A new international study led by researchers in Canada, Sweden and the U.S., has provided definitive proof that shunt surgery restores mobility and safety in older adults with idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (iNPH). Dr. Mark Hamilton, MD, Director of the Calgary Adult Hydrocephalus Program at at the University of Calgary says the groundbreaking double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, demonstrates that surgical treatment with a shunt (a small tube used to divert cerebrospinal fluid from the brain) produced significant improvements in walking speed and balance after just three months. The benefit to those in the group where the shunt was activated and functioning was so improved that the trial was halted early due to its efficacy. Findings are published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

 

Researchers at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at Heidelberg University Hospital have decoded a previously unknown mechanism by which HIV-1 selects its integration targets in the human genome. A research team led by DZIF scientist Dr. Marina Lusic identified RNA:DNA hybrids (R-loops) as molecular signposts for the virus. These findings reveal a key vulnerability in the life cycle of HIV-1. The results, published in the renowned journal Nature Microbiology, provide new therapeutic approaches for specifically controlling HIV reservoirs in the body. This has been one of the biggest obstacles to long-term or curative HIV therapies.

A new study led by investigators at Mass General Brigham finds that adding novel weight loss GLP-1 drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide to usual care represents a cost-effective treatment strategy for people with knee osteoarthritis and obesity, with tirzepatide providing greater health benefits at lower cost compared to semaglutide. The research comes as patients and providers seek to balance the benefits of weight loss and pain relief against the expense of these novel agents.  Results are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.