Medicine meets Tech

How accurate are smart watches?

A review in npj Cardiovascular Health highlights both the promise and pitfalls of consumer-grade wearables in health monitoring. Devices using sensors such as photoplethysmography and accelerometers reliably track steps and resting heart rate, with growing utility in arrhythmia detection. However, their accuracy drops for metrics like sleep staging, stress, energy expenditure, and cuffless blood pressure monitoring, where results vary widely between devices and conditions. While wearables offer scalable insights into population health and hold potential for preventive care, their clinical value remains constrained by inconsistent accuracy, proprietary algorithms, and regulatory hurdles—underscoring the need for further validation before integration into healthcare practice.

AI speeds antibody discovery to bolster pandemic preparedness

A team at Scripps Research has developed a breakthrough pipeline that combines cryo-electron microscopy with an AI tool called ModelAngelo to identify protective antibodies with unprecedented speed. The method, detailed in Science Advances, cuts discovery time from weeks to under a day and showed strong results against influenza in preclinical tests. By streamlining antibody identification, the approach could transform therapeutic development for diseases like HIV, flu, and emerging pathogens—significantly boosting global preparedness for future pandemics.

Amlitelimab shows strong phase 3 results in atopic dermatitis

Sanofi’s amlitelimab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the immune regulator OX40-ligand, demonstrated meaningful clinical benefits in the global COAST 1 phase 3 trial for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. At week 24, patients receiving amlitelimab achieved significantly higher rates of skin clearance and EASI-75 responses compared to placebo, with efficacy improving over time. The therapy also reduced itch severity and showed a favorable safety profile, with adverse events generally mild and less frequent than in placebo. By normalizing immune overactivation without depleting T cells, amlitelimab represents a novel approach that could reshape treatment for atopic dermatitis and other immune-mediated diseases if ongoing trials confirm its promise.