Jacqui Thornton

A new drug for advanced pancreatic cancer is being hailed as a major breakthrough after trial results showed that it almost doubles survival time in patients previously treated with chemotherapy. Phase 3 trial results for daraxonrasib, a once daily oral treatment, have been described as a potential “revolution” in treating pancreatic cancer, which has the lowest survival of all common cancers, with five year survival less than 7%. In the RASolute 302 trial of 500 patients with metastatic pancr

When Mike Morgan took up the position of consultant physician with an interest in chest medicine at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester in 1988 he saw huge potential—a great clinical need, a diverse population in an industrial area, and a high prevalence of respiratory disease. At the time, there were only two other chest physicians in the city; when he retired in 2022 Leicester had become a leading centre for academic respiratory research in the UK, with over 25 consultants and numerous professors.

Unexpected US intervention has led to a declaration to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) failing to be approved at the United Nations. During the fourth high level meeting on NCDs and mental health at the UN General Assembly in New York on 25 September, dozens of statements were read by member state representatives supporting the declaration.1 But as the US health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy spoke he said the US rejected it. He claimed that the UN had exceeded its role,

Drummond Rennie, a British-American nephrologist turned legendary medical editor who devoted his career to championing scientific literature and peer review, has died in Oregon aged 89. Rennie, who was known as the “prophet of peer review,” was deputy editor of the New England Journal of Medicine from 1977 to 1981 and later became deputy editor of JAMA in 1988. In 1986 he founded the International Congress on Peer Review and Scientific Publication, a forum for evidence and scientific scrutiny t

When virologist David Brown was developing a saliva test for rubella, one of the first people he used it on was his infant son Michael. Brown arrived home from the laboratory, jubilant that the test was positive. His father Joe, an old school GP, scoffed at his success: “Of course he has rubella, just look at him.” Despite this jibe, Brown continued to pursue his interests in viral diagnostics and public health microbiology, authoring 460 publications, the latest of which was published the mont

More than 100 women with complications from vaginal mesh implants have received payouts from three manufacturers in the first successful group claim of its kind in England. It is understood that 140 women have reached a settlement with Johnson & Johnson, Bard, and Boston Scientific for undisclosed amounts, but the total is expected to run into the millions, the Guardian reported.1 The implants were widely used to treat stress urinary incontinence and prolapse in the UK until 2018, often after

Baby food manufacturer Nestlé has been accused of “unjustifiable” double standards after an investigation found that it added high levels of sugar to cereals for children sold in lower income countries. In contrast, infant formula and cereal sold in Switzerland, where the company has its headquarters, contained no added sugar, the investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) found.1 The campaigning organisations examined Cerelac and Nido products marketed

The British Liver Trust has accused the government of reneging on its pledge to introduce specialist liver scans to its community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in England. The original announcement about the rollout of fibroscans to 100 CDCs by March 2025 was made by Health Minister Helen Whateley in a letter to the trust in March this year.1 This was confirmed by Health Minister Will Quince in a Westminster Hall debate on fatty liver disease in June. The trust had described the move as a “ray of

Clinicians say that patients with heart valve disease are dying while waiting, as they increasingly have to battle for space in vital but pressed catheterisation labs—but Jacqui Thornton finds that solutions are possible Cardiac catheterisation laboratories or “cath labs”—a cross between operating theatres and x ray rooms—are an essential part of the NHS. The clinicians working in them are not the most vocal or well known, but in the face of increased pressure their voice is growing louder. Th

Three national liver associations have renamed fatty liver disease as steatotic liver disease to be more “affirmative” and less stigmatising to patients, they announced at the European Association for the Study of the Liver’s (EASL) congress in Vienna. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease will now be called metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). And a new category, MetALD, describes those with MASLD who consume greater amounts of alcohol a week (140 g a week for women a

A study in 11 countries over four continents has shown the “catastrophic impact” of antibiotic resistance on babies with sepsis, with nearly one in five dying. The two year observational study enrolled 3204 babies with clinical sepsis in 19 hospitals in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It found that 17.7% (564/3195 infants) were blood culture pathogen positive, and mortality rates among infants up to 60 days old with culture positive sepsis was 17.7% (99/564). The research, published i

Abortion providers are seeing unprecedented levels of demand so far this year because of a lack of access to good quality contraception and the economic downturn sparking concerns over the affordability of raising a child. MSI Reproductive Choices UK treated 47% more people in the first two weeks of 2023 than over the same period in 2022 and completed 51% more phone consultations, which are the first step to a treatment pathway. It has increased the number of surgical abortion appointments by

Around 1.5 million new HIV infections occurred in 2021, over one million more than the global target, with progress faltering because of the covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, a major United Nations report has said.1 The Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) global AIDS update for 2022, launched ahead of the 24th International AIDS Conference in Montreal, found that 2021 saw the smallest annual decline in new HIV infections since 2016, with a drop of just 3.6%. It warned that if th

Pfizer has been accused of blocking “urgently needed” studies into the use of its novel oral antiviral drug for covid-19 combined with other medicines for use in low and middle income countries. The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) expressed concern on behalf of a consortium of 26 African and global research bodies that the drug company would not provide access to Paxlovid.1 It said that the refusal to cooperate set a “dangerous precedent” given the number of other antivirals in t

Trust in the government and in the people around us correlates with lower covid-19 infection rates, a study using data from 177 countries has found. Pandemic preparedness, democracy, income inequality, universal healthcare, and hospital capacity failed to show a significant relationship with coronavirus infection or fatality rates. Higher levels of government and interpersonal trust were also associated with higher vaccine coverage, the study published in the Lancet suggested.1 The findings i

A man with a rare, progressive, genetic condition who was only diagnosed aged 36 once his sister was found to have a milder form of the disease has been awarded £2.5m in a High Court settlement. The brother, who cannot be identified, was finally diagnosed with the disorder methylmalonic acidemia type CblA after his sister fought as an adult for a diagnosis herself and then paid for private tests which showed he had the same condition. If spotted early enough, the metabolic condition can be tre