This week, The Pharmaceutical Journal has reported on Mounjaro (tirzepatide; Eli Lilly) being approved for use in children, cost savings and quality of life improvements from tablet use in paediatrics, fatal adverse reactions from tranexamic acid and anaesthetic mix-ups, community pharmacy point-of-care cholesterol testing, warnings over naloxone and synthetic opioids and the impact of DPYD testing on cancer care.
Read on for more health news you might have missed this week.
Study shows how semaglutide improves liver health independently of weight loss
GLP-1 semaglutide improves liver inflammation, scarring and enzyme levels by targeting liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), according to the results of a study based on mouse models and molecular analysis, published in Cell Metabolism.
Semaglutide shifts gene activity in LSCEs, prompting them to release anti-inflammatory molecules that act on the broader liver environment and pushing it toward a state more closely resembling a healthy, disease-free liver, study authors said. This occurred whether or not weight-loss was present.
EMA advises liver monitoring on anti-seizure medicine
The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA’s) Pharmacovigilence Risk Assessment Committee has written to inform healthcare professionals that cases of severe liver injury with hepatic failure have been reported in patients treated with anti-seizure medicine Ontozry (cenobamate; Angelini Pharma).
Most cases occurred when the medicine was used alongside other anti-seizure medications, the EMA said. It recommended that prescribers conduct liver function tests before starting treatment with Ontozry and throughout treatment.
Obesity may impair vaccine response owing to defects in germinal centres
Vaccines may perform less well in people with obesity because of impaired antibody production owing to defects in germinal centres, which is a part of the immune system where specialised immune cells, called B cells, produce antibodies and build memory against pathogens, according to the findings of a study published in the The Journal of Immunology.
“We hope these findings shift the focus of vaccine design and lead to more effective, tailored vaccines for the millions of people living with obesity who are at higher risk for severe respiratory infections,” said lead author Wendy L. Picking, professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Integrative Biomedical Sciences at the University of Missouri.
Shorter antibiotic courses show similar health outcomes to five days or more
The results of a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine have revealed that, for patients hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), health outcomes were similar for those receiving a three-to-four day course of antibiotics or those receiving a course lasting five days or more — although study authors noted that only 10.1% of inpatients with CAP met the strict eligibility criteria for short-course therapy.
Phase II trial gives hope for pancreatic cancer
The findings of a phase II randomised trial, published in Nature Medicine, has shown elraglusib, combined with chemotherapy, doubles survival after one year in patients with pancreatic cancer and reduces the risk of death by 38%.
The drug — developed nearly 15 years ago at Northwestern University, Illinois — targets the GSK-3 beta protein, which plays a role in tumour growth and suppression of the immune system, and may work by re-engaging the immune system to fight cancer.
Study lead author Devalingam Mahalingam, professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said: “Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging solid tumours to treat, but these findings provide cautious optimism for patients.”
“While these results will need to be confirmed in phase III trials, observing survival benefit in such a difficult-to-treat cancer is encouraging. Given the novel mechanism of this drug, these findings raise the possibility that it could have broader application across other tumour types,” he added.
