History Repeats Itself! Solanezumab for Alzheimer’s & Repeat Vaccination to Prevent Influenza

This week on The Rounds Table features a special guest! Deputy Editor for CMAJ, Matthew Stanbrook, Emily Hughes, and Kieran Quinn take listeners through two articles. Kieran and Emily start with a clinical trial of solanezumab for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. Matt and Emily then cover repeated influenza vaccination to prevent severe and fatal influenza.

Current treatment options are limited in terms of slowing disease progression for Alzheimer’s disease, partly because the pathophysiology of the disease is not fully understood. The amyloid beta hypothesis suggests that early on in the disease amyloid beta protein is overproduced or incompletely cleared, leading to the formation of plaques. Emily covers a clinical trial of the monoclonal antibody, solanezumab, designed to increase the clearance of soluble amyloid beta from the brain at a stage before deposition in plaques.

Next, Matt takes listeners through an article on repeat influenza vaccination to prevent severe and fatal influenza infection in older adults. The multicentre case-control study evaluates the effectiveness of repeat influenza vaccination on preventing admissions to hospital and reducing disease severity. As one of the CMAJ editors involved in the editorial process for this article, Matt offers a unique perspective for listeners.

Finally, the Good Stuff segment. Emily shares an article on education outcomes in duty hour flexible versus inflexible residency programs. Kieran shares an article on deep learning and AI in palliative care.

Like what you hear? Rate us on iTunes! Chat with us on Twitter @roundstable and tweet at Matt @drstanbrook, Emily @emmyhughes, and Kieran @kieranlquinn