Mycobacterium tuberculosis releases an antacid that remodels phagosomes

International audienc

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Pharmacist and Physician Interpretation of Abbreviations for Acetaminophen Intended for Use in a Consumer Icon

Concomitant use of multiple acetaminophen medications is associated with overdose. To help patients identify acetaminophen medications and thus avoid concomitant use, an icon with an abbreviation for “acetaminophen” has been proposed for all acetaminophen medications. This study assessed pharmacists’ and physicians’ use and interpretation of abbreviations for “acetaminophen”, to identify abbreviations with other meanings that might cause confusion. Physicians (n = 150) reported use and interpretation of candidate abbreviations Ac and Acm. Pharmacists (n = 150) interpretations of prescription orders using the candidate abbreviations APAP, Ac, Ace and Acm in typed, handwritten or spoken form, were judged for critical confusions likely to cause patient harm. Critical confusion was rare, except for omission by pharmacists of the acetaminophen dose for Hydrocodone/APAP prescriptions (10%). Ac was in common use to indicate “before meals”, and was interpreted as such, but some physicians (8%) said they use Ac to indicate anticoagulant drugs. Most pharmacists (54%) interpreted Ace as acetaminophen, and none interpreted it as referring to ACE-inhibitors. Acm was rarely used in prescriptions, had no common interfering meanings, and was often (63%) interpreted as acetaminophen, especially when prescribed in combination with an opiate (85%). The data validated concerns about abbreviations in prescribing: all abbreviations resulted in some misinterpretations. However, Acm was rarely misinterpreted, was readily associated with “acetaminophen”, and seemed appropriate for use in a graphic icon to help consumers/patients identify acetaminophen medications

Testing of Candidate Icons to Identify Acetaminophen-Containing Medicines

Adding icons on labels of acetaminophen-containing medicines could help users identify the active ingredient and avoid concomitant use of multiple medicines containing acetaminophen. We evaluated five icons for communication effectiveness. Adults (n = 300) were randomized to view a prescription container label or over-the-counter labels with either one or two icons. Participants saw two icon candidates, and reported their interpretation; experts judged whether these reflected critical confusions that might cause harm. Participants rated how effectively each icon communicated key messages. Icons based on abbreviations of “acetaminophen” (“Ac”, “Ace”, “Acm”) were rated less confusing and more effective in communicating the active ingredient than icons based on “APAP” or an abstract symbol. Icons did not result in critical confusion when seen on a readable medicine label. Icon implementation on prescription labels was more effective at communicating the warning against concomitant use than implementation on over-the-counter (OTC) labels. Adding an icon to a second location on OTC labels did not consistently enhance this communication, but reduced rated effectiveness of acetaminophen ingredient communication among participants with limited health literacy. The abbreviation-based icons seem most suitable for labeling acetaminophen-containing medications to enable users to identify acetaminophen-containing products

Human Rights Compliance - How the Public and Private Sectors Can Work Together to Stop Modern-Day Slavery

On October 28, 2021, Catholic Law’s Compliance, Investigations, & Corporate Responsibility (CICR) Program, in collaboration with Paul Hastings LLP, presented the first program of its 2021 Business Accountability for Human Rights series. The event, “Human Rights Compliance - How the Public and Private Sectors Can Work Together to Stop Modern-Day Slavery,” provided an overview of human rights issues in global supply chains with a particular focus on labor exploitation and ideas for how businesses, governments, and NGOs can work together to stop human trafficking, modern-day slavery, and other types of labor exploitation

Human Rights Compliance - How the Public and Private Sectors Can Work Together to Stop Modern-Day Slavery

On October 28, 2021, Catholic Law’s Compliance, Investigations, & Corporate Responsibility (CICR) Program, in collaboration with Paul Hastings LLP, presented the first program of its 2021 Business Accountability for Human Rights series. The event, “Human Rights Compliance - How the Public and Private Sectors Can Work Together to Stop Modern-Day Slavery,” provided an overview of human rights issues in global supply chains with a particular focus on labor exploitation and ideas for how businesses, governments, and NGOs can work together to stop human trafficking, modern-day slavery, and other types of labor exploitation