A scoping review of patient and public perspectives on cell and gene therapies.

The development and introduction of cell and gene therapies presents complex social and economic issues. Fully addressing these challenges requires engagement with patients and the public. A systematically conducted scoping review was undertaken to gauge current patient and public knowledge and perspectives, and as such inform requirements for future research, education and engagement activities.

Patient and public perspectives on cell and gene therapies: a systematic review.

Cell and gene therapies offer opportunities for treating disease with potential to restore function, and cure disease. However, they are not without risk and pose complex logistical, economic, ethical and social challenges for health systems. Here we report our systematic review of the current evidence on patient and public knowledge and perspectives of cell and gene therapies, to inform future research, education and awareness raising activities.

Effectiveness of tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to inform COVID-19 diagnosis: a rapid systematic review.

Objectives: We undertook a rapid systematic review with the aim of identifying evidence that could be used to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the clinical effectiveness of tests that detect the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to inform COVID-19 diagnosis? (2) What is the clinical effectiveness of tests that detect the presence of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to inform COVID-19 diagnosis?

Design And Setting: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of diagnostic test accuracy. We systematically searched for all published evidence on the effectiveness of tests for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, or antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, up to 4 May 2020, and assessed relevant studies for risks of bias using the QUADAS-2 framework.

Main Outcome Measures: Measures of diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive value) were the main outcomes of interest.

Increased frequency of CD4 PD-1 HLA-DR T cells is associated with disease progression in CLL.

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients often have abnormal expansions of CD4 and CD8 T cells and this can be associated with progressive disease. To characterise the key T-cell populations involved in this phenomenon, we used flow cytometry and 11 phenotypic markers to study 74 CLL patients and 14 controls. T cells of CLL patients were more phenotypically complex than those of healthy controls with significant increases in the frequencies of CD4 and CD8 memory T cells expressing exhaustion-, activation- and senescence-associated markers.