By Nancy Lapid
Sept 15 (Reuters) – Hello Health Rounds readers! Today we highlight a potentially game-changing experimental contrast agent for MRI exams that may enable detection of lung cancer when tumors are small and more treatment options are available. We also report on a Johnson & Johnson antidepressant that appears to help improve sexual dysfunction in patients with major depressive disorder.
New contrast agent finds tiny lung tumors on MRI
A new type of dye for magnetic resonance imaging procedures may let doctors diagnose lung cancer at much earlier stages than is currently possible, researchers found.
In animal studies, the protein-based contrast agent called hProCA32.Collagen2, under development by InLighta BioSciences, allowed for identification of lung tumors and metastases as small as 1 millimeter, according to a report in Science Advances.
“Lung cancer is often diagnosed only after it has spread, when treatment options become more limited,” study leader Janny Yang, InLighta’s founder and chief scientific officer, said in a statement.
“Our technology can detect tiny tumors and hidden metastases without exposing patients to radiation. It also helps reveal how aggressive a cancer may be and how likely it is to spread, potentially reducing the need for invasive biopsies,” Yang added.
The imaging agent hProCA32.Collagen2 targets a structural protein called collagen type I that is found at elevated levels in aggressive lung tumors and metastatic lesions.
Beyond diagnosis, the findings may have important implications for personalized cancer treatment, the researchers said.
By enabling physicians to see collagen remodeling in which old or damaged collagen fibers are broken down and replaced with newly organized proteins in the tumors, the technology may eventually help identify high-risk patients, guide treatment selection and monitor response to therapy over time, they said.
“This is a game changer for cancer diagnosis and precision medicine,” said Yang. “For the first time, we’ve shown that precision MRI can detect tiny tumors and whole-body metastases without using harmful radiation while also providing important clues about how aggressively a cancer may behave.”
J&J drug improves depression-related sexual dysfunction
Johnson & Johnson’s antidepressant Caplyta significantly improved sexual dysfunction in a late-stage trial of patients with major depressive disorder that wasn’t improving with standard treatment.
In general, antidepressant medications can contribute to sexual dysfunction, making side effects a leading reason patients stop treatment, the study authors said.
More than 80% of the 480 participants in the trial reported sexual dysfunction at the start, according to a report in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Based on responses to questionnaires, significant improvements in sexual dysfunction were seen in those who were randomly assigned to add a daily 42-milligram dose of Caplyta to their current antidepressant therapy, compared with patients who added a placebo.
The improvements were seen in younger and older adults as well as across various aspects of sexual functioning, such as desire, arousal, orgasm and pleasure.
No changes in sexual function were seen in patients without baseline sexual dysfunction.
Caplyta, known chemically as lumateperone, is already commercially available to treat schizophrenia, bipolar depression and as a supplemental treatment when other antidepressants fail to control major depressive disorder.
Because Caplyta is not associated with medication-induced sexual dysfunction, it may be preferred by patients who need additional depression medications and who wish to avoid that side effect, study leader Dr. Anita Clayton of University of Virginia Health said in a statement.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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