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ACIP OKs Tdap for decennial Td booster, tesamorelin shows promise in reversing liver disease: top stories in infectious disease

Healio’s coverage of the unanimous CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices vote that recommended Tdap be used for the decennial Td booster and other medical purposes was one of the top stories in infectious disease last week.

Another top story was study results that showed the injectable hormone tesamorelin reduced liver fat and prevented liver fibrosis in patients living with HIV, suggesting it may provide significant clinical benefits in this population.

ACIP: Tdap OK for decennial booster, tetanus prophylaxis, catch-up series

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently voted unanimously to recommend that either Td or Tdap may be used for the decennial Td booster, as tetanus prophylaxis for wound management in nonpregnant patients who previously received Tdap, and as additional doses of the catch-up immunization series for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis in patients 7 years of age or older, including those who are pregnant. Read more.

Tesamorelin ‘very promising’ for reversing liver disease in people with HIV

The injectable hormone tesamorelin reduces liver fat and prevents liver fibrosis in patients living with HIV, suggesting it may provide significant clinical benefits in this population, according to study results published in The Lancet HIV. Read more.

‘Like insects in amber’: Antiretroviral therapy ‘freezes’ latent HIV reservoir

The latent HIV reservoir is mostly formed soon after the initiation of treatment, suggesting that antiretroviral therapy indirectly affects the host environment to favor the establishment of latently infected long-lived cells, researchers reported in Science Translational Medicine. Read more.

H. pylori resistance to clarithromycin doubles in Europe

Over the last 20 years, Helicobacter pylori resistance to clarithromycin — an antibiotic commonly used to treat the infection — has more than doubled in Europe, increasing from 9.9% in 1998 to 21.6% in 2018, according to study findings presented at United European Gastroenterology Week. Read more.

Is social media reinforcing gender disparities among researchers?

Findings from a study that assessed the Twitter activity and followers of male and female researchers suggest that gender disparities may be reinforced by social media. Read more.