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Post-COVID symptoms, prevalence, and time to resolution are different from those seen after flu or pneumonia, better characterizing long COVID, University of Texas investigators say. The study team analyzed health claims data from Medicare Advantage–covered and commercially insured US adults diagnosed as having symptomatic COVID-19 in 2020 (121,205 patients) and similar groups with flu (20,844) and pneumonia (29,052) diagnosed before the pandemic. Symptoms were evaluated 1, 3, and 6 months after post-diagnosis. (Van Beusekom, 4/30)

A personalized inhaled bacteriophage therapy showed promising results in a small study of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients with drug-resistant pulmonary infections, researchers reported yesterday in Nature Medicine. The study, led by researchers at Yale University's Center for Phage Biology and Therapy, enrolled nine adults with CF who were selected for treatment on a compassionate use basis because they had multidrug- and pan–drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections that were no longer responding to standard antibiotic therapies. (Dall, 4/30)

Scientists have discovered that the same device used to measure C-reactive protein (CRP) in blood to diagnose bacterial meningitis is also sensitive enough to measure it in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which can speed accurate diagnosis and treatment of the life-threatening illness, according to a study published yesterday in The Lancet Regional Health Europe. (Van Beusekom, 4/30)

A new study has identified a specific mode of fat uptake by immune cells within tumors that serves as a metabolic checkpoint against anti-cancer immune responses. (Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 4/28)

Mepolizumab (Nucala) helped prevent exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when added to background triple inhaled therapy among patients with an eosinophilic phenotype, the phase III MATINEE trial showed. (Phend, 4/30)

Prions transmit their abnormally folded shape onto other proteins. Researchers designed a synthetic fragment of the tau protein that exhibits prion-like behavior. Misfolded tau proteins are the hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Study revealed crucial role of water organization in the tau misfolding process. (Northwestern University, 4/28)