Efficacy of N-163 beta-glucan in beneficially improving biomarkers of relevance to muscle function in patients with muscular dystrophies in a pilot clinical study.

Background: Muscular dystrophies other than Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are genetic diseases characterized by increasing muscle weakness, loss of ambulation, and ultimately cardiac and respiratory failure. There are currently no effective therapeutics available. Having demonstrated the efficacy of a N-163 strain of Aureobasidium Pullulans (Neu-REFIX) produced B-1, 3-1,6-Glucan in pre-clinical and clinical studies of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) earlier, we assessed the effectiveness of this novel Beta glucan in the other muscular dystrophies in the present study.

Pulsed low-dose-rate radiation (PLDR) reduces the tumor-promoting responses induced by conventional chemoradiation in pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Pancreatic cancer is becoming increasingly deadly, with treatment options limited due to, among others, the complex tumor microenvironment (TME). This short communications study investigates pulsed low-dose-rate radiation (PLDR) as a potential alternative to conventional radiotherapy for pancreatic cancer neoadjuvant treatment. Our ex vivo research demonstrates that PLDR, in combination with chemotherapy, promotes a shift from tumor-promoting to tumor-suppressing properties in a key component of the pancreatic cancer microenvironment we called CAFu (cancer-associated fibroblasts and selfgenerated extracellular matrix functional units).

Beneficial immune-modulatory effects of the N-163 strain of -produced 1,3-1,6 Beta glucans in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Results of an open-label, prospective, exploratory case-control clinical study.

Background: This exploratory case-control study is to evaluate the effects of supplementation of -N-163 strain produced 1,3-1,- 6 beta glucan in young patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Methods: Twenty-seven male subjects aged 5-19 years with DMD were included, nine in the control arm and 18 in the treatment arm to receive N-163 beta glucan along with conventional therapies for 45 days. While performing the analysis, steroid usage was also taken into consideration, those not administered steroids (Steroid -ve) (Control, n = 5; treatment, n = 9), those administered steroids (Steroid +ve) (Control, n = 4; treatment, n = 9).

Setup Uncertainty of Pediatric Brain Tumor Patients Receiving Proton Therapy: A Prospective Study.

This study quantifies setup uncertainty in brain tumor patients who received image-guided proton therapy. Patients analyzed include 165 children, adolescents, and young adults (median age at radiotherapy: 9 years (range: 10 months to 24 years); 80 anesthetized and 85 awake) enrolled in a single-institution prospective study from 2020 to 2023. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) was performed daily to calculate and correct manual setup errors, once per course after setup correction to measure residual errors, and weekly after treatments to assess intrafractional motion.