drugs
for NASH in clinical trials.
Menthol vaping liquids linked with worse lung function
Adding menthol flavoring to e-cigarette liquids produces
more toxic vapor particles and is linked with worse lung
function in smokers, new research has found.
Using a specially designed "vaping robot" that mimics the
mechanics of human breathing, researchers were able to assess
how the size and number of aerosolized particles vary with
different commercially available vaping liquids. The robot was
able to account for variables like temperature, humidity, and
puff volume and duration.
Compared to non-menthol liquids, the menthol-flavored pods
generated significantly higher quantities of toxic particles
small enough to enter and damage the lungs, according to a
report scheduled for publication in Respiratory Research.
When the researchers analyzed the medical records of 25
menthol vapers and 69 users of other flavored vaping products,
they found that menthol vapers took shallower breaths and had
poorer lung function compared to vapers who did not use menthol
flavoring, regardless of age, gender, race, years of smoking and
whether the vaping products contained nicotine or cannabis.
The researchers said this new information is especially
important "for young adults, who haven't smoked before."
"Switching to e-cigarettes may be a better, safer
alternative for someone who is trying to quit smoking regular
tobacco products. But it's important to have full knowledge of
e-cigarettes' risks and benefits before trying them," study
leader Kambez Benam of the University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine said in a statement.
COVID is still risky during pregnancy
Three recent studies highlight risks associated with
COVID-19 during pregnancy.
Doctors at the University of Miami reported on Thursday what
they believe are the first two confirmed cases in which the
SARS-CoV-2 virus crossed a mother's placenta and caused brain
damage in the infants they were carrying.
Doctors previously had suspected this was possible, but
there had been no direct evidence of COVID-19 in a mother's
placenta or an infant's brain, the team told reporters at a news
briefing.
Separately, U.S. public health researchers studied more than
40,000 infants up to age 6 months whose mothers had been
infected with the coronavirus while pregnant and found a sharp
increase in infections among their infants after Omicron became
the predominant variant.
The rate of positive COVID tests was five times higher among
the 14,115 babies born during the Omicron period than among the
27,403 born earlier in the pandemic, the researchers reported on
Friday in Pediatrics.
In a third study, researchers looking back at childbirth
complications early in the pandemic, when circulating variants
were generally causing more severe disease, found that pregnant
patients with COVID-19 at delivery were more than twice as
likely as those without the virus to need mechanical assistance
with breathing and to develop heart attacks, sepsis, cardiac
arrest, and blood clotting problems, according to a report on
Friday in JAMA Network Open.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Additional reporting by Julie
Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
((Nancy.Lapid@thomsonreuters.com;))