Aug 19, 2022
Last Posted:
Aug-19-2022 12:22:57
Safety Monitoring of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Children Aged 5-11 Years - United States, May 17-July 31, 2022.
Hause Anne M et al. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 2022 8 (33) 1047-1051
A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for children aged 5–11 years; approximately 657,302 third doses were administered to children in this age group during May–July 2022. Among children aged 5–11 years, local and systemic reactions were reported to v-safe with similar frequency after doses 2 and 3; specific reactions differed in severity. Vaccine administration errors were the most common events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. No reports of myocarditis or death after receipt of dose 3 were received.
Early-stage COVID-19 pandemic observations on pulmonary embolism using nationwide multi-institutional data harvesting
A Wismuller et al, NPJ Digital Medicine, August 19, 2022
We introduce a multi-institutional data harvesting (MIDH) method for longitudinal observation of medical imaging utilization and reporting. By tracking both large-scale utilization and clinical imaging results data, the MIDH approach is targeted at measuring surrogates for important disease-related observational quantities over time. To quantitatively investigate its clinical applicability, we performed a retrospective multi-institutional study encompassing 13 healthcare systems throughout the United States before and after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
T cell immunity to COVID-19 vaccines.
Wherry E John et al. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2022 8 (6608) 821-822
The development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in record time is a major biomedical achievement, but mechanistic immune correlates of vaccine protection remain to be determined. Most studies on COVID-19 vaccines have focused on neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses, with little emphasis on cellular immunity. However, accumulating data suggest that T cell responses play an important role in vaccine protection against severe COVID-19 disease, particularly against viral variants that partially escape from recognition by NAbs.
Heterozygous BRCA1/2 and Mismatch Repair Gene Pathogenic Variants in Children and Adolescents with Cancer.
Kratz Christian P et al. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2022 8
We conducted a meta-analysis of 11 studies that incorporated comprehensive germline testing for children and adolescents with cancer. ClinVar pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants (PVs) in genes of interest were compared to two control groups. Results were validated in a cohort of mainly European cases and controls.
Among 3,975 children/adolescents with cancer, significant associations with cancer risk were observed for PVs in BRCA1/2 (26 PVs vs 63 PVs among 27,501 controls, OR 2.78, 95%-CI 1.69—4.45, p<.001) and mismatch repair (MMR) genes (19 PVs vs 14 PVs among 27,501 controls, OR 7.33, 95%-CI 3.64—14.82, p<.001).
Genomic tools for health: Secondary findings as findings to be shared
SA Miner et al, Genetics in Medicine, August 18, 2022
To explore how parents understand SF disclosure in the context of their child and other family members’ lives, we conducted semistructured interviews with 30 families (40 parents in total). All parents had children who were enrolled in a genetic sequencing protocol that returned results by default. We found that parents did not routinely conceptualize SFs as distinctive health information. Rather parents saw this information as part of their child’s overall health. To make decisions about disclosure, parents weighed their child’s ability to understand the SF information and their other family member’s need to know.
Regulatory considerations to keep pace with innovation in digital health products
J Torous et al, NPJ Digital Medicine, August 19, 2022
Current regulatory pathways were developed for traditional (hardware) medical devices and offer a useful structure, but the evolution of digital devices requires concomitant innovation in regulatory approaches to maximize the potential benefits of these emerging technologies. A number of specific adaptations could strengthen current regulatory oversight while promoting ongoing innovation.
GPNMB confers risk for Parkinson's disease through interaction with α-synuclein.
Diaz-Ortiz Maria E et al. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2022 8 (6608) eabk0637
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered nearly 100 loci that contribute to risk for Parkinson’s disease (PD), which affects an estimated 6 million people worldwide. However, target genes and biological mechanisms associated with these loci remain largely unexplored. Diaz-Ortiz et al. examined a PD GWAS risk locus on chromosome 7, linking it to the transmembrane protein Glycoprotein Nonmetastatic Melanoma Protein B (GPNMB). GPNMB was found to interact with alpha-synuclein (aSyn),
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