Patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a chronic liver disease and a leading cause for liver transplantation in the U.S., currently lack an approved drug therapy, but this may soon change. A large Phase III clinical trial designed in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University is the first to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of an oral medication to treat the disease.

It is incompletely understood which factors in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) act as a trigger for the immune system to attack the brain and spinal cord. A potential factor is described by a research team in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS. The medical researchers used an animal model to show that the protein Smad7 mobilises immune cells in the intestines which, in turn, trigger inflammation in the central nervous system.

A pioneering precision medicine already licensed for breast and ovarian cancer can also slow or stop tumour growth in some men with advanced prostate cancer, a new clinical trial shows. The phase II trial found that over 80 per cent of men with prostate cancer whose tumours had mutations in the BRCA genes responded well to treatment with the targeted drug olaparib.

The investigational therapeutics mAb114 and REGN-EB3 offer patients a greater chance of surviving Ebola virus disease (EVD) compared to the investigational treatment ZMapp, according to published results from a clinical trial conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The new report also shows that early diagnosis and treatment are associated with an increased likelihood of survival from EVD.

With their expertise in the safe and effective use of medications, pharmacists can help in the management of chronic diseases. A review and analysis published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology indicates that initiatives - such as patient education, medication review, and physical assessments - led by pharmacists can make important contributions to the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers from VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Iowa (USA) and other collaborators, developed a novel approach to better understand a basic defense mechanism of our immune system. Central is ISG15, a small protein with a role in the immune system. With the newly developed method, scientists can now identify and study proteins tagged with ISG15, allowing them to

U.S. Medicare patients with multiple sclerosis often pay, on average, nearly $7,000 out of pocket to treat their condition each year. And, even though drug companies have provided no new treatment breakthroughs, the price of these disease-modifying medications is rising by 10% to 15% each year for the past decade.