The Yale journal of biology and medicine
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Traditional drug development models are widely perceived as opaque and inefficient, with the cost of research and development continuing to rise even as production of new drugs stays constant. Searching for strategies to improve the drug discovery process, the biomedical research field has begun to embrace open strategies. The resulting changes are starting to reshape the industry. ⋯ Notable examples of such open drug development include initiatives formed around malaria and tropical disease. Open practices have found their way into the drug discovery process, from target identification and compound screening to clinical trials. This perspective argues that while open science poses some risks-which include the management of collaboration and the protection of proprietary data-these strategies are, in many cases, the more efficient and ethical way to conduct biomedical research.
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Asthma is a highly heterogeneous disease characterized by inflammation of the airways, which invokes symptoms such as wheeze, dyspnea, and chest tightness. Asthma is the product of multiple interconnected immunological processes and represents a constellation of related, but distinct, disease phenotypes. ⋯ This review will focus on the relationship between the microbiome and the immune system and how this influences development of asthma. This review will also highlight evidence that may point the way toward new therapies and potential cures for this ancient respiratory foe.
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Palliative care is a quickly growing facet of modern medicine. While scientific advancements have broken new ground for the possibilities of end-of-life care, sensitive treatment of the patient as an individual has lagged behind and has frequently led to an unsatisfactory experience for patients, families, and the medical community at large. This essay argues that centralizing patients during the terminal phases of treatment by using humanistic perspectives has the potential to bring new meaning and improved effectiveness to patients and physicians alike.
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Given the current funding situation of the National Institutes of Health, getting funding for rare disease research is extremely difficult. In light of the enormous potential for research in the rare diseases and the scarcity of research funding, we provide a case study of a novel successful crowdfunding approach at a non-profit organization called Rare Genomics Institute. We partner with biotechnology companies willing to donate their products, such as mouse models, gene editing software, and sequencing services, for which researchers can apply. ⋯ Second, for foundations facing funding restrictions, company donations can be a valuable tool in addition to crowdfunding. Third, rare disease research is particularly rewarding for scientists as they proceed to be pioneers in the field during their academic careers. Overall, by connecting donors, foundations, researchers, and patients, crowdfunding has become a powerful alternative funding mechanism for personalized medicine.
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Smoking rates in people with serious mental illness (SMI) are disproportionately high compared to the general population. It is a leading contributor to the early mortality in this population. Smoking cessation rates are low in this group, though patients are motivated to quit. ⋯ Of these, 30 (38.5 percent) were found to either quit (16/78) or reduce (14/78) smoking. Varenicline appeared to be particularly effective. Review of the literature and results of this study suggest that smoking cessation pharmacotherapies are effective for SMI patients and should be offered to those who smoke.