(This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we

present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To

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https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-health-rounds/)

By Nancy Lapid

July 31 (Reuters) - We also report a new and improved way of

monitoring Parkinson's disease medication levels.

IMMUNOTHERAPY CAN PREVENT BLADDER REMOVAL FOR CANCER

A new immunotherapy helped many patients with an aggressive

form of bladder cancer avoid surgical removal of their bladders

in a late-stage trial.

The treatment kept many patients cancer-free for more than

two years and caused mostly mild side effects, according to a

report of the study in The Lancet Oncology.

The 115 patients in the study had high-risk bladder cancer

that had returned despite standard treatment with bacillus

Calmette-Guérin. Instead of surgery to remove the bladder - the

usual next step - patients received cretostimogene

grenadenorepvec, being developed by CG Oncology.

Two years later, 81% of patients had not needed surgery to

remove their bladder, the researchers found.

The treatment produced a complete response, meaning no

detectable signs of cancer, in 75% of the patients, with roughly

60% of those complete responses lasting beyond two years, the

researchers said.

"Avoiding bladder removal can have a profound impact on

daily living. Seeing patients remain cancer-free for years while

keeping their bladder is exactly the outcome we've been hoping

to achieve," study leader Dr. Mark Tyson of the Mayo Clinic in

Scottsdale, Arizona, said in a statement.

In one patient, the cancer has not returned for more than

four years after completing treatment.

"For patients, this isn't just about treating cancer. It's

about preserving quality of life," Tyson said.

WEARABLE PATCH HELPS FINE-TUNE PARKINSON'S MEDICATION DOSING

A fingertip patch that continuously tracks Parkinson's

disease medication levels through chemicals in sweat has the

potential to greatly improve patients' quality of life, new data

suggest.

Prescribing the right dose of levodopa - the gold-standard

drug for managing the loss of motor control caused by

Parkinson's disease - is very challenging. Too little leaves

patients unable to move, while too much triggers severe,

uncontrollable jerking movements.

Doctors currently rely on patients' diaries to adjust their

doses, but the approach is imprecise.

As reported by the research team in PNAS, the fingertip has

a high density of sweat glands, and the patch contains an

absorbent gel that acts like a sweat sponge to draw sweat out of

the pores.

When levodopa in the patient's sweat comes into contact with

enzymes embedded in the patch, it triggers a chemical reaction,

which in turn generates a small, measurable voltage. The voltage

serves as an indicator of the patient's levodopa level: lower

voltage signals low levels, while higher voltage signals high

levels.

In clinical tests involving both healthy volunteers and

patients with Parkinson's, the patch tracked levodopa levels as

accurately as standard laboratory blood tests, which take days

to return results.

This technology lays the groundwork for a closed-loop

system, where a levodopa monitoring patch could communicate with

a pump to automatically deliver the precise doses of the drug

right when the body needs it, the researchers said.

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