A protein in the immune system programmed to protect the body from fungal infections is also responsible for exacerbating the severity of autoimmune diseases such as irritable bowel disease (IBS), type 1 diabetes, eczema and other chronic disorders, new research from The Australian National University (ANU) has found.

The discovery could pave the way for new and more effective drugs, without the nasty side effects of existing treatments, offering new hope to more than one million Australians who suffer from some form of autoimmune disease.

In addition to helping to manage severe autoimmune conditions, the breakthrough could also help treat all types of cancer.

The scientists have discovered a previously unknown function of the protein, known as DECTIN-1, which in its mutated state limits the production of T regulatory cells or so-called ‘guardian’ cells in the immune system.

These guardian cells are crucial to preventing autoimmune disease because they suppress the effects of a hyperactive immune system, which can be extremely dangerous if not properly regulated.

The immune system is designed to protect the body from infection, but in severe cases it becomes overactivated and turns the body’s natural defences against itself.

“When this happens, the immune system wrongly perceives healthy cells as a threat, causing it to attack the body and promote the onset of autoimmune disease,” lead author Dr Cynthia Turnbull, from ANU, said.

“Although the DECTIN-1 protein helps to fight fungal infections, in its mutated state it’s also responsible for exacerbating severe autoimmune disease.

“Understanding how and why the mutated version of this protein causes autoimmunity in patients brings us a step closer to developing more effective drugs.”

The scientists believe they can control the immune system by turning the DECTIN-1 protein on and off, like a light switch.

“Turning on the protein would lower the intensity of the immune system’s defensive response which would help to treat conditions such as autoimmune disease,” Professor Carola Vinuesa, from the Francis Crick Institute, said.

“On the other hand, turning off the protein could give the immune system a boost, sending its defensive mechanisms into overdrive and allowing the body to treat an entirely different set of diseases.

“The findings are exciting because there haven’t been many discoveries of so-called modifier proteins such as DECTIN-1, which can change the way the immune system behaves to the extent it can either cause a disease or prevent it.”

According to Dr Turnbull, this means DECTIN-1 could play a key role in treating cancer.

“Cancer cells can disguise themselves by releasing certain proteins and chemicals into the body that essentially render them invisible from the immune system’s natural defences,” she said.

“We think that by using drugs to turn off the DECTIN-1 protein, in combination with existing therapies, we can activate the immune system and help it identify and attack the cancerous cells.”

Current treatments for autoimmune disease aren’t very effective and have a lot of damaging side effects. This is because the majority of existing treatments suppress the entire immune system rather than targeting a specific area.

“That means it might not fix the exact problem behind the patient’s disease and could inadvertently make them vulnerable to infections. Many people on these kinds of treatments also get bacterial, fungal and viral infections which can make their autoimmunity worse,” Professor Vinuesa said.

By examining the DNA of a Spanish family, the researchers discovered the DECTIN-1 mutation was responsible for exacerbating the severity of a chronic autoimmune disease suffered by the family’s only child.

“We found the family was also carrying a mutated version of another immune system protein known as CTLA-4. The CTLA-4 mutation prevents guardian cells from working properly and is known to cause severe autoimmune disease in about 60 to 70 per cent of people who carry it in their DNA,” Dr Pablo Canete, from The University of Queensland, said.

“Strangely, the remaining 30 to 40 per cent of the population who carry this mutated protein don’t develop disease.

“We discovered the family’s only child had both the DECTIN-1 mutation and the CTLA-4 mutation, while his parents had only one of each. This helped us identify why the child, who is now in his twenties, was the only person in the family to develop severe autoimmunity, ending a 20-year-long mystery behind the cause of his disease.

“By discovering the existence of mutated versions of modifier proteins such as DECTIN-1, we finally have an explanation for why some people develop severe autoimmune diseases while others don’t, even if they inherit gene mutations passed down from family members.”

The research is published in Science Advances. It was led by ANU in collaboration with The University of Queensland and the Francis Crick Institute.

Source: Australian National University (ANU)

Research from Nottingham University Business School is one step closer to helping to predict deaths from respiratory diseases by analysing the shopping habits of customers in local authority areas across England.

Newly published research in Nature Communications, funded by the UKRI/EPSRC, and supported by the NHS and a UK high street retailer, explored the connection between the purchase of non-prescription medications, from cough remedies to pain relief, that are used to treat respiratory illnesses, and registered deaths from those diseases.

Looking at over two billion records of sales from March 2016 to March 2020, supplied by the UK high street retailer, researchers at the University of Nottingham, led by Elizabeth Dolan and Dr James Goulding at NUBS, used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to predict the deaths in 314 local authority areas across England.

The team found that in using the shopping data from local authority areas, predictions were often a lot more accurate than models that relied primarily on seasonal trends and sociodemographic factors such as poverty, housing quality, age and the size of population.

Further to this, academics found that they could accurately predict deaths from respiratory diseases over 17 days in advance using the data they analysed.

Using these findings, it is hoped that future developments in this area could help identify those most at risk of death from respiratory conditions, support the NHS and help highlight the most at-risk communities and environmental changes that could exacerbate chronic lung conditions.

Elizabeth Dolan, a PhD candidate at the Horizon CDT and a member of Nottingham University Business School, said: “Our research shows that using sales data, such as rising cough medicine purchases, significantly improves predictions of deaths from respiratory disease. This highlights the urgent need to make this practical data source more accessible for medical research.

“It could provide healthcare providers an invaluable tool to better manage services and plan more effectively, especially as we now have COVID-19 to cope with alongside the other causes of respiratory disease.”

Source: Nottingham University

One in five children and young people have a probable mental health condition, according to The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 report, published. The report also reveals a significant rise in those being diagnosed with eating disorders, including a 10% increase among young men and women aged 17-19.

“[It’s] not just the result of more children and young people seeking help, it’s a sign of more children and young people needing help”

-Tamsin Ford

The report is a follow on from the 2017 survey, which six years ago reported an upswing in anxiety, depression and self-harm among young women.

Among other key findings were:

• After a rise in prevalence between 2017 and 2020, rates of probable mental disorder remained stable in all age groups between 2022 and 2023.
• Among eight to 16 year olds, rates of probable mental disorder were similar for boys and girls, while for 17 to 25 year olds, rates were twice as high for young women than young men.
• In 2023, eating disorders were identified in one in eight (12.5%) of 17 to 19 year olds, with rates four times higher in young women (20.8%) than young men (5.1%).
• More than one in four children aged eight to 16 years (26.8%) with a probable mental disorder had a parent who could not afford for their child to take part in activities outside school or college, compared with one in 10 (10.3%) of those unlikely to have a mental disorder.
• 17 to 25 year olds with a probable mental disorder were three times more likely to not be able to afford to take part in activities such as sports, days out, or socialising with friends, compared with those unlikely to have a mental disorder (26.1% compared with 8.3%).
• Children aged 11 to 16 years with a probable mental disorder were five times more likely than those unlikely to have a mental disorder to have been bullied in person (36.9% compared with 7.6%). They were also more likely to have been bullied online (10.8% compared with 2.6%).

Professor Tamsin Ford, Head of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge and one of the research leads for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, was one of the report’s authors. She said: “These figures confirm that the huge increase in referrals to clinics for eating disorder services is not just the result of more children and young people seeking help, it’s a sign of more children and young people needing help. There is no single silver bullet to fixing this problem. All services working with children must pull together.”

While not every young person with an eating disorder will require inpatient care, for those that do Professor Ford says Cambridge Children’s Hospital, with its vision of integrated mental and physical healthcare will vastly improve treatment and outcomes.

“These are conditions to be taken very seriously. The benefit of having integrated paediatric physical and mental healthcare for children and young people diagnosed with eating disorders is huge,” said Professor Ford.

“If your condition is that severe, you need access to blood tests and the acute medical care that being on an inpatient acute paediatric ward gives you, but at the same time you need the therapeutic environment and support that you would get in a mental health ward.

“What Cambridge Children’s Hospital will do is provide both in the same place as opposed to children having to be transferred between locations and only being able to access one part of their care that they need at any one time.”

As the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, Cambridge Children’s Hospital will care for children, young people and their families from Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Every child will be treated for their mental and physical health, with an additional focus on family wellbeing and support.

Professor Ford said mental health problems in the teenage and emerging adult years can massively impact a young person’s future trajectory in terms of education, health, employment, and social skills. She believes Cambridge Children’s Hospital vision of integrated care will help children and young people recover more quickly.

“What we hope is that treating mental and physical health together – a ‘whole child’ approach – will allow us to get children better quicker and get them back to their homes and back attending school, which again will help their ongoing recovery. Children should be in hospital for the shortest possible time.”

The report was funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Education, commissioned by NHS England, and carried out by the National Centre for Social Research, the Office for National Statistics and the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter.

Living with an eating disorder

Summer*, who was diagnosed with an eating disorder during her teens, was cared for in the community before being admitted to an inpatient ward. She says being able to have a clinician treat you from your bedside, rather than being transferred to a hospital, could make a huge difference.

“The physical consequences [of eating disorders] can be huge,” said Summer, who grew up in Essex. “Your vital signs can get dangerously low and long term you can get difficulties, like osteoporosis.

“Self-harming can be quite common in some mental health units and the need to leave for treatment somewhere else can be traumatising for the young person being moved and the other patients who might witness it.”

Summer, who says challenges at home as well as pressure from social media contributed to her becoming ill, added: “It can be a shock being admitted as an inpatient, particularly if you feel you’re still functioning well in school or work. It can be difficult to recognise how sick you are.”

Source: University of Cambridge

A University of Nottingham research centre is embarking on a new collaboration with a US-based early stage drug discover company in a bid to develop new therapies to target ovarian cancer.

The Naaz Coker Ovarian Cancer Research Centre (NOVARC), which was recently established within the university’s Biodiscovery Institute, is focused on accelerating cancer drug discovery and bringing precision medicines to the clinic to fight the disease.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women in the UK and the US and the fifth leading cause of death among women. Despite advances in surgery and chemotherapy, the overall outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer remains poor with over 4,000 patients – more than 50 per cent – dying from the condition each year in the UK.

NOVARC will be working with XPose Therapeutics in California on developing drugs that target the cancer at the molecular level, specifically blocking the signals that sense DNA damage in ovarian tumours and trigger repairs. The collaboration will focus on targets including POLH, APE1, FEN1 and PARP1.

The collaboration with XPose therapeutics is a great opportunity to discover new drugs for ovarian cancer. We look forward to aligning NOVARC’s capabilities and XPose expertise to advance DDR inhibitors pipeline through extensive pre-clinical testing and evaluation.

Srinivasan Madhusudan, Professor of Medical Oncology and Director of NOVARC at the Biodiscovery Institute

Debanu Das, PhD, Co-founder and CEO at XPose Therapeutics, added: “XPose Therapeutics is very excited to initiate this collaboration with Professor Srinivasan Madhusudan. In this collaboration, XPose will leverage NOVARC’s expertise to advance towards preclinical discovery and development of novel DDR inhibitors, building on other National Cancer Institute-supported grant funding via a Small Business Innovation Research award to XPose Therapeutics.”

NOVARC has recently been renamed as the Naaz Coker Ovarian Cancer Research Centre to honour Nottingham alumnus, Farid Suleman’s sister, who died from ovarian cancer in 2015. He and his family have made a significant financial contribution to support the establishment of the centre in her honour.

Naaz spent two decades working in the NHS and held many leadership roles, ranging from Pharmaceutical and Clinical Director to General Manager of an acute hospital in London.

She dedicated more than 45 years of her life to helping others, working in the public and voluntary sectors. She was born in Tanzania and came to the UK to pursue her education and career. A successful and intelligent leader, she became Chair of St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, as well as a trustee of The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, C3 Collaborating for Health and the Clore Social Leadership Programme.

Naaz also wrote widely on leadership and management, racism and ethnic health inequalities in the NHS. She was generous with her skills and expertise, and held numerous voluntary appointments including Chair of the British Refugee Council, Chair of Shelter, a trustee and deputy Chair of the RSA. In November 2009, she was awarded the lifetime achievement award in the Lloyds TSB Jewel Awards for her contribution to public life.

Source: University of Nottingham

Patients who were referred to urgent suspected cancer pathways, but were found not to have cancer at that time, have a higher risk of subsequent cancer in the 1-5 years following the ‘all clear’ than those who haven’t been through the referral pathways.

The study, published in Lancet Oncology is the first to examine the risk of cancer in patients in England who entered the urgent suspected cancer pathway but were found not to have cancer at that time. These patients were found have a higher-than-expected risk of subsequent cancer in the 1-5 years after the initial ‘all clear’.

In England, the urgent suspected cancer referral pathway is the most common route to diagnosis. Of the 3 million patients who are referred for urgent cancer assessments in England each year, 7% are found to have cancer. This leaves a large group of patients who go through these pathways but do not have cancer at the time – a group that is currently understudied and who may be in need of support.

To determine the future cancer risk for this large group of patients, researchers at Queen Mary, King’s, the University of Oxford and the National Disease Registration Service (NHS England), looked at the health data of over a million NHS patients in England who were found not to have cancer following an urgent referral for suspected cancer. They found that between 1 and 5 years after the initial referral, 63,112 cases of cancers were diagnosed. The risk of any cancer in this group was found to be 4.5% over the 5 years, which is not considered high, but is higher than people of similar age and gender in the general population.

The results suggest that the higher-than-expected cancer risk is not due to cancers being missed in the initial referral. Rather, the subsequent cancers are likely caused by high risk factors – such as poor diet, smoking, or alcohol consumption. The findings suggest that there’s an opportunity to provide additional support to patients without a cancer diagnosis on the referral pathway. Proactive monitoring or targeted interventions to support behaviour change – such as cancer awareness or risk reduction initiatives – could be beneficial in reducing the risk of cancer.

Suzanne Scott, lead author and Professor of Health Psychology and Early Cancer Diagnosis at Queen Mary, said: “Going through urgent cancer assessments can be a very anxious time for patients. Thankfully most will not be diagnosed with cancer. In this study we found that having cancer ruled out doesn’t lessen the future risk of cancer. This means patients and GPs should remain vigilant when experiencing new or ongoing symptoms. The timing of urgent suspected cancer referrals could be an opportunity to raise cancer awareness, and consider ways to reduce risk of cancer and other serious diseases, by making a positive change in health behaviour.”

“Urgent suspected cancer referrals are a vital tool in improving earlier cancer diagnosis. Over the past decade referrals have more than doubled, to nearly 3 million annually. While only 7 in 100 people receive a cancer diagnosis, we must support the 93 who don’t have cancer at that point in time. This study shows for the first time that whilst the risk level is not high, it is higher than we might expect, especially for patients on certain pathways, for example suspected lung cancer. This has clinical implications, for example higher risk groups may benefit from having lower thresholds to re-assess symptoms and future testing and referral.”

Author Thomas Round, NHS GP and researcher in early cancer detection at King’s

The study included health data on NHS patients in England on referrals and diagnoses for the eight main urgent suspected cancer referral pathways: breast, gynaecological, head and neck, lower and upper gastrointestinal, lung, skin, and urological.

Researchers also looked at which types of cancers occur after different referral pathways. The increased risk of any subsequent cancer in the 1-5 years after referral was lowest following suspected gastrointestinal cancer referrals. Highest risks were found following suspected urological or lung cancer referrals. For risks of the same cancer as suspected at initial referral, the highest were for the head and neck, and lung pathways.

Naser Turabi, Director of Evidence and Implementation at Cancer Research UK, said: “One of the possible reasons for the pattern found in this research is that people who are urgently referred could have a higher risk of developing cancer in general. For example, they might smoke, be overweight or obese, or have a family history of cancer. They are then more likely to develop cancer in the following years, despite not having cancer after their initial GP referral. More research will be needed to know for sure though. It’s important to contact your GP if you notice anything that’s not normal for you. Even if you’ve been checked out in the past, if something is new, isn’t going away, or is getting worse, go back to your GP.”

Source: King’s College London

New research from the University of Nottingham has shown that those placed out of area by their local authority are negatively impacted with mental health and a loss of support networks.

Out of Area housing is a practice where local authorities discharge their duty to accommodate homeless households by placing them in other local authority areas.

Researchers from the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham found that communication and support from local authorities was lacking once placed out of area and that moving out of area negatively affects children’s education and emotional wellbeing.

Households also found that GPs and other services, including internet services, were difficult to access, furthering their isolation and vulnerability.

The research, conducted by Dr Steve Iafrati, Dr Nick Clare and Helen Lawrence, found that more than 36,000 households were placed out of area in 2022/23.

Black households were also found to be disproportionately placed out of area, whilst some local authorities fail to record ethnicity data of the people being placed out of area.

Dr Steve Iafrati, Assistant Professor of Social Policy at the University of Nottingham, who led the research said: “Both the statistics from FOI requests and information from interviews we have conducted are deeply troubling. We clearly have a rapidly escalating problem with ‘out of area’ housing and the impact which it is having on those placed often a significant distance from their original authority.

“There is a clear and deepening issue of supply of affordable housing with a lack of transparent national housing strategy and societies most vulnerable are feeling the brunt. The fact that such a large proportion of local authorities do not record data relating to ethnicity is alarming and demonstrates that they are not able to investigate the impact of the housing crisis in terms of disproportionate impact on Black and minoritised ethnic households. Without such data, inequalities risk being hidden and out of sight only serving to further systemic disparities.”

Source: University of Nottingham

Researchers have developed a new way of improving diagnosis of bipolar disorder that uses a simple blood test to identify biomarkers associated with the condition.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used a combination of an online psychiatric assessment and a blood test to diagnose patients with bipolar disorder, many of whom had been misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder.

The researchers say the blood test on its own could diagnose up to 30% of patients with bipolar disorder, but that it is even more effective when combined with a digital mental health assessment.

Incorporating biomarker testing could help physicians differentiate between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder, which have overlapping symptoms but require different pharmacological treatments.

Although the blood test is still a proof of concept, the researchers say it could be an effective complement to existing psychiatric diagnosis and could help researchers understand the biological origins of mental health conditions. The results are reported in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Bipolar disorder affects approximately one percent of the population – as many as 80 million people worldwide – but for nearly 40% of patients, it is misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder.

“People with bipolar disorder will experience periods of low mood and periods of very high mood or mania,” said first author Dr Jakub Tomasik, from Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. “But patients will often only see a doctor when they’re experiencing low mood, which is why bipolar disorder frequently gets misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder.”

“When someone with bipolar disorder is experiencing a period of low mood, to a physician, it can look very similar to someone with major depressive disorder,” said Professor Sabine Bahn, who led the research. “However, the two conditions need to be treated differently: if someone with bipolar disorder is prescribed antidepressants without the addition of a mood stabiliser, it can trigger a manic episode.”

The most effective way to get an accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder is a full psychiatric assessment. However, patients often face long waits to get these assessments, and they take time to carry out.

“Psychiatric assessments are highly effective, but the ability to diagnose bipolar disorder with a simple blood test could ensure that patients get the right treatment the first time and alleviate some of the pressures on medical professionals,” said Tomasik.

The researchers used samples and data from the Delta study, conducted in the UK between 2018 and 2020, to identify bipolar disorder in patients who had received a diagnosis of major depressive disorder within the previous five years and had current depressive symptoms. Participants were recruited online through voluntary response sampling.

More than 3000 participants were recruited, and they each completed an online mental health assessment of more than 600 questions. The assessment covered a range of topics that may be relevant to mental health disorders, including past or current depressive episodes, generalised anxiety, symptoms of mania, family history or substance abuse.

Of the participants who completed the online assessment, around 1000 were selected to send in a dried blood sample from a simple finger prick, which the researchers analysed for more than 600 different metabolites using mass spectrometry. After completing the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, a fully structured and validated diagnostic tool to establish mood disorder diagnoses, 241 participants were included in the study.

Analysis of the data showed a significant biomarker signal for bipolar disorder, even after accounting for confounding factors such as medication. The identified biomarkers were correlated primarily with lifetime manic symptoms and were validated in a separate group of patients who received a new clinical diagnosis of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder during the study’s one-year follow-up period.

The researchers found that the combination of patient-reported information and the biomarker test significantly improved diagnostic outcomes for people with bipolar disorder, especially in those where the diagnosis was not obvious.

“The online assessment was more effective overall, but the biomarker test performs well and is much faster,” said Bahn. “A combination of both approaches would be ideal, as they’re complementary.”

“We found that some patients preferred the biomarker test, because it was an objective result that they could see,” said Tomasik. “Mental illness has a biological basis, and it’s important for patients to know it’s not in their mind. It’s an illness that affects the body like any other.”

“In addition to the diagnostic capabilities of biomarkers, they could also be used to identify potential drug targets for mood disorders, which could lead to better treatments,” said Bahn. “It’s an exciting time to be in this area of research.”

A patent has been filed on the research by Cambridge Enterprise, the University’s commercialisation arm. The research was supported by the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Psyomics, a University spin-out company co-founded by Sabine Bahn.

Sabine Bahn is Professor of Neurotechnology at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and is a Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

Source: University of Cambridge

Children who are too short for their age can suffer reduced cognitive ability arising from differences in brain function as early as six months of age, according to new research.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham were part of a team led by the University of East Anglia who compared the ‘visual working memory’ – the memory capacity that holds visual cues for processing – in children who had stunted growth with those having typical growth.

Published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study found that the visual working memory of infants with poor physical growth was disrupted, making them more easily distracted and setting the stage for poorer cognitive ability one year later.

Stunted growth had previously been linked with poor cognitive outcomes later in life, but this is the first time that this association has been found in infancy. It is also the first time stunted growth has been linked to functional differences in how the brain works in early development.

The team of researchers studied more than 200 children in the first ever brain imaging study of its kind.

Professor John Spencer from the UEA’s School of Psychology led the project, he said: “We expected that poor growth might impact cognition in early development, but it was striking to see this at the level of brain function,” said Prof Spencer.

“Typically-developing infants in our study showed engagement of a working memory brain network – and this brain activity predicted cognitive outcomes one year later. But the stunted infants showed a very different pattern suggesting that they were quite distractable.”

This distractability was associated with a brain network typically involved in the allocation of attention to objects or tasks, suppressing distraction, and maintaining items in working memory.

Dr Sobana Wijeakumar, Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology

The brain activity and cognitive abilities of the infants were assessed at six to nine months, and cognitive ability was followed up one year later. The results showed that infants with so-called ‘stunted growth’, often caused by poor nutrition or ill-health, had significantly poorer cognitive abilities at both stages than their typically-developing counterparts.

Interestingly, the children who bucked the trend and did well in their second year of cognitive testing despite having restricted growth were those whose visual memory had been unexpectedly strong at the six to nine months stage.

The discovery suggests that efforts to improve working memory and tackle distractibility in children during their crucial early months may reduce or prevent cognitive disadvantages later in life. This research also highlights the importance of studying brain function in early development.

The research was led by the University of East Anglia in collaboration with the University of Nottingham; Community Empowerment Lab; Durham University; University of Iowa; Rhode Island Hospital; Brown University; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

‘Stunting in infancy is associated with atypical activation of working memory and attention networks’ is published by Nature Human Behaviour.

This publication is based on research funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Further funding came from the US National Institutes of Health and the Leverhulme Trust.

Source: University of Nottingham

• Israeli health tech startup Cordio introduces groundbreaking AI-driven software, HearO, for cardiac patients.
• HearO utilizes machine learning algorithms to detect vocal changes indicating fluid accumulation in the lungs, a precursor to heart failure.
• Early detection allows for timely medical intervention, potentially preventing hospitalization.
• Congestive heart failure poses a significant risk to millions of Americans, highlighting the need for effective remote monitoring solutions.
• Clinical studies in Israel demonstrate HearO’s impressive 80% accuracy in predicting cardiac events.
• The app has gained regulatory approval in Europe and Israel and is undergoing FDA authorization.
• HearO’s simplicity and accessibility, requiring only a smartphone, set it apart from other remote monitoring solutions.
• Founder Tamir Tal’s background in law and experience in the medical device industry led to the inception of Cordio.
• Co-founder Dr. Chaim Lotan’s observation of audible vocal changes in patients with lung fluid accumulation inspired the development of HearO.
• Establishing a baseline of clear recordings aids algorithms in detecting subtle vocal alterations.
• Chief Technology Officer Ilan Shallom brings extensive experience in speech recognition research to the team.
• Cordio has raised $25 million in capital and plans to conduct additional fundraising for FDA approval and product commercialization.
• Cordio’s pragmatic approach to technology implementation has garnered praise from investors.
• The final U.S. clinical trial is underway, with potential FDA clearance anticipated by Q2 2024.
• Cordio envisions expanding its voice recognition technology to predict issues in COVID and COPD patients.
• Cordio’s collaborative approach with medical professionals sets it apart in the digital health industry.

In a significant stride toward revolutionizing cardiac care, Israeli-based health tech company Cordio has unveiled an ingenious machine learning software, dubbed HearO, designed to be downloaded onto smartphones. This groundbreaking technology has the potential to keep cardiac patients out of the hospital by detecting early signs of heart failure.

Imagine a future where a patient vulnerable to heart failure begins their day by reciting seemingly random phrases on their smartphone: “The cat sat on the ship. David is a big chef. Jeff plays the guitar.” This simple daily routine could hold the key to saving lives. By repeating these phrases, the patient unknowingly assists in the early detection of fluid accumulation in their lungs, a precursor to heart failure. This crucial information is then relayed to their healthcare provider, prompting timely intervention to avert further deterioration and the need for hospitalization.

Tamir Tal, the visionary founder of Cordio, envisions this as the ultimate goal of remote monitoring in healthcare. He asserts, “To find a way to identify patients when they’re getting close to hospitalization because the patient doesn’t feel it.”

Congestive heart failure, a condition where the heart struggles to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, poses a significant risk to millions of Americans. This often leads to fluid retention in the extremities and lungs, which, if left untreated, can escalate into severe complications necessitating hospitalization. Early detection, however, has proven challenging until the condition reaches an advanced stage.

Dr. William Abraham, a cardiologist at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, emphasizes the pressing need for remote monitoring solutions. He highlights, “There certainly are unmet needs for heart failure… one of them is to closely monitor our heart failure patients remotely and know when they’re accumulating fluids in their lungs and at risk for hospitalization.”

Clinical studies in Israel have demonstrated HearO’s ability to predict such events in patients with an impressive accuracy rate of approximately 80%. This success has led to regulatory approval in Europe and Israel, and the company is actively pursuing authorization from the FDA, recognizing the app as a breakthrough device. Cordio’s ongoing U.S.-based clinical trial, encompassing a larger and more diverse population, is poised to further validate its efficacy.

What sets HearO apart is its simplicity and accessibility. Unlike other remote monitoring solutions, it doesn’t require additional hardware or devices in the patient’s home—just a smartphone.

Tam’s journey to spearheading Cordio stems from his background in law and later, his role at Neovasc, a company specializing in medical devices for cardiac patients. His fascination with medical devices deepened, leading him to Cordio, founded in 2013 by a team of medical professionals and entrepreneurs.

The inspiration for HearO came from co-founder Dr. Chaim Lotan, a cardiologist who identified audible changes in a patient’s voice when fluid accumulated in their lungs. This realization spurred the development of software capable of detecting these vocal alterations earlier, potentially saving lives.

Integral to the app’s machine-learning functionality is the establishment of a baseline. Patients record phrases when they are known to be free of fluid, incorporating a diverse range of sounds. This baseline aids algorithms in identifying subtle changes, particularly when recorded in the morning after several hours of rest.

Ilan Shallom, appointed as the Chief Technology Officer, brings a wealth of experience in speech recognition research, having been involved in the field since the 1980s.

To date, Cordio has secured approximately $25 million in capital from investors including Peregrine Ventures and Ceros Financial Services. The company anticipates another round of fundraising to support the FDA approval process and initial product commercialization.

Mark Goldwasser, CEO of Ceros Financial, commends Cordio’s pragmatic approach to implementing its technology. He states, “Everyone talks about artificial intelligence, machine learning and remote diagnostics and this company had it all.”

With the final U.S. clinical trial underway across 30 sites nationwide, Cordio is poised for a potential FDA clearance by the second quarter of 2024, provided the results are promising. Beyond heart failure, the company envisions extending its voice recognition technology to predict issues for COVID and COPD patients, recognizing each as a distinct challenge to be addressed.

Tamir Tal emphasizes Cordio’s unique approach, stating, “I think the biggest difference between us and other digital health companies is that we’re thinking like a medical device company. We started working with physicians early on in the game to develop the product and understand what they need.” This focus on collaboration with medical professionals sets Cardio on a path to redefine remote cardiac monitoring.

These transformative elements are propelling the pharmaceutical realm to evolve. For instance, modern technologies are accelerating the pace and enhancing the accuracy of drug discovery and production. Concurrently, governmental interventions are ensuring the safety and accessibility of these drugs to those in need. Global health crises like the recent pandemic are urging the industry to expedite solutions.

Amidst these changes, the pharmaceutical sector transcends beyond just pills and syrups. It’s morphing into a domain where technology, intelligent regulations, and international collaboration converge to ameliorate health outcomes for all, irrespective of geographic boundaries.

As we transition into 2024, numerous key trends are emerging that shape the future of pharmaceuticals, rendering it an intriguing sector to observe closely. Notably, the global pharmaceutical market is on a trajectory to expand by 5.80% from 2023 to 2028, achieving a market volume of $1,478.00 billion by 2028. This statistic underscores the immense potential and the evolving dynamics of this industry​.

Innovative Technologies in Drug Development

The pharmaceutical landscape is in a phase of rapid evolution, thanks to the integration of innovative technologies, which are significantly altering the dynamics of drug discovery and development. One of the standout advancements in this domain is the emergence of single-cell technologies such as the single cell sorter, otherwise known as a dispenser, which is a game-changing innovation.

This cutting-edge technology is a beacon of progress in the pharma industry, particularly enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of drug discovery. It enables the precise isolation and deposition of individual cells, a critical process in cell line development and single-cell analysis. By facilitating a granular examination of cell behaviors and characteristics, the technology is propelling the industry closer to the realm of personalized medicine.

This means tailoring medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient. The insights garnered from single-cell analysis are invaluable in understanding the distinct cellular responses to different drug compounds. This, in turn, guides the development of more targeted and effective therapeutic solutions.

Moreover, the ability to scrutinize cells at a singular level accelerates the pace at which new drugs can be discovered and brought to market. It’s not just about hastening the drug discovery timelines; the precision provided by single-cell technologies ensures a higher degree of accuracy, reducing the likelihood of costly errors in the drug development phase.

The contribution of this technology extends beyond merely accelerating drug discovery. It’s about fostering a deeper understanding of cellular behaviors, which is central to the broader adoption of personalized medicine. These innovative technologies play a pivotal role in advancing the pharmaceutical industry.

Personalized Medicine

Personalized medicine is advancing rapidly, thanks to insights from genomics and other biomarker technologies. Genomics provides a window into an individual’s unique genetic blueprint, shedding light on how they might react to certain medications. This allows doctors to tailor treatments to suit each individual effectively.

It’s not solely about genetics, though. Other biomarkers, such as specific proteins or molecules in the body, offer valuable insights into disease behavior and response to various drugs. This knowledge is instrumental in developing medications that are specially designed for individuals, enhancing treatment efficacy and minimizing adverse effects.

The technological sphere is converging with the pharmaceutical domain to propel personalized medicine forward. For instance, collaborations between tech and pharma entities are leading to the development of wearable devices that monitor a person’s health in real time. These gadgets, tracking aspects like heart rate, sleep patterns, and blood sugar levels, provide real-time data, empowering doctors to better comprehend how a person’s body is responding to treatment and make timely adjustments when necessary. This collaboration is making treatment plans more accurate and timely, truly personalizing healthcare for better patient outcomes.

Collaborative Innovation

In the pharmaceutical field, the ethos of collaborative innovation is gaining traction. Strategic partnerships and alliances are being forged among pharma companies, tech firms, and academic institutions, embodying a shared endeavor to push the frontiers of what’s achievable. These collaborations are melding pharmaceutical expertise with technological prowess and academic research, creating a robust conduit for the flow of innovative ideas.

The advent of open innovation platforms is a testament to this collaborative spirit. These platforms are designed to pool together diverse expertise to address complex health challenges. They provide a stage where professionals from varying fields can converge to ideate, share insights, and jointly work towards devising solutions.

For instance, a pharmaceutical firm with a promising drug candidate might lack the technological infrastructure to analyze big data for clinical trials. Here, a tech firm with the requisite capabilities can step in, accelerating the process of drug development. Similarly, academic institutions with their research-centric approach, can provide valuable insights that can be pivotal in drug discovery and development.

These cooperative ventures are not merely expedient; they are a necessity in the face of increasingly complex healthcare challenges.

Conclusion

As we step into 2024, the pharmaceutical sector is morphing into a hub of innovation, fostering collaborations and embracing technology to tackle global health challenges. The synergy between tech advancements, personalized medicine, and collaborative efforts is poised to redefine drug discovery and healthcare delivery, heralding a promising horizon for improved patient care and global health outcomes.