Bubble boy syndrome is a very serious condition caused by combined immunodeficiency. It is sometimes caused by certain mutations in the gene that codes for the Artemis protein. A phase I-II clinical trial has tested a gene therapy that adds a correct copy of the gene. The results are published in the journal NEJM.
A study published in the journal Nature Medicine has tested a therapy based on CAR-T cells - T lymphocytes modified in the laboratory - to treat five patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who did not respond to conventional treatments. According to the study, the symptoms subsided in all of them and the improvement was maintained throughout the duration of the study.
In Spain, since 13 January, the booster vaccination against covid-19 has been recommended for the general adult population. 78.8 % of those over 50 and 88.9 % of those over 60 have already had it, said the Minister of Health yesterday. If those who are missing have doubts, here we try to solve them.
Spain recommends that people who have been infected with the coronavirus receive the third dose four weeks later. Experts assess the decision from an immunological point of view.
The director of the Vaccine Strategy of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Marco Cavaleri, told a press conference on 11 January that "it is not sustainable in the long term to continue giving booster doses every three or four months [to the general population]". Spanish immunologists agree that this is not the right thing to do. In these reactions they explain why.
La EMA ha recomendado hoy la autorización de la quinta vacuna frente a la covid-19 para mayores de 18 años: la estadounidense Novavax, la primera basada en una plataforma de proteínas recombinantes.
In the last few days, data, preprints, press releases and even graphs have started to arrive via social media showing how neutralising antibodies against the omicron variant behave. These studies are preliminary and we will have to wait and see how these lab data translate into the real world.