Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage, Volume 3 Issue 2 (Autumn 2023)

Twentieth Century Histories of Civic Society’s Responses to Crises of Displacement: A Special Issue to mark the 70th Anniversary of Refugee Council Displaced Voices is a biannual digital magazine produced twice a year by the Living Refugee Archive team at the University of East London. Displaced Voices aims to provide a digital platform for activists, archivists, researchers, practitioners and academics to contribute to issues pertaining to refugee and migration history; refugee and migrant rights; social justice; cultural heritage and archives. We welcome a range of contributions to the magazine including articles of between 1000-2000 words; reports on fieldwork in archival collections; book recommendations and reviews; and more creative pieces including (but not limited too) cartoons; photography; and poetry. We would also welcome news on activities; publication of reports, projects; letters and news from your own networks. We welcome submissions from all writers whether you are a student, practitioner, activist or established academic. The Displaced Voices online magazine is born out of the collaborative and intersectional work that we have been undertaking through our work with the refugee and migration archives housed at the University of East London. Our work to date has explored the intersections of refugee and migration studies with narrative and life history research linked to oral history methods and archival approaches to the preservation, documentation and accessibility of archival resources recording the refugee experience. This magazine is a collaborative project between the Living Refugee Archive at the University of East London; the Oral History Society Migration Special Interest Group and the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration Working Group on the History of Forced Migration and Refugees. Thematically we are looking to engage with articles that explore the intersection of refugee and forced migration studies; history and cultural heritage studies; narrative research; oral history and archival science

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.