ON THE HORIZON
CAR-T Cells Built Inside the Body — No Lab Required
A phase 1 trial in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma generated anti-BCMA CAR-T cells in vivo, skipping the entire ex vivo manufacturing pipeline. An injected vector reprograms the patient's own T cells on site, with early efficacy signals already confirmed in humans.
Why it matters: If this scales, cellular immunotherapy moves from elite cancer centers to community infusion chairs.
Sponsored content
Presented by Acme Medical Technologies
AI-assisted ECG interpretation: where does it fit in your workflow?
Cardiologists at three academic centers piloted an AI ECG platform over six months, flagging STEMI equivalents with 97.4% sensitivity. Here's what their workflow looked like — and what didn't work as expected.
"The flagging rate dropped our time-to-cath by 11 minutes on average. That's the number we care about."
From The Field
What are you seeing in your practice?
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THIS WEEK IN THE CLINIC
Watchman Reopens the LAA Closure Conversation
CHAMPION-AF proved Watchman FLX non-inferior to NOACs for stroke prevention at 3 years while cutting non-procedural bleeding by 45%. After CLOSURE-AF's disappointment, this is the largest and most rigorous LAA closure trial ever completed.
Why it matters: For AFib patients who bleed on anticoagulation, there's now a real device-based alternative with hard data behind it.
WORTH READING
PCSK9 Inhibitor Cuts Heart Events in Diabetics Without Known CVD
Evolocumab reduced first major CV events by 31% and all-cause mortality by 24% in diabetic primary prevention, challenging the wait-for-a-first-event paradigm. Source
Serious UTI in Older Adults Predicts Dementia Years Later
A 20-year Finnish registry found hospital-treated UTIs linked to 19% higher dementia risk, with infections appearing 5–6 years before diagnosis. Source
Once-Weekly Insulin Approved for Type 2 Diabetes
FDA greenlit insulin icodec (Awiqli), the first once-weekly basal insulin, with superior A1c reduction versus daily glargine across four trials. Source
We spend billions manufacturing immune cells in sterile rooms when the patient's body might do it better with a single shot. Makes you wonder what else we've been overengineering.
That's it for this week.
Stay sharp, stay curious — and as always, keep reading. 🩺
The Consult Team
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