Researchers from Indiana University have presented data from a study that aimed to assess the potential of suppressing GABA metabolism through inhibition of its degradation enzyme, GABA aminotransferase (GABA-AT), as novel analgesic strategy. The effect of next-generation GABA-AT inhibitor OV-329 was assessed in C57BL/6J mice that were intraperitoneally injected with paclitaxel to generate neuropathic nociception. Treatment with OV-329 attenuated the development and maintenance of paclitaxel-induced mechanical hypersensitivity.

Researchers from Merck & Co Inc. have presented preclinical data for the novel Nav1.8 inhibitor MSD-199, being developed for the treatment of inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

Cellular immunotherapy is the Lamine Yamal of cancer therapy. It is easy to forget how young the field is – and that as stunning as it is to watch in action already, it is still reaching its full potential. One aspect of doing so is working in a broader range of tumor types. The field made a giant step toward that goal with last week’s approval of Tecelra (afamitresgene autoleucel, Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc), the first CAR T cell to be approved for treatment of a solid tumor.

Last week, the 2024 meeting of the International AIDS Society (IAS) was wrapping up as the 2024 Olympic Games were about to begin. That timing was probably what prompted the use of multiple sports analogies at Thursday’s plenary session on HIV prevention strategies. Given the decades-long attempts at developing an HIV vaccine, Peter Piot, past IAS president and director emeritus and professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said in his introduction: “This is clearly a marathon. But marathons also finish.”

Researchers from Edgewise Therapeutics Inc. presented preclinical data for the cardiac sarcomere modulator, EDG-7500, which is being developed for the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and other diseases of diastolic dysfunction.

Half of the individuals with genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection experience several recurrence episodes per year, especially if the causative agent is HSV type 2 (HSV-2). Standard-of-care viral DNA polymerase inhibitors are not fully effective in preventing recurrences and managing symptoms.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a severe genetic cardiac disorder caused by mutations in some desmosomal genes. The most frequently affected gene in patients with ACM is PKP2, the loss of which provokes desmosomal instability that leads to activation of downstream disease processes ultimately resulting in life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia and heart failure.

Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) under a once-daily oral schedule are the standard-of-care treatment for HIV. Longer-acting oral and injectable formulations to facilitate adherence to treatment regimens are needed.

The 2024 meeting of the International AIDS Society (IAS), which is being held in Munich this week, began with the announcement of another curative bone marrow transplant. The new case brings the total number of patients cured of HIV via a bone marrow transplant up to 7 since “Berlin patient” Timothy Ray Brown became the first such person in 2007.

A team at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted research to evaluate the expression levels of the extracellular matrix protein tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 (TINAGL1) in the human ovary.