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Health-Related Quality of Life Gets Boost After Microbiome-Based Treatment for Recurrent C. Diff

A University of Houston-led team reporting in JAMA Network Open presents findings from a secondary analysis of data collected for a Phase 3 randomized clinical trial centered on an oral microbiome therapeutic-based approach for improving the quality of life in individuals plagued with recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI). With data for 182 clinical trial participants randomized to receive an investigational oral microbiome drug known as SER-109 or placebo between 2017 and spring of 2020 at sites in the US and Canada, the investigators performed a secondary, exploratory analysis focused on health-related quality of life scores (HRQOL) that brought in 32 physical, mental, and social measures at baseline, after one week of treatment, or after eight weeks. Their results reveal HRQOL improvements for individuals receiving SER-109 that were not present in the placebo group. "These data suggest that an investigational microbiome therapeutic not only offers the clinical benefits of reduced CDI recurrence," the authors write, "but may also improve HRQOL, an important patient-reported outcome of great interest to patients, clinicians, payers, and regulators."

The Scan

Sick Newborns Selected for WGS With Automated Pipeline

Researchers successfully prioritized infants with potential Mendelian conditions for whole-genome sequencing or rapid whole-genome sequencing, as they report in Genome Medicine.

Acne-Linked Loci Found Through GWAS Meta-Analysis

Researchers in the European Journal of Human Genetics find new and known acne vulgaris risk loci with a genome-wide association study and meta-analysis, highlighting hair follicle- and metabolic disease-related genes.

Retina Cell Loss Reversed by Prime Editing in Mouse Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa

A team from China turns to prime editing to correct a retinitis pigmentosa-causing mutation in the PDE6b gene in a mouse model of the progressive photoreceptor loss condition in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

CRISPR Screens Reveal Heart Attack-Linked Gene

Researchers in PLOS Genetics have used CRISPR screens to home in on variants associated with coronary artery disease that affect vascular endothelial function.