Wei Guo of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science have teamed up to uncover how solid tumors’ complicated microenvironments can manipulate cancer-fighting CAR T cells through extracellular vesicles, causing the engineered CAR T cells to commit fratricide—essentially turning against each other instead of attacking the cancer.

A Johns Hopkins Medicine-led analysis of medical information gathered on a diverse group of almost 250,000 people over four years has significantly clarified the link between the “exclusive” use of e-cigarettes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as high blood pressure in a sub-group of adults 30 to 70 years of age. 

A paper by psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center suggests that public perception of governmental support for comprehensive drug policies, including harm reduction, is a postive predictor of trust in local government. 

A new, easier-to-administer and patient-friendly sustained-release formulation of flucytosine, a medicine used to treat cryptococcal meningitis, has entered Phase II clinical trials in Malawi and Tanzania. The trial is being conducted by the not-for-profit research organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and its partners.

Bar Harbor, Maine — A new study led by MDI Biological Laboratory identifies ML233 as a potent inhibitor of melanin production, offering promise for development of new treatments for pigment-related skin disorders and one melanoma subtype. The compound showed strong effects at low doses in zebrafish, mouse and and human cell models, highlighting potential for dermatological therapies.

Various tests – ranging from a tape measure to sophisticated imaging technology – show only low to moderate agreement in diagnosing breast cancer-related lymphedema (BRCL), reports a study in Rehabilitation Oncology, official journal of APTA Oncology, an academy of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.