Doctors for the first time edit genome in a living human patient

(c) AP Photo/Eric Risberg

For the first time ever, doctors have edited the genome of a living human patient. A 44-year-old man received the treatment for Hunter's syndrome at a hospital in Oakland, California on November 13.

FDA approves the first digital pill that tracks compliance

Source: Proteus Digital Health

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug in the U.S. with a digital ingestion tracking system. Abilify MyCite (aripiprazole tablets with sensor) has an ingestible sensor embedded in the pill that records that the medication was taken. The product is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder and for use as an add-on treatment for depression in adults.
 

Studies show stem cell-based treatment safe in macular degeneration

Results from two early clinical trials show that it may be possible to use human embryonic stem cells as treatment for the dry form of macular degeneration, according to presentations at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting 2017 in New Orleans, LA. Stem cells injected into the eye appear to have replaced the missing cells damaged by the disease, with no serious side effects.

Does performing/undergoing surgery in the afternoon reduce the risks?

(c) Genetic Literacy Project

A new study suggests patients undergoing open heart surgery in the afternoon have a lower risk of potentially fatal complications than those undergoing operations in the morning. The study found that events including heart attacks and heart failure were less common among those who had undergone a valve replacement operation in the afternoon. The finding appears to be linked to the ability of the heart tissue to recover after being starved of blood supply during surgery – an effect the researchers say is influenced by the cells’ biological or “circadian” clock.

The first dual-action Glaucoma drug, Vyzulta, approved by FDA

(c) AAO

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vyzulta™ (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution, 0.024%), which is the first prostaglandin analog with one of its metabolites being nitric oxide (NO), indicated for the reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Following topical administration, Vyzulta, a once daily monotherapy with a dual mechanism of action, works by metabolizing into two moieties, latanoprost acid, which primarily works within the uveoscleral pathway to increase aqueous humor outflow, and butanediol mononitrate, which releases NO to increase outflow through the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm's canal.

Orion, the Cortical Visual Prosthesis System, gets full FDA approval

(c) medgadget.com

The FDA has granted full approval to Second Sight Medical Products (SSMP) to begin the feasibility study for the Orion-I^TM Cortical Visual Prosthesis System. The approval allows two US sites, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, to enroll up to five total patients. The company’s new Orion I Visual Cortical Prosthesis goes even further by bypassing the optic nerve, along with the entire visual system, and stimulates the brain’s visual cortex directly. This would allow even people who lack any functionality within their eyes to be able to see.