Iodinated Cyanine Dyes: A New Class of Sensitisers for use in NIR Activated Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

Iodinated cyanine dye 6a has been developed for use as a NIR excited photosensitiser in photodynamic therapy.</p

Characterization of an alloherpesvirus from wild lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens in Wisconsin (USA)

In the spring of 2017, 2 adult lake sturgeon (LS) Acipenser fulvescens captured from the Wolf River, Wisconsin (USA), presented with multiple cutaneous plaques that, upon microscopic examination, indicated proliferative epidermitis. Ultrastructural examination of affected keratinocytes revealed particles in the nucleus having a morphology typical of herpesviruses. A degenerate PCR assay targeting the DNA polymerase catalytic subunit (pol) gene of large double-stranded DNA viruses generated amplicons of the anticipated size from skin samples, and sequences of amplicons confirmed the presence of a novel alloherpesvirus (lake sturgeon herpesvirus, LSHV) related to acipenserid herpesvirus 1 (AciHV1). The complete genome (202660 bp) of this virus was sequenced using a MiSeq System, and phylogenetic analyses substantiated the close relationship to AciHV1. A PCR assay targeting the LSHV DNA packaging terminase subunit 1 (ter1) gene demonstrated the presence of the virus in 39/42 skin lesion samples collected from wild LS captured in 2017-2019 and 2021 in 4/4 rivers in Wisconsin. Future efforts to isolate LSHV in cell culture would facilitate challenge studies to determine the disease potential of the virus

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570