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Genome Apr 2021Precision medicine is an emerging approach to clinical research and patient care that focuses on understanding and treating disease by integrating multi-modal or... (Review)
Review
Precision medicine is an emerging approach to clinical research and patient care that focuses on understanding and treating disease by integrating multi-modal or multi-omics data from an individual to make patient-tailored decisions. With the large and complex datasets generated using precision medicine diagnostic approaches, novel techniques to process and understand these complex data were needed. At the same time, computer science has progressed rapidly to develop techniques that enable the storage, processing, and analysis of these complex datasets, a feat that traditional statistics and early computing technologies could not accomplish. Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a computer science methodology that aims to identify complex patterns in data that can be used to make predictions or classifications on new unseen data or for advanced exploratory data analysis. Machine learning analysis of precision medicine's multi-modal data allows for broad analysis of large datasets and ultimately a greater understanding of human health and disease. This review focuses on machine learning utilization for precision medicine's "big data", in the context of genetics, genomics, and beyond.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence; Genomics; Humans; Machine Learning; Precision Medicine
PubMed: 33091314
DOI: 10.1139/gen-2020-0131 -
Infectious Diseases of Poverty Jan 2020Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have long been overlooked in the global health agenda. They are intimately related to poverty, cause important local burdens of... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have long been overlooked in the global health agenda. They are intimately related to poverty, cause important local burdens of disease, but individually do not represent global priorities. Yet, NTDs were estimated to affect close to 2 billion people at the turn of the millennium, with a collective burden equivalent to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria. A global response was therefore warranted.
MAIN TEXT
The World Health Organization (WHO) conceived an innovative strategy in the early 2000s to combat NTDs as a group of diseases, based on a combination of five public health interventions. Access to essential NTD medicines has hugely improved thanks to strong public-private partnership involving the pharmaceutical sector. The combination of a WHO NTD roadmap with clear targets to be achieved by 2020 and game-changing partner commitments endorsed in the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, have led to unprecedented progress in the implementation of large-scale preventive treatment, case management and care of NTDs. The coming decade will see as challenges the mainstreaming of these NTD interventions into Universal Health Coverage and the coordination with other sectors to get to the roots of poverty and scale up transmission-breaking interventions. Chinese expertise with the elimination of multiple NTDs, together with poverty reduction and intersectoral action piloted by municipalities and local governments, can serve as a model for the latter. The international community will also need to keep a specific focus on NTDs in order to further steer this global response, manage the scaling up and sustainment of NTD interventions globally, and develop novel products and implementation strategies for NTDs that are still lagging behind.
CONCLUSIONS
The year 2020 will be crucial for the future of the global response to NTDs. Progress against the 2020 roadmap targets will be assessed, a new 2021-2030 NTD roadmap will be launched, and the London Declaration commitments will need to be renewed. It is hoped that during the coming decade the global response will be able to further build on today's successes, align with the new global health and development frameworks, but also keep focused attention on NTDs and mobilize enough resources to see the effort effectively through to 2030.
Topics: Communicable Disease Control; Global Health; Humans; Neglected Diseases; Poverty; Tropical Medicine
PubMed: 31987053
DOI: 10.1186/s40249-020-0630-9 -
CA: a Cancer Journal For Clinicians Nov 2019Multiple organizations around the world have issued evidence-based exercise guidance for patients with cancer and cancer survivors. Recently, the American College of...
Multiple organizations around the world have issued evidence-based exercise guidance for patients with cancer and cancer survivors. Recently, the American College of Sports Medicine has updated its exercise guidance for cancer prevention as well as for the prevention and treatment of a variety of cancer health-related outcomes (eg, fatigue, anxiety, depression, function, and quality of life). Despite these guidelines, the majority of people living with and beyond cancer are not regularly physically active. Among the reasons for this is a lack of clarity on the part of those who work in oncology clinical settings of their role in assessing, advising, and referring patients to exercise. The authors propose using the American College of Sports Medicine's Exercise Is Medicine initiative to address this practice gap. The simple proposal is for clinicians to assess, advise, and refer patients to either home-based or community-based exercise or for further evaluation and intervention in outpatient rehabilitation. To do this will require care coordination with appropriate professionals as well as change in the behaviors of clinicians, patients, and those who deliver the rehabilitation and exercise programming. Behavior change is one of many challenges to enacting the proposed practice changes. Other implementation challenges include capacity for triage and referral, the need for a program registry, costs and compensation, and workforce development. In conclusion, there is a call to action for key stakeholders to create the infrastructure and cultural adaptations needed so that all people living with and beyond cancer can be as active as is possible for them.
Topics: Community Health Services; Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; Exercise Therapy; Humans; Medical Oncology; Neoplasms; Practice Guidelines as Topic
PubMed: 31617590
DOI: 10.3322/caac.21579 -
Archives of Medical Research Jan 2021Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) are multipotent stem cells capable of renewing themselves and differentiation in vitro into different kinds of tissues. In vivo...
INTRODUCTION
Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs) are multipotent stem cells capable of renewing themselves and differentiation in vitro into different kinds of tissues. In vivo hMSCs are sources of trophic factors modulating the immune system and inducing intrinsic stem cells to repair damaged tissues. Currently, there are multiple clinical trials (CT) using hMSCs for therapeutic purposes in a large number of clinical settings.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The search strategy on clinicaltrials.gov has focused on the key term "Mesenchymal Stem Cells", and the inclusion and exclusion criteria were separated into two stages. Stage 1, CT on phases 1-4: location, the field of application, phase, and status. For stage 2, CT that have published outcome results: field of application, treatment, intervention model, source, preparation methods, and results.
RESULTS
By July 2020, there were a total of 1,138 registered CT. Most studies belong to either phase 2 (61.0%) or phase 1 (30.8%); most of them focused in the fields of traumatology, neurology, cardiology, and immunology. Only 18 clinical trials had published results: the most common source of isolation was bone marrow; the treatment varied from 1-200 M hMSCs; all of them have similar preparation methods; all of them have positive results with no serious adverse effects.
CONCLUSIONS
There appears to be a broad potential for the clinical use of hMSCs with no reported serious adverse events. There are many trials in progress, their future results will help to explore the therapeutic potential of these promising cellular sources of medicinal signals.
Topics: Cell Differentiation; Clinical Trials as Topic; Humans; Medicine; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; Regenerative Medicine
PubMed: 32977984
DOI: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2020.08.006 -
Ugeskrift For Laeger Sep 2023Polygenic risk scores (PRS) identify at-risk individuals for many common diseases. A discussion of strengths and limitations is carried out in this review. PRS... (Review)
Review
Polygenic risk scores (PRS) identify at-risk individuals for many common diseases. A discussion of strengths and limitations is carried out in this review. PRS complement traditional genetic testing and have shown utility in establishing a proper diagnosis and guiding primary and secondary prevention. Some individuals with high PRS have risks similar to those with monogenic predisposition. Limitations include potential misinterpretations, problems with application across ancestries, and limited usefulness in low-heritability traits. Despite its shortcomings PRS are predicted to play major roles in the future of personal medicine and genetic testing.
Topics: Humans; Risk Factors; Genetic Testing; Medicine; Secondary Prevention; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genome-Wide Association Study
PubMed: 37873989
DOI: No ID Found -
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Jan 2023Real-world data/evidence (RWD/RWE) may provide insightful information on medicines' clinical effects to guide regulatory decisions. While its contribution has been...
Real-world data/evidence (RWD/RWE) may provide insightful information on medicines' clinical effects to guide regulatory decisions. While its contribution has been recognized for safety monitoring and disease epidemiology across medicines' life cycles, using RWD/RWE to demonstrate efficacy requires further evaluation. This study aimed to (i) characterize RWD/RWE presented by applicants to support claims on medicines' efficacy within initial marketing authorization applications (MAAs) and extension of indication applications (EoIs), and (ii) analyze the contribution of RWD/RWE to regulatory decisions on medicines' benefit-risk profile. RWD/RWE was included to support efficacy in 32 MAAs and 14 EoIs submitted 2018-2019. Of these, RWD/RWE was part of the preauthorization package of 16 MAAs and 10 EoIs, and was (i) considered supporting the regulatory decision in 10 applications (five MAAs, five EoIs), (ii) considered not supporting the regulatory decision in 11 (seven MAAs, four EoIs), and (iii) not addressed at all in the evaluation of 5 applications (four MAAs, one EoI). Common limitations of submitted RWD/RWE included missing data, lack of representativeness of populations, small sample size, absence of an adequate or prespecified analysis plan, and risk of several types of bias. The suitability of RWD/RWE in a given application still requires a case-by-case analysis considering its purpose of use, implying reflection on the data source, together with its assets and limitations, study objectives and designs, and the overall data package issued. Early interactions and continuous dialogues with regulators and relevant stakeholders is key to optimize fit-for-purpose RWE generation, enabling its broader use in medicines development.
Topics: Humans; Decision Making; Europe; Government Regulation; Medicine
PubMed: 36254408
DOI: 10.1002/cpt.2766 -
Ugeskrift For Laeger Mar 2023Play is a non-invasive, safe, and inexpensive intervention that can help children and adolescents better manage difficult aspects of hospitalisation. Play has existed in... (Review)
Review
Play is a non-invasive, safe, and inexpensive intervention that can help children and adolescents better manage difficult aspects of hospitalisation. Play has existed in hospitals for decades but is emerging as an interdisciplinary scientific field. The field concerns all medical specialties and healthcare professionals working with children. In this review, we describe play within different clinical contexts and recommend that directed and non-directed play activities should be prioritised in future paediatric departments. We also emphasise the need for professionalisation and research in the area.
Topics: Child; Adolescent; Humans; Hospitals; Health Personnel; Hospital Departments; Medicine
PubMed: 36896603
DOI: No ID Found -
GMS Journal For Medical Education 2021
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Medicine
PubMed: 33763532
DOI: 10.3205/zma001444 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jul 2022In recent decades, tremendous progress has been made in the medicinal field in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying human pathologies, due to the...
In recent decades, tremendous progress has been made in the medicinal field in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying human pathologies, due to the significant development of advanced laboratory techniques and technologies [...].
Topics: Gastroenterology; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Precision Medicine; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Proteomics
PubMed: 35897777
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158201 -
International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2023Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development and evolution have evolved rapidly over recent years, and the variation from one patient to... (Review)
Review
Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development and evolution have evolved rapidly over recent years, and the variation from one patient to another is now widely recognized. Consequently, one-size-fits-all approaches to the treatment of cancer have been superseded by precision medicines that target specific disease characteristics, promising maximum clinical efficacy, minimal safety concerns, and reduced economic burden. While precision oncology has been very successful in the treatment of some tumors with specific characteristics, a large number of patients do not yet have access to precision medicines for their disease. The success of next-generation precision oncology depends on the discovery of new actionable disease characteristics, rapid, accurate, and comprehensive diagnosis of complex phenotypes within each patient, novel clinical trial designs with improved response rates, and worldwide access to novel targeted anticancer therapies for all patients. This review outlines some of the current technological trends, and highlights some of the complex multidisciplinary efforts that are underway to ensure that many more patients with cancer will be able to benefit from precision oncology in the near future.
Topics: Humans; Neoplasms; Precision Medicine; Medical Oncology; Interdisciplinary Studies; Phenotype
PubMed: 37628794
DOI: 10.3390/ijms241612613