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In many cases, the clots that cause CTEPH come from veins in the lower half of the body, usually due to deep vein thrombosis (DVT). A risk factor for DVT is compression of the iliac vein in the pelvis, which can be caused by an anatomical variant known as May-Thurner anatomy (MTA). While MTA is generally thought to be rare, a new study by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine shows that the anomaly is very common in patients with CTEPH – in a sample of 148 patients referred to Temple’s CTEPH program since 2016, nearly 30 percent were found to have MTA.

For the last seven years, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine have been developing and refining CRISPR-based gene-editing technology for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) infection. Out of that effort has emerged a potentially revolutionizing therapy known as EBT-101, which thanks to recent acceptance as an Investigational New Drug (IND) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, could become the first functional cure for chronic HIV infection. The new IND approval for EBT-101 opens the way to the first Phase 1/2 clinical trials of a CRISPR-based therapy for HIV infection. The clinical trials will be initiated and managed by Excision BioTherapeutics, Inc., which has been a major collaborator with Temple on the development of CRISPR-based systems for the treatment of HIV.

The Association of University Anesthesiologists published a series of essays recognizing Women in Medicine Month. Valerie Armstead, MD, FAAP, DABA, Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, is on the organization’s Leadership Advisory Board and was featured on the cover of the publication.