Research found that leukemia patients who rely on blood transfusions face difficulties enrolling in hospice care, leading to shorter hospice stays and delayed access to palliative care. The study suggests that adding support for transfusions to the Medicare hospice benefit could maximize its benefits.
Researchers found that Apple Watch activity data correlated with standard patient-reported outcome measures, including physical function and quality of life. The study used emojis to measure quality of life, which showed significant associations with traditional scales.
Early evidence suggests that a gene therapy developed at St. Jude improves immune systems in infants as young as 2 months old with XSCID, offering broad protection and reducing the need for protective isolation. The treatment has been shown to be well-tolerated and effective in restoring immune function.
A single Black-backed Oriole bird's arrival in rural Pennsylvania attracted over 1,800 birders from across the US and Canada, generating an estimated $223,851 for the local economy. The study reveals that ecotourism events can have a substantial impact on the economy through travel, food, and accommodation costs.
Researchers developed a genetic model that predicts outcomes in primary myelofibrosis patients under 70 using gene mutations and clinical variables. The model improves on previous predictive models, which only used clinical variables.
Abatacept significantly improves survival and disease-free rates for patients with severe acute graft-versus-host disease, a life-threatening complication of stem cell transplantation. The treatment reduces the occurrence of acute GvHD from 32% to 3% in pediatric and adult patients.
Preliminary results from a clinical trial of nivolumab indicate effectiveness and significant side effects, prompting further trials in this group. The drug ipilimumab also produced responses in nearly one-third of patients with relapsed hematologic malignancies after an allogeneic stem cell transplant.